A MAJOR appeal is being launched today to help improve the lives of cancer patients in Dorset.

Dorset County Hospital's campaign, backed by the News, aims to raise £1.75m to help provide radiotherapy services in the west of the county for the first time.

The ambitious Cancer Appeal target is expected to take around two years to achieve, and that is where the people of Dorset come in.

The new facilities will be completely charitably funding and the hospital is confident the local community will rise to the challenge and help it to reach its goal.

The project is being developed in partnership with Poole Hospital and will provide radiotherapy equipment in Dorchester so patients in north, south and west Dorset have access to services locally.

Currently patients have to travel to the Dorset Cancer Centre in Poole for radiotherapy treatment, which can take over an hour from towns such as Portland, Lyme Regis and Sherborne.

The life-saving treatment will be on offer in a bespoke new building and will be operated by Poole Hospital on a satellite basis.

A new outpatients department will be built on the top of the radiotherapy building and the existing chemotherapy suite will be reconfigured so family members and friends will be able to sit with patients during treatment.

Hospital chief executive Patricia Miller said that, as well as relocating the radiotherapy services, extending the hospital’s capacity and improving facilities will also make a big difference to patients and their families.

She said: “This is a very exciting time for all of us as we embark on one of our largest projects for some time.

“The enhanced facilities will make a huge difference to our patients and their families and we are delighted to launch the appeal.”

The fundraising efforts led by the Dorset County Hospital Charity have got off to a flying start with the Fortuneswell Cancer Trust donating £100,000 and pledging a further £100,000 while another local charity has donated another £100,000.

David Evans, chairman of the Fortuneswell Cancer Trust, said: “This project is the final phase in our long term objective of a dedicated cancer facility at Dorset County Hospital.

“We will continue to support the ongoing appeal in any way we can.”

The Dorset County Hospital Charity is set to hold a number of fundraising events over the coming months to support the Cancer Appeal, starting with its Walk for Wards event on Sunday, July 3.

For more information about the project, how to get involved and signing up to the Walk for Wards, contact the Dorset County Hospital Charity on 01305 253215, visit dchft.nhs.uk or email charity@dchft.nhs.uk If you have any fundraising ideas or if you're doing something for the appeal you'd like the Dorset Echo to cover call the Echo newsdesk on 01305 830999 or email newsdesk@dorsetecho.co.uk A BREAST cancer survivor who experienced first hand the stresses involved with travelling across the county for radiotherapy is backing Dorset County Hospital's Cancer Appeal.

Melanie Whatley was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2014 and during January of last year she had five radiotherapy sessions a week for three weeks.

She said that travelling to Poole and concerns about things such as parking and traffic added to the stress of the treatment.

Melanie, who lives in Cerne Abbas, said: "It's not just the travelling up there, it's finding somewhere to park and you don't know if you are going to hit traffic.

"If you miss your appointment that's it so you can't afford to be late."

Melanie said she welcomed the news that Dorset County Hospital was hoping to raise £1.75million as part of a project to create a new radiotherapy unit in Dorchester so patients in the west of the county would be spared the journey.

She said: "Dorchester is a big central place to it makes sense.

"I think everybody would be behind it and it's needed here."

Melanie, 53, has since set up the Butterflies cancer support group, which meets at the Quiet Space in Poundbury on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 2pm to 4pm.