Northern B.C. is home to a brand new cancer treatment centre, but some patients still must travel across the province for diagnostic tests.
Breast cancer survivor Sheryl Hanula moved to Prince George this summer from the Lower Mainland and expected her post-cancer care to go seamlessly in her new hometown. Her oncologist has requested she get digital mammograms every three to four months to quickly detect if the cancer comes back and Hanula expected to be able to get those tests done in Prince George.
"When I got here I was told, no I can't have my mammograms here because they only have an analog machine, they don't have a digital diagnostic machine," Hanula said. "I still have to go back to Vancouver."
It's not a cheap proposition to head to Vancouver three or four times a year for a test which only takes minutes to complete and Hanula is even more upset because her physician in the Lower Mainland had told her she would be able to get the digital tests done in Prince George.
"It kind of makes me a bit angry," she said. "If I'd known before we'd moved here we might not have moved here as quickly."
Diagnostic tests fall under the purview of Northern Health rather than the BC Cancer Agency and the health agency said the closest digital mammogram to Prince George is located in Fort St. John. It was installed when the hospital in the Peace Region was replaced last year.
Northern Health spokeswoman Eryn Collins said the diagnostic mammogram equipment at University Hospital of Northern B.C. was purchased in 2006 and consists of a film-based unit with a digital plate - which is different from a fully digital device.
"The equipment at UHNBC is not by any means at the end of its life or really significantly outdated," Collins said. "It's not slated for replacement in the immediate future. It's still being used for diagnostic work and is appropriate for diagnostic work."
The film-based unit was state of the art in 2006 and Collins said there are no plans to replace it until it reaches the end of it's normal operational period. A new digital unit would cost about $800,000.
"As equipment reaches the end of its life cycle and it's replaced, it's replaced with the most up-to-date technology that hopes are will carry us through to the end of that equipment's life cycle," Collins said.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, Hanula received her treatment in Vancouver. She said her oncologist requested the digital scans because it's easier to spot a mass when looking at them and they give off less radiation than their film-based counterparts.
"Having a mammogram three or four times a year, you get exposed to a lot more radiation," Hanula said.
Collins agreed exposure to radiation is one reason why a practitioner might prescribe a digital test rather than on that is film-based. She said physicians also often prefer to compare "like to like" images, which in Hanula's case would be digital to digital. However Collins said Northern Health isn't sure how often patients are sent out of town for digital mammograms.
"It's difficult when we're talking about a specific patient case where a certain course of follow up has been recommended by their caregivers," Collins said. "There could be unique circumstances."
For her part, Hanula would like to see better communication between health authorities, physicians and the B.C. Cancer Agency about what equipment is available where. In the meantime she's hoping that her oncologist will reduce the frequency of her tests.
"I'm hoping to be moved to every six months soon, so we'll wait and see," she said.
