Press release posted 7 July 2025
As more people are diagnosed with cancer and more treatments are available to patients, The Christie has delivered a record number of chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments in one 12-month period for the first time in its 125-year history.
More than 14,000 patients under the care of Manchester’s specialist cancer centre received 105,827 chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.
This is a threefold increase in the number of treatments provided compared with 15 years ago. In the year 2010 to 2011, the cancer centre performed approximately 35,000 chemotherapy treatments.
Commenting on the milestone, Gemma Jones, Lead nurse for Systematic Anti-Cancer Therapy and Outpatients, said: "Over the past year, we have delivered a record number of chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments to patients at The Christie, and our dedicated staff are working harder than ever to keep up with demand.
“My team have worked extremely hard on service efficiencies to ensure we are managing the increase in new treatments and alternative treatment options which have seen us deliver more than 105,000 treatments in one year to patients. Despite these record numbers, our colleagues still aim to provide the highest standards of compassion and care for the people they treat.”
There are numerous reasons for the increase in the number of treatments being delivered.
More people than ever before are now being diagnosed with cancer, with the lifetime risk of a cancer diagnosis for anyone born after 1960 being 1 in 2. Improvements in early diagnosis mean that more patients than ever before are being diagnosed when cancer is in its early stages and treatments are most likely to be successful. More treatments for late-stage cancers are also available than 15 years ago.
The increase in treatments delivered is also a result of anti-cancer therapies being more successful. Around half of people diagnosed with cancer in England and Wales now survive with their disease for 10 years or more and live on average, almost 6 times longer after their cancer diagnosis than was the case 40 years ago.
Cancer charity Macmillan estimates that there are currently around 3m people living with cancer, which will rise to 5.3m living with cancer by 2040 (around 1 in 14 of the population).
One of the patients to have chemotherapy recently at The Christie is Suzanne Lackin, age 45, from Denton.
Suzanne, who runs her own kitchen and bedroom design business, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024.
The mother to Sophie, Millie and Grace, who is engaged to Jonny Berwick says she couldn’t have got through it without them. “My family have been a huge support to me since I was diagnosed,” she says. “They have all been looking after me and by my side every step of the way.”
“I had been feeling tired, my skin had become very dry, and I wasn't feeling right, but it was nothing I could put my finger on, I thought it might be stress related. I had noticed that my left breast had grown in size, but as I had recently had my contraceptive coil removed thought this was probably down to hormonal changes.
“As breast cancer doesn’t run in my family, I’d never really checked my breasts. I just didn’t think I was at risk.
“Then, whilst at work, I had an awful shooting pain through my breast for a few seconds. Later that evening I had a dull ache and remembered the pain so decided to check my breasts. Straight away I felt it the lump, and couldn't believe I had missed it previously.
“The next morning, I had an urgent GP appointment, and was immediately referred for a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsies. This was the scariest time for me, waiting but not knowing. I was then diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes, but the doctors were hopeful they could treat me.
“I’m a stubborn and very positive person, so I was determined not to be beaten by the cancer. I was referred to The Christie, who wanted to start with chemotherapy in the hope of shrinking my 26mm tumour, ahead of surgery.
“I cannot praise everyone that works at The Christie enough. My first encounter was with Paul at reception who must have seen how scared I was. He took one look at me, got up off his seat, held my hand and promised ‘we will all look after you’. The nurses, healthcare workers, doctors and trainees very quickly felt like a new family.
“I had some lovely conversations and great laughs with the staff that brought me lunch and cups of tea. And despite spending Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in the care of The Christie, was able to have a laugh with the staff and chat about plans for the holidays.
“People I didn’t even know would walk past me in the corridor with a big smile and greet me, and when the staff in the blood room told me I looked great in my very first wig, it meant the world to me and gave me the confidence to show it off to the world.
“5 months of chemotherapy have flown by. The tumour shrunk to half its original size (13mm), when meant I very recently had my surgery. I’m recovering well and was thrilled to find out recently that I’m now cancer free, although I’ll still have another 6 months of immunotherapy and some radiotherapy to give me my best chance in the long term.”
When Suzanne found out that she was the patient who received the 100,000th chemotherapy treatment in the year 2024 to 2025 at The Christie, she commented: “This feels very bittersweet to me.”
“It is hard to believe. Despite the team doing so many treatments each year I have never been treated as a number or even a cancer patient. They make me feel like I’m their friend or daughter or mother and I feel so lucky and grateful to have this incredible place on my doorstep.
“When my treatment finally finishes, I’m hoping that my family and I can go on a well-deserved holiday. I want to put cancer behind me, but I’ll never forget the amazing work The Christie does and will be fundraising in the hope that more treatments and cures can be found to help others at this fabulous national treasure.”
Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormonal treatments for cancer are delivered at The Christie in Withington and by Christie nurses across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire through a network of 11 local treatment centres and directly in patients’ homes.
These include The Royal Bolton Hospital, Bury Hospice, Leighton Hospital (Crewe), St Anne's Hospice (Little Hulton), The Christie at Macclesfield, Arden House Medical Practice (New Mills), Dr Kershaw's Hospice (Royton), Stepping Hill Hospital (Stockport), Tameside Hospital (Ashton-under-Lyne), The Royal Albert and Edward Infirmary (Wigan) and St Luke's Hospice (Winsford).
Around 9,000 chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments also take place in patients' homes through the 'at home' service.
The Christie’s ability to deliver more than 100,000 chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments would not have been possible without the foresight 15 years ago to build a new 3-storey patient treatment centre, believed to be the biggest chemotherapy facility in the UK at the time.
The £35m Oak Road Treatment Centre, part funded by The Christie Charity, was opened in November 2010 by former Coronation Street actress Sally Dynevor. Sally was treated at The Christie for breast cancer in 2009.
The centre, designed to provide both clinical trials and routine chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments is estimated to have delivered around 550,000 treatments since 2010 including more than 4,000 clinical trial treatments in the past 12 months.