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" The government plans to invest up to \u00A3150 million in a new &amp;#039;proton beam therapy&amp;#039; (PBT) radiotherapy service that could help to treat up to 1,500 cancer patients each year. Health secretary Andrew Lansley announced the investment during a speech to the Britain Against Cancer Conference today (December 13th). The treatment is a type of radiotherapy that uses a precious high-energy beam of particles to destroy tumour cells, increasing success rates and reducing the side-effects of treatment. Experts say the technique is particularly useful when treating complex childhood cancers, but at present many patients have to travel abroad to receive the treatment. Mr Lansley said: &amp;#039;We want to make sure that cancer services in England are world-class and that NHS patients receive the best quality treatments that are available. &amp;#039;For too long our cancer survival rates have lagged behind other comparable countries. I am determined that we do everything we can to change that and this new investment will help significantly.&amp;#039; Professor Jane Maher, chief medical officer at Macmillan Cancer Support, described the funding as &amp;#039;fantastic news&amp;#039;. She added: &amp;#039;As more people survive cancer, breakthroughs are not just about curing cancer but also about reducing the long-term damage to healthy tissues. This is particularly important for children, as a large proportion of them experience long-term effects of cancer treatment.&amp;#039; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/conditions/cancer/news/a21835/150m-investment-in-cutting-edge-cancer-treatment/>