BUILDING work on a £17m radiotherapy centre to treat Liverpool cancer sufferers could begin within the next few months.

A blueprint for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool, is going in front of council chiefs on March 13, and sources say the application is likely to be successful.

The purpose built facility will be situated on land at University Hospital Aintree and staffed by Clatterbridge’s own specialist radiographers and doctors.

The expansion plans will see cancer patients across Merseyside benefiting from travelling shorter distances for radiotherapy treatments.

It is due open by the end of 2010 and will not affect the services already on offer at Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology.

£5m is still needed for the project and fundraising efforts are being supported by The Marina Dalglish Appeal.

Mrs Dalglish was diagnosed and successfully treated for breast cancer at Clatterbridge in 2003.

She went on to launch the appeal in 2004, which raised funds for the Marina Dalglish Centre, opened in 2007, which enables cancer patients to receive chemotherapy treatment closer to home.

She said:“At The Marina Dalglish Centre at University Hospital Aintree, we have seen first hand the benefit to patients of bringing chemotherapy services closer to their home.

“The work done at Clatterbridge is second to none, but a long uncomfortable car journey when you are trying to deal with the effects of cancer can be very hard.

“This new cancer centre in Liverpool will benefit from the expertise of Clatterbridge staff and a location that will ease the burden of the journey through the tunnel.