Press Release - 22nd November 2001
Duchess of Kent praises The Christie 'family'
Duchess of Kent talks to her 'special friend', cancer patient Lewis Brown The Duchess of Kent praised the 'sense
of family' at The Christie as she officially opened £5 million
worth of new life-saving new radiotherapy equipment (Tuesday 20th
November).
Opening the four state-of-the-art linear accelerators the Duchess
of Kent, Patron of The Christie said;
"It is the sense of family that has endeared me to this hospital from
day one. The whole area of Greater Manchester is proud of this hospital
and the fear of this particular illness is taken away because of the
knowledge they have of this place".
The Duchess met patients currently undergoing radiotherapy treatment
from the new equipment, but one particular patient - 59-year-old Lewis
Brown from Bolton - stole the show. The Duchess called bubbly Lewis
her "special friend" after meeting him during the opening.
The new equipment will help treat thousands of cancer patients.
Linear accelerators use high-energy radiation beams to destroy cancerous
tumours within one-millimeter precision. Each machine can treat
about 40 patients per day and lasts for about 10 years. Patients
receive between 1 and 33 treatments depending on their disease and
rationale for treatment.
Two of the new linear accelerators have been used to replace worn
out machines, and two will provide the hospital with additional
capacity. The Radiotherapy Department now boasts a total of ten
linear accelerators.
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The Christie in Manchester is one of the leading cancer centres in Europe - registering around 12,500 new patients and treating about 40,000 patients every year.
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