Cairns Hospital gets multimillion-dollar boost to tackle growing cancer rates
Cairns Hospital has received a multimillion-dollar investment in its cancer care centre to help Far North patients receive treatment closer to home.
Cairns Hospital has received a multimillion-dollar investment to expand it’s cancer care, allowing more Far North Queenslanders to receive radiation therapy closer to home.
The Liz Plummer Care Centre is expecting a third operational linear accelerator by July 2027, helping to provide radiation therapy to patients in Cairns.
The investment also includes a $6.75 million contribution from the state government for facility upgrades to accommodate the new equipment.
Linear accelerators generate high-energy X-rays to deliver precise radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.
The technology is regarded as the gold standard in modern radiotherapy, and is used in most cancer cases requiring radiation.
The cutting-edge piece of technology will join two ‘linacs’ previously installed in bunkers at the centre, helping to carry the burden of the growing number of patients who require treatment.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Leena Singh said cancer rates in the Far North are growing exponentially.
“There has been a 33 per cent increase in cancer activity at our Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre in the past five years,” Ms Singh said.
“As such, our two linear accelerators have been operating at more than 17 per cent above the recommended rate for a public hospital our size and a third linac was desperately needed.”
Ms Singh said the new linac means that patients could receive world-class treatment closer to their home, their families and their support networks.
“We’re incredibly proud to continue to provide state-of-the-art technology to healthcare in Cairns for the Far North region,” she said.
“It not only strengthens our cancer care services capabilities but also underscores our commitment to keeping pace with global standards in cancer treatment.
“This is about giving hope and healing to thousands of local families for years to come.”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Director of Cancer Care Services, Sharon Avery, said adding a new linear accelerator would significantly reduce waiting times for patients, and improve access to radiotherapy treatments.
“This investment ensures faster, more reliable care and enhances treatment quality for our growing community,” Ms Avery said.
“The new technology positions our centre for future growth and supports world-class cancer care for the region.”
Works on the ground level of the Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre are scheduled to start in 2026, with minimal disruption to existing services.
Originally published as Cairns Hospital gets multimillion-dollar boost to tackle growing cancer rates
