Prof Tim Illidge speaks to ecancer.tv about the opening of the new patient treatment centre at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. This centre will allow The Christie Trust to further improve the level of service it offers to the patients within its considerable catchment area. Prof Illidge explains how the new centre will allow the delivery of more clinical trials (the unit will include the largest early clinical trials unit in the world), the latest in personalised medicines, imaging technologies and drug development. Funding is a major concern for all large cancer institutes, however the funding streams generated by The Christie Charity and Cancer Research UK are hugely beneficial and have provided the opportunity for this centre to become a world leader.