Hope still remains for radiation therapy at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook following a closed door meeting with BC Cancer officials in mid-July.
While the content of closed door meetings are confidential, David Wilks, the chair of the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board, says he will continue to press the province for radiation therapy services, even as a provincial election looms in October.
"I say there is still hope; I have not heard no from anyone," said Wilks. "Anyone we have spoken to, either publicly or not publicly, has never said no. And so, I will continue to lobby for this."
Local officials have been pushing for the inclusion of radiation therapy services into a new planned building at EKRH that will hold new oncology and renal departments. Given that the new two-storey building will be built on vacant land on the northeast side of the hospital complex, local officials have been campaigning to include infrastructure necessary for radiation therapy in the basement of the building, which requires specialized bunkers or vaults.
"I think we are making a grave error if we don't at least look at it when we're doing a new build, so lets see what happens in the future," Wilks added.
Two questions the board has identified in the past revolve around specific costs for radiation therapy infrastructure as well as the number of cancer patients in the East Kootenay that are accessing radiation therapy service through the BC Cancer network, particularly in Kelowna.
BC Cancer did not provide those cost estimates following a media request from the Townsman.
"To deliver radiation therapy, a facility must have a linear accelerator, purpose-built vault and specialized health professionals such as radiation therapists and radiation oncologists," according to a response from B.C. Cancer. " As the vault must be custom built according to the specific requirements of the equipment, surrounding facilities and other factors, we cannot provide a cost estimate."
Business plans were recently completed for new B.C. Cancer facilities in Kamloops and Nanaimo.
The business plan for the new oncology and renal building at EKRH was submitted to the province in December 2023, but the window is still open to include radiation therapy infrastructure into it, said Wilks.
The province hasn't returned to the board to indicate how much money it will provide for the new EKRH building, as health care capital project costs are typically shared at 60 per cent by the province and 40 per cent by local taxpayers who live within the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District's jurisdiction.
"They haven't finalized it and they've been sitting on it for just about a year now. so my hope is from me speaking with [Health] Minister Dix on several occasions that if there were four oncology units that could be built in the province, that he would then look at Cranbrook," said Wilks, referencing the province's pledge to build new BC Cancer facilities in Kamloops, Burnaby, Nanaimo and Surrey.
"Those four have been committed to."
However, with a looming provincial election on the horizon, the future for radiation therapy in Cranbrook remains a bit murky pending the outcome.
"I'm hoping with an election coming on, depending on what happens on October 19, depending on who gets in power, may change things. I don't know," Wilks said. "And then we still have that dead zone probably until the new year when everything can get going, but there is an opportunity."
According to data provided by BC Cancer, there were 263 East Kootenay patients who required radiation therapy treatment from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, with 94 per cent of those patients accessing radiation therapy services in Kelowna.
That's a modest increase from the 2022/23 fiscal year, which saw 250 patients from the East Kootenay seeking radiation therapy services in B.C.
While the campaign to bring radiation therapy services to the East Kootenay remains ongoing, the province recently beefed up funding towards travel programs that support cancer patients.
On Aug. 7, the province announced $20 million over two years to the Canadian Cancer Society to support travel and lodging for cancer patients, which follows a $10 million commitment made last year.
"To ensure all cancer patients can access treatment, we're continuing to collaborate with the Canadian Cancer Society to further expand their medical travel and accommodation programs in B.C.," said Adrian Dix, Minister of Heath, in a news release. "Already, thousands of patients and caregivers have benefited from the expansion of their programs since last year. Now, even more cancer patients who need to travel for care can focus on their treatment without the added worry of costs and travel arrangements."
According to the province, 1,398 cancer patients from 249 communities received travel-support funding through the Canadian Cancer Society Travel Treatment Fund in 2023-24, representing a 742% increase from the previous year.
