A westcountry woman who lost her husband to Pancreatic cancer has said Derriford hospital bosses were shortsighted to postpone the purchase of a state of the art radiotherapy machine.

Ruth Pemberdy will be outside Derriford hospital today to try and talk to patients about the benefits of the cyberknife, which beams intense radiation into tumours and can reduce the need for invasive surgery.

The Plymouth hospitals NHS Trust has said it can't afford the machine at the moment and will try to buy it over two years from 2012.

Mrs Pemberdy argues that if everyone in the region gave a pound, the hospital would be able to afford the machine - she has set up a charity in her husband's name to campaign on the issue.

She says after treatment in Florida with a cyberknife, her husband's health improved dramatically for a time.

The Plymouth hospitals NHS Trust has said it is still investing twelve million pounds in updating equipment and transferring services from the Royal Eye infirmary to Derriford.

Ruth's charity website can be found at www.cyber-ron.com