August 25, 2006

A new $2.5-million linear accelerator and treatment vault that provides CancerCare Manitoba with additional treatment capacity was officially opened today by Healthy Living Minister Theresa Oswald.

A linear accelerator is a radiation therapy unit which uses X-ray or electron beams to destroy or shrink cancer cells.

“Manitoba Health is committed to upgrading and improving equipment so medical staff and patients have access to the most up-to-date machines available,” said Oswald. “Modernizing and strengthening our medical technology infrastructure has helped stabilize wait lists and has been an important pillar of government’s wait-time reduction plan.”

“While wait times have been significantly reduced for radiation therapy, CancerCare Manitoba is committed, through this and many other initiatives, to working with our partners in health care to reduce them further for the whole cancer experience,” said Kathy Suderman, provincial director of CancerCare Manitoba’s Radiation Therapy Program.

The accelerator will bring CancerCare Manitoba’s complement of linear accelerators to seven, furthering CancerCare’s ability to reduce radiation therapy wait times for Manitobans.

In 1994-95 there were 30,852 radiation therapy treatments. In 2005-06 there were 43,995. This increase is due to a rise in cancer incidence and prevalence, as well as changes in treatment procedures. More than 63 per cent of all cancer patients referred to CancerCare Manitoba receive radiation therapy.

Today's announcement builds on the provincial government’s commitment to reduce wait times. The wait time for radiation therapy has been reduced from eight weeks in 1999 to one week in 2006.

Adding equipment accessories, installation and treatment vault costs brought the total spent on the accelerator to approximately $5 million.

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