We are half-way there...

PET/CT scanners are a critical tool in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Their precise imaging technology can help tell a doctor if a lump or a lesion is cancerous or not. This specific information helps doctors adjust treatment plans based on the results, and can often save patients from unnecessary radiation, surgery and biopsies. Currently, there are two publicly funded PET/CT scanners in the province. They are located at BC Cancer’s Vancouver centre, which is a long trip for those in the Southern Interior. “Travel like that can be an incredible burden,” says Dr. Ross Halperin, regional medical director at BC Cancer’s Sindi Ahluwalia Centre for the Southern Interior. “Patients who need a PET scan are often patients with cancer, so they are sick.” In early September, the BC Cancer Foundation launched a campaign to raise $5 million to purchase a PET/CT scanner for the Kelowna centre, which serves people from the Boundary, Cariboo, Kootenay, Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson regions. And thanks to a great community response so far, the good news is we are halfway there. Demand for PET/CT scans has grown in recent years and is now well above the annual capacity of the two provincial machines. That means funds are urgently needed to provide better access for Southern Interior patients. “It is essential. This tool spans the gamut,” says Dr. Halperin of the use of PET scanners. “PET scans are useful in the entire spectrum of cancer services.” BC Cancer radiation oncologist Dr. Sarah Lucas explains that PET scanners help to diagnose cancer by differentiating a benign tumour from a potentially malignant tumour; they help to stage the cancer by determining how advanced the disease is (how far it has spread); they help to evaluate the efficacy of treatment by determining if there is residual cancer after surgery, chemotherapy or radiation; and they are often used in follow-up to ensure the cancer hasn’t returned. “Having a PET scanner in Kelowna means that patients in the southern interior would be more likely to receive optimal care without having to travel long distances,” “Physicians would be better equipped to diagnose and treat cancer patients using the information that a PET/CT scanner would provide.”