Cancer unit campaign taken to the Commons (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cancer unit campaign taken to the Commons

1:46pm Wednesday 22nd October 2008 in Save Our NHS By Allan Tunningley

A NEW campaign to establish a specialist cancer unit in Kendal has been taken to the House of Commons.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron tabled an Early Day Motion this week calling on ministers to provide funding so the treatment centre can be set up at Westmorland General Hospital (WGH).

Currently, cancer sufferers from South Lakeland are forced to travel up to 90 minutes to either Carlisle or Preston to receive radiotherapy treatment - double the Department of Health’s recommended journey time.

The new treatment centre, costing an estimated £15m, would provide ‘on the doorstep’ access to radio-therapy and chemotherapy treatment for the Lakes and Bay areas..

NHS Cumbria, the county’s primary care trust has confirmed WGH was a potential site for the unit and it was co-ordinating with other PCTs in the region to assess the feasibility of the project.