Cancer patients in Windsor-Essex will not have much longer to wait to get a PET or CT scan locally.
Windsor Regional Hospital said its highly-anticipated PET-CT scanner is scheduled to be installed Saturday at its cancer centre. This scanner will make it possible for hundreds of local cancer patients to get their necessary screenings without having to travel to London or Toronto.
The scanner, which is replacing an older, outdated model the hospital already has, was supposed to arrive Friday morning. However, a paperwork snafu at the border put the brakes on those plans, according to Steve Erwin, manager of corporate communications, government and community relations at Windsor Regional Hospital.
"The postponement was related to incomplete documentation from the trucking company for the shipment at the border," said Erwin. "This is being rectified."
The scanner will be installed in a unit at the cancer centre, which will house the new diagnostic suite. Construction on that had been going on for several months.
CEO David Musyj told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com in February that it used to be up to the hospital to fund capital costs like PET/CT scanners. Now, changes at the provincial level mean that cost will be picked up by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Cancer Care Ontario.
“We were lucky enough, as a region, to need a new replacement of a PET/CT and the government of Ontario came forward, and Cancer Care Ontario said ‘You’re going to be the first’,” said Musyj.
A PET, also known as a positronic emission tomography scan, creates 3D images showing how cells work in the body. A CT scan, or computed tomography, uses special X-ray equipment to produce pictures of the inside of the body. Both are standard for helping diagnose cancers.
When the new regional mega-hospital is built, the scanner will be moved there.
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
