CANCER patients in Malmesbury are a step closer to receiving lifesaving treatment much closer to home, thanks to fundraisers from the town.

Brighter Futures’ fundraising appeal aims to bring a much needed radiotherapy treatment centre to Swindon’s Great Western Hospital (GWH).

If successful, the journey time for Malmesbury patients would be cut in half as some currently travel up to 70 miles to Oxford’s Churchill Hospital for treatment.

The £2.9m fundraising target will go towards purchasing two linear accelerators – the equipment used to deliver radiotherapy for patients.

Malmesbury League of Friends has just given the fund a huge boost with a £25,000 donation, taking the total raises so far to more than £100,000.

Chairman of the League, Robin Clark, said: “One of our trustees has had to have treatment at Oxford, so it’s a cause close to our heart.

"One in three people suffer from cancer at some point in their life and hopefully this treatment centre will go some way to helping.

“It takes an hour if you drive yourself to Oxford, but with a hospital car it can take over two hours, just to have a two minute treatment, plus the same drive back. Before you know it a whole day is wasted.

“When you’re not well you don’t want to have to be taking so much time to travel. A lot of people bequest us money after they die and some of that money was used for our donation. We may well give more to the cause if it is needed. So many things fall outside the system now, so we do anything we can to help.”

Jennifer Green, Brighter Futures’ head of fundraising, said: “Every year 3,000 people are diagnosed with cancer at the Great Western Hospital. A large number of these are having to travel up to 70 miles, often further, for people living in rural areas, to Oxford for vital lifesaving treatment.

“Having a dedicated radiotherapy unit in Swindon will mean that cancer patients in North Wiltshire towns such as Malmesbury and Cricklade will have the treatment they need closer to home.

“We have had a fantastic response since we launched our Radiotherapy Appeal and I would like to thank every single person who has fundraised or donated. We have now raised more than £100,000, but have a long way to go before we get to our target.

“I look forward to working more with the local community on their innovative and exciting fundraising ideas to help bring the vision for radiotherapy treatment to Swindon a reality.”

The Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust approved the radiotherapy centre plan earlier this month and treatment at GWH could be available by the end of 2017.

Brighter Futures has organised several upcoming fundraising events, including Ride for Radiotherapy, where people can gather sponsorship to cycle 30, 70 or 100-mile routes in September.

Text SWIN29 followed by your amount to 70070. For more information visit brighterfuturesgwh.nhs.uk