CANCER patients across North Yorkshire and the coast will soon have treatment brought to their doorsteps .

The new £700,000 mobile cancer treatment unit will see chemotherapy treatment sent by York Hospital with York Against Cancer, to towns around the region.

When it takes to the roads this summer, the new unit will visit Malton, Selby, Scarborough and Bridlington, treating up to four patients at once, who would otherwise have to travel to hospitals around the region for potentially lifesaving treatment.

The charity has launched a £100,000 anniversary appeal to help support the running of the unit, which will also reduce demand at the region's main hospitals.

Professor Steve Leveson, Chairman of York Against Cancer, said the unit was an ambitious project.

Prof Leveson said: "We're really excited to see it come to fruition and we hope it will improve the service offered to patients, both those who use the mobile service and those who continue to be treated at the main hospital sites.

"It's amazing is that the whole project is going live less than two years since its inception. For this, we must thank all those from the Trust who worked so hard to make it a success."

One patient grateful for the new unit is Rob Holtby, a 67-year-old farmer from Leavening who has prostate cancer and currently takes a 60-mile round trip to Scarborough for chemotherapy.

A former steward at Malton Rugby Club, he still looks after the pitch at the club, which will be one of the regular ports of call for the chemotherapy unit.

He said: "The nurses in Scarborough are brilliant, they are very good to you, but it is a stressful thing that you are having done. You try to look on the bright side but you do get a bit down and being able to come somewhere like this will be a lot less stress - travelling home can take an hour for me with the traffic. This is great for everybody, it will be brilliant."

Patrick Crowley, chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that we have launched our first mobile chemotherapy unit and hope, that as a result, patients with cancer throughout North Yorkshire will feel the benefits from receiving their treatment closer to home."