£100,000 gift brings kinder cancer treatment closer for Leeds patients
A £100,000 donation from the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Foundation will help bring safer, more efficient and less distressing radiotherapy treatment closer for cancer patients in Leeds.
The gift to Leeds Hospitals Charity’s cancer appeal means the charity is now nearly a quarter of the way towards its £1 million fundraising target.
The appeal will fund new technology at Leeds Cancer Centre designed to make radiotherapy kinder for patients—particularly children and people with head and neck cancer, for whom treatment can be especially difficult.
For patients such as Pam Linley, from Wakefield, the difference this technology could make is significant. Pam was diagnosed with throat cancer earlier this year after discovering a growth in her neck. She found her radiotherapy sessions so distressing that she needed to be sedated before each treatment.
“I found wearing the mask so claustrophobic,” Pam said. “The team were incredibly kind and did everything they could to help, but it was still awful. New technology that could spare other patients from going through the same experience would be amazing.
“My husband and I have donated to the appeal because, even if I do not benefit personally, helping other patients like me is so important.”
The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Foundation, managed by Leeds businessman Edward Ziff and his family, chose to support the appeal following the family’s own experience of cancer.
When the fundraising target is reached, the radiotherapy team plans to purchase a Surface Guided Radiotherapy system and MapRT technology.
Together, these innovations will help teams position and monitor patients more precisely, supporting safer and more efficient treatment while reducing the burden on people at an already difficult time.
To donate to the Leeds Cancer Appeal, visit: https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/leeds-cancer-appeal