Close X
Monday, October 7, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Health Minister says investment in nuclear medicine will expand cancer care

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Jan, 2024 04:06 PM
  • B.C. Health Minister says investment in nuclear medicine will expand cancer care

The British Columbia government is spending $32 million in advancement of nuclear medicine, to operate imaging equipment for cancer diagnosis and to expand research. 

The announcement comes just two years after a worldwide shortage of isotopes used in medical imaging machines that detect and monitor cancers. 

Health Minister Adrian Dix says construction is underway in Vancouver for a $21-million cyclotron and radiopharmacy laboratory to increase the production of radioactive isotopes, used in equipment that conducts PET and CT scans. 

Dix says the the equipment is a “critical tool” in fighting cancer and will help to ensure all patients in B.C. have “timely access” to the care they need.

The expanded access is part of B.C.'s 10-year cancer-care plan, and with a growing and aging population, Dix says the demand for cancer-care services is surging. 

Another $11 million in funding will go to the Triumf research centre, located at the University of B.C., to advance research in nuclear medicine.

Nigel Smith, CEO of the Triumf facility, says establishing expertise in cyclotron operations and isotope research "will have a profound impact in improving care for B.C. patients and positioning our province as the driving force in Canada's nuclear medicine research ecosystem." 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna
Police say a portion of the Coquihalla Connecter outside West Kelowna, B.C., is closed after a commercial truck carrying chemicals caught fire. West Kelowna RCMP say the eastbound lanes of Highway 97C were shut down Friday as fire crews doused the flames. 

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall
A confrontation inside a Surrey shopping mall has ended with one person seriously hurt and two others in custody. R-C-M-P say the were called late yesterday afternoon to reports of a fight inside the Guildford Town Centre mall.

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau embraced a more intimate form of Pacific Rim diplomacy Thursday as he sat down with several world leaders on the margins of a sprawling international summit in California. Even before all 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group could gather for their traditional family photo, Trudeau had already hosted meetings with Japan, Thailand and Australia, with plans to meet Mexico and Vietnam in the afternoon.  

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated
The Canadian government says that as of Wednesday afternoon, it was in touch with 386 people still in the besieged territory. Global Affairs Canada says, so far, 367 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have been able to escape via the Rafah border crossing, most recently including two people on Wednesday and 10 on Monday.

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby
Mounties in Burnaby say they're investigating after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle in the city Thursday morning. Burnaby R-C-M-P say officers attended the scene at 11 in the morning after reports that a female pedestrian was hit in the 43-hundred block of Hastings Street. 

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC
New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise. A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October.  

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC