Some cancer patients in Taupo will now have easier access to treatment, closer to home

Taupo Hospital's chemotherapy clinic is now running two days a week - following an expansion of services.

Health Minister Simeon Brown says chemo and immunotherapy treatments in Taupo for the first half of this year are up almost 40-percent on last year.

He says the long-term goal is to expand chemotherapy services at Taupo Hospital to five days a week, as demand continues to grow.