Those battling cancer who live in the Interior will now have access to a new, state of the art PET/CT scanner at BC Cancer – Kelowna.
Until now, patients who lived in Kelowna and the surrounding area had to travel to the Lower Mainland to receive cancer-related PET/CT scans. BC Cancer – Vancouver conducted 1,151 scans on patients who had travelled from the Interior Health region. The new Kelowna PET/CT scanner is expected to perform more than 2,000 scans per year once fully operational.
“Approximately half of British Columbians are expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, and timely, effective diagnostics are a critically important part of cancer care and treatment,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.
“The expansion of BC Cancer’s provincial PET/CT program to include Kelowna means cancer patients in the Interior will receive better care services closer to home.”
A PET/CT scanner provides enhanced cancer care, it delivers precise images of cancerous and abnormal cells which can help physicians diagnose cancer at an early stage or evaluate treatment effectiveness.
“PET/CT imaging is a very sensitive and specific scanning method to detect cancer,” said Dr. Kim Chi, vice-president and chief medical officer, BC Cancer.
“More and more, PET scanning is quickly becoming an important and critical tool to diagnose, stage and assess treatment response for a number of different cancers. This enables us, as oncologists, to best design and personalize a treatment plan for our patients. Thus, timely access to PET scanning is required to enable high-quality cancer care.”
The total project cost is $10.5 million, more than $5.3 million of which was provided by the BC Cancer Foundation with support from over 2,100 donors. Approximately $5.2 million was provided by the Ministry of Health through the Provincial Health Services Authority.
“Today marks a significant milestone for families facing cancer in B.C.’s Interior communities,” said Sarah Roth, chief executive officer of the BC Cancer Foundation.
“Thanks to our generous BC Cancer Foundation donors and investment from our government, BC Cancer has brought world-class diagnostics closer to home.”
