It’s a state-of-the-art cancer diagnosing tool but there are none in B.C. outside of Vancouver.
The BC Cancer Foundation is half way toward the goal of $5 million to purchase a PET/ CT scanner for the Southern Interior Cancer Clinic in Kelowna.
An annual lunch Wednesday in Kelowna brought in $150K for the fundraising campaign. Click here to donate.
“So many of our patients come from a huge geographical region in the Southern Interior, as far away at the Alberta border. For them just to get to Kelowna to see an oncologist is one thing but then to have to tell them that now they have to travel even further to the Lower Mainland for a PET scan, it’s an insurmountable challenge for so many people,” radiation oncologist Dr. Sarah Lucas said.
The Canadian Cancer Society states 1 in 3 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 70.
Close to 1,000 patients across the Southern Interior will require a PET/ CT scan this year, according to the BC Cancer Foundation, representing a 200 per cent increase since 2009.
Right now, there are 77,000 people living with cancer in B.C., according to the Foundation.
Dr. Lucas said the two Vancouver PET/ CT scanners are currently working at 120 per cent capacity.
Positron emission tomography (PET) uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, a special camera and a computer to help evaluate organ and tissue functions, according to radiologyinfo.org. By identifying body changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before it is evident on other imaging tests.
PET and PET/CT scans are performed to:
- detect cancer
- determine whether a cancer has spread in the body
- assess the effectiveness of a treatment plan, such as cancer therapy
- determine if a cancer has returned after treatment
- determine blood flow to the heart muscle
- determine the effects of a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, on areas of the heart
- identify areas of the heart muscle that would benefit from a procedure such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery (in combination with a myocardial perfusion scan)
- evaluate brain abnormalities, such as tumors, memory disorders, seizures and other central nervous system disorders
- map normal human brain and heart function