A WORCESTER man who is still waiting for treatment after he was diagnosed with cancer eight months ago says he feels the health service has "abandoned" him.

Plumber Anthony Tooth will not receive vital radiography for prostate cancer until July - nine months after his GP first spotted it.

The 57-year-old learnt he could have the disease in October last year after a visit to his doctor's surgery in Warndon.

It was confirmed by a biopsy in February, but only after Mr Tooth said his repeated complaints brought his wait for an appointment down from two months to a month.

Mr Tooth was told earlier this month his radiography treatment, involving 20 sessions over a month, would not take place until July, as patients from Worcester have to be treated in Birmingham.

"What's the point of my GP being on the ball and identifying the cancer quickly if I have to wait this long?" said the grandfather, from Brantwood, Warndon.

"I was told I'd be seen in two weeks. Then they called back to say they had made a mistake and I wouldn't be seen until July. Imagine how that feels?

"I feel as though I've been abandoned by the health service. I have to keep ringing up and fighting to get anything done."

Mr Tooth's condition is complicated by a triple heart by-pass he had in 1996.

He was given the option of undergoing an operation for his prostate cancer, but had been warned his medical history made it risky.

His wife Joan, 55, added: "When Tony was diagnosed, he said 'I want it taken out straight away', but he was advised against an operation because of his heart.

"Now we're thinking, why didn't we risk him on the operating table?"

Claire Austin, of Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, confirmed Mr Tooth would begin radiography on Friday, July 13.

She said the hospital was pressing for improved technology to speed up cancer treatment.

This included telelinks so patients in Worcester could receive scans without leaving the city.