(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
August 19, 2020 - 10:48 AM
A new, state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner is being set up in the B.C. Cancer centre in Kelowna.
Until now, people living in the Interior Health region had to travel to the Lower Mainland for such scans. Last year, 1,151 people made the trip from the region. When fully operational, the equipment will be able to scan 2,000 people a year.
"The new PET/CT scanner in Kelowna will be a game changer for patients in our region,” Susan Brown, president and CEO of Interior Health, said in a news release. “It will support better care and shorter waits for people right here in the Interior by providing faster diagnostics, closer to home."
The total project cost is $10.5 million, with more than $5.3 million provided by the B.C. Cancer Foundation and about $5.2 million from the Ministry of Health.
“A PET/CT scanner is a critical component of enhanced cancer care,” the news release states. “It delivers precise images of abnormal or cancerous cells. These images can help physicians diagnose cancer at an early stage or evaluate the effectiveness of treatments by determining if a patient's cancer tumours have shrunk, spread or returned.”
About half of the residents in B.C. will get a cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes, the news release states.
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