HUNTER cancer patients will not have to travel to Newcastle for radiation therapy when a new "state-of-the-art" cancer centre opens in Maitland in August.
The Icon Cancer Centre is set to open within the Maitland Private Hospital campus, but patients will not require private health insurance to receive radiation therapy treatments at the facility.
Icon Group chief executive Mark Middleton said up to 80-90 per cent of costs could be reimbursed by Medicare.
"With cancer incidence ranking higher in Maitland than the Australian average, this centre will play an important role for cancer patients and their families for many years to come," he said.
Mr Middleton said the centre would broaden the medical oncology services currently available in the region.
"For patients onsite at Maitland Private Hospital it will also mean they can access all aspects of their care, from surgery and chemotherapy through to radiation therapy and support services, under one roof," he said.
The centre would have the capacity to treat more than 900 new courses of radiation therapy each year.
