Sault Area Hospital’s new radiation therapy equipment for cancer patients is expected to be operational by August according to a SAH social media post.
That’s a month later than originally announced.
“The LINAC project is approximately three weeks delayed from the initial project schedule. This delay is due to some construction work taking longer than originally planned,” wrote SAH spokesperson Brandy Sharp Young in an email to SooToday on Wednesday.
The term LINAC refers to a linear accelerator, the most commonly used machine for radiation therapy in cancer patients.
SAH’s social media post states that the unit has been successfully installed and that the commissioning process of testing the machine and training staff is underway.
The new radiation treatment unit’s becoming operational will be a welcome development for Sault and area cancer patients.
SAH announced in November 2023 that patients requiring radiation treatment or radiation/chemotherapy would be sent to the Shirley and Jim Fielding Northeast Cancer Centre (NECC) in Sudbury for treatment beginning Feb. 11, 2024. Patients who were already receiving treatment on Feb. 11 were also referred to the NECC in Sudbury.
Under Cancer Care Ontario rules, radiation treatment units must be replaced every 12 years.
SAH’s existing unit was due for replacement.
The cost of the new machinery is $2.25 million and is funded by Cancer Care Ontario. Community donations to the Sault Area Hospital Foundation have supported additional costs related to the project.
Apart from regular radiation treatments, the new state-of-the-art equipment will enable SAH to deliver Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy that aims extremely precise, very high doses of radiation at cancer cells in the spine and prostate while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
The number of patients who require Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy will no longer have to travel to the NECC in Sudbury in the future.
The Algoma District Cancer Program (ADCP) has provided radiation therapy services locally since 2011. From 2011 to 2022, SAH provided treatment to 4,458 cases, an average of 371 cases per year.
Approximately 90 per cent of patients needing radiation treatment have received it locally since 2011 though some patients requiring specialized treatment had to receive it at other hospitals outside the Sault.