New cancer scanner unveiled Friday at Oshawa Hospital
Published October 30, 2024 at 2:18 pm
Cancer patients routinely undergo a barrage of tests and treatment and since the opening of the Durham Region Cancer Centre at Oshawa Hospital in 2007 they have been able to get that treatment right here at home.
But while the hospital can provide full-service support to patients, one key imaging tool has been missing from the network’s arsenal of cancer care equipment: a positron emission tomography-computed tomography, or PET-CT.
Thanks to a fundraising drive and funding from Ontario Health and Lakeridge Health Foundation, this critical part of cancer treatment for many patients is now here and Lakeridge Health will be celebrating its arrival at a special ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning at the cancer centre’s Lecture Hall and Diagnostic Imaging Department.
Like CT and MRI tests, a PET-CT provides detailed, three-dimensional scans. But a PET-CT is also more sensitive than other imaging tests and can detect unusual or abnormal activity happening at the cellular level. It may also show changes in the body sooner, which is beneficial for diagnosing a reoccurrence of cancer.
A PET-CT measures the energy a cancer cell uses in comparison to normal cells. The more aggressive a cancer cell is, the more energy it consumes. Radiologists use these readings to determine important information about their patient’s cancer and help direct the right course of treatment.
There are 14 PET-CTs in Ontario, but patients have had to go to Toronto or Ottawa in the past to receive treatment.
The Durham Region Cancer Centre RCC is a 90,000 square-foot facility that has 28 chemotherapy spaces, six radiation machines, two CT simulators and one OR/Brachytherapy Suite, as well as a staff of 250 and about 75 volunteers who help support patients.
The centre is visited by about 500 people each day.
To learn more about Our Cancer Campaign, which launched in 2021, or donate to the PET-CT or other cancer care priorities visit www.ourcancer.ca.
Durham Regional Cancer Centre at Lakeridge Health Oshawa