AHT's Kennel Club Cancer Centre officially opens

HRH The Princess Royal has opened a new state-of-the-art cancer treatment and research facility for animals at the Animal Health Trust (AHT).

The Kennel Club Cancer Centre has been purposely built to treat horses, dogs and cats with cancer, and to assist in further understanding of the disease in animals.

Inside the new facility is a linear accelerator and brachytherapy machine used in radiotherapy treatment, along with a 16-slice CT scanner to aid radiotherapy planning.

Peter Webbon, Chief Execultive of the AHT, said: "2012 marks 70 years of the AHT fighting disease and injury in animals, and the addition of the Cancer Centre is a landmark achievement in our history.

"We believe this is the first facility of its kind in Europe, purpose-built to treat horses, dogs and cats with cancer. We now have a short commissioning process to undertake but anticipate welcoming the first patients through the doors in early 2013.”

An interest-free loan from the Kennel Club, along with donations from AHT supporters, such as the late Tom Scott, enabled the facility's development. The centre took just over a year to build.

AHT President HRH The Princess Royal, said on opening the facility: "This Cancer Centre is an exciting development at the AHT and will make a real difference for animals with cancer, here and now. It will improve the chances, for many animals, of beating this pernicious disease.

“Countless other horses, dogs and cats across the world with cancer, who will never be seen by an AHT clinician, will also benefit from knowledge gained from research in The Kennel Club Cancer Centre at the AHT.”

Currently, one in four dogs and one is six cats will develop cancer at some time in their life.