A leading expert has spoken out over the possible loss of a dedicated cancer centre in Southend.

Danger sign - Dr Colin Trask is concerned that Southend could lose its cancer centre. Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL 5JK563

Dr Colin Trask, clinical director of oncology in south Essex, told of his concerns after a report suggested specialist cancer centres should be in areas of more than one million people. South Essex has a population of 750,000.

He also suggested a worse scenario with patients having to travel miles for specialist treatment. Dr Trask, who works at Southend Hospital, said: "These guidelines apply not only to populations of one million, but of two million for some kinds of cancer.

"We anticipate gynaecological and head and neck cancers will also come into these categories. "The logic is quite laudable. For quite rare cancers, you ought to see enough patients in each area - that's the logic.

"But there's no science behind the numbers - that's the reservation clinicians have.

"Why pick a number? Why one million when it could be 750,000? They are totally arbitrary. "We would prefer there to be definitions based on how many patients with a certain form of cancer are treated each year.

"I anticipate these proposals will apply only to certain specific types of cancer. It's not going to be like the old argument we had a decade ago - we're now talking about very specific things."

However, Dr Trask said he believed common sense will prevail.

Meetings were to be held tonight concerning urological cancer and a further meeting on Friday.

Published Wednesday December 19, 2001