The 72-year-old cancer patient and his wife Lynne had to endure a five-hour car trip from Portland to Melbourne more than a dozen times while he was receiving treatment for a rare form of nasal cancer last year.

Mr O'Brien said he had followed the Peter's Project campaign with interest and believed an integrated cancer care centre for Warrnambool would benefit radiotherapy patients from across the south-west.

He said Warrnambool had excellent facilities and a radiotherapy facility would ensure that south-west patients like himself would not have to travel great distances to receive proper care.

"It only takes one hour to drive from Portland to Warrnambool, it takes five to Melbourne and you're stuck there for the whole week," Mr O'Brien said.

"At least if it was in Warrnambool it would mean we could come over here, have the treatment and be back home in time for tea.

"It's such a hassle to go and have radiotherapy in Melbourne. It pretty much interferes with your whole life."

Mr O'Brien's wife Lynne said her husband underwent radiotherapy treatment at East Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for seven weeks in September and October last year.

She said their lives were significantly interrupted by the move to Melbourne as well as every weekend having to vacate their inner-city apartment where they lived temporarily.

"You would have to drive home on the Friday for five hours then back on the Sunday, it was draining for the both of us," Mrs O'Brien said.

"People from Hamilton, Portland and all the surrounding towns would use a cancer centre in Warrnambool if it was set up."

Mr O'Brien is now undergoing chemotherapy at St John of God's Warrnambool hospital and commented that the hospital's facilities would easily accommodate a radiotherapy service.

"The state government wastes all this money on Kardinia Park in Geelong and they're only going to play once a fortnight there during the main season while the whole of the Western District has no radiotherapy service. It doesn't make sense," he said.

asinnott@standard.fairfa x.com.au