AN official start day for the new cancer centre at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital could be announced by the end of next week.

There has been a delay in announcing a start date because the private finance initiative has yet to be signed.

But all the documents are now with the private finance unit and all parties involved are now working towards a final signing off of the agreement next week.

Once that has been agreed then an official start date can be announced.

The news has been welcomed by the Somerset Unit for Radiotherapy Equipment (SURE), which has been fundraising since 2000 to raise funds to provide equipment for the cancer centre.

So far they have raised more than £400,000 but the group have become frustrated at the lack of a start date for the centre.

Welcoming the news SURE treasurer Eric Saffin said: "It's great to hear that we should finally get things going soon - it's the best news.

"We have been fundraising for so long that we were beginning to get a bit despondent.

"But if things are moving along in the next few week's then that is great."

SURE is aiming to buy equipment for the centre which will mean cancer patients will no longer have to travel all the way to Bristol for treatment.

This included a volumetric spiral computerised tomography scanner, which scans people in a spiral rather than slices, so their is not chance of a tumour being missed.

This scanner would also determine the exact size of the tumour and its position, before aiming the treatment directly at it, rather than targeting the general area.

The group also decided they would like to buy a piece of equipment that will make lead masks to protect the patients other organs when receiving treatment.

This is particularly beneficial for tumours in the head.