Provincial cash gives boost to radiation therapy

The plan to buy new cancer-fighting technology is back on track after the province announced a $10.1-million cash infusion yesterday.

Hospitals in Halifax and Cape Breton will receive four new radiation-therapy bunkers and two advanced linear accelerators. The QEII Foundation is also kicking off a campaign to raise $4 million for technology improvements.

Doctors say the new machines allow them to “sculpt” radiation around tumours far more precisely while limiting damage to healthy cells. This allows them to increase the dosage and kill cancer more effectively, while reducing side-effects and the chance of cancer reoccurring.

But the machines may not lower wait times so much as keep them from growing worse.

“The wait times here are within the national benchmarks. However, they’re right at the stage where that could change because they’re at capacity and the number of people who have cancer and have need for this therapy is growing,” said Health Minister Maureen MacDonald.

“We are in danger, as cancer increases and more people need therapy, with the aging equipment that we have of falling behind the benchmarks.”

The equipment will not be fully installed until 2012. From then on, MacDonald said they could clear two people off wait lists each day. This should lead to some wait-time improvements, especially for people on the lower half of priority.

Dr. Casely Tetteh Ago, chief of radiation oncology for Capital Health, said he is thrilled to finally have the machines coming. He said they will have a great impact, but technologically Nova Scotia is still just catching up to other provinces and countries.

The machines were originally announced in March of 2007 with the federal government giving $24 million and district health authorities throwing in another $5 million. But when it eventually came time to buy the equipment, costs had ballooned and the feds wouldn’t add any more money. Provincial cabinet decided last Thursday to fund the gap.