Just over a month after officially opening its doors, the B.C. Cancer Agency Centre for the North is seeing higher patient volumes than anticipated.
The second linear accelerator was put into service ahead of schedule and the B.C. Cancer Agency (BCCA) has put out job advertisements for two new positions that weren't foreseen to be required until later in the ramp up.
"The first few weeks have been busy," the centre's lead radiation oncologist Dr. Stacy Miller said Friday. "It's been a really exciting time for us. It's been a bit busier than expected, I think it's just the pace that's been a faster uptake than we anticipated."
Northern Health chairman Charles Jago described the new centre as a "stunning facility" while addressing the health authority's board meeting this week. Jago said he's pleased the centre is so busy because it justified the need for more cancer care in the region, but he's also saddened that it means so many people in the region are dealing with the disease.
Despite the fact the referrals came in quicker than what was expected, Miller said the BCCA was ready to handle the increased patient load.
"We're excited that the referring physicians bringing cases to our attention," she said. "We're able to treat people in the north and we haven't needed to send people to other cancer centres to have their treatment."
By having radiation oncologists in Prince George in the years leading up to the opening of the centre, local physicians were able to build stronger relationships with the BCCA, which Miller said may have led to more referrals early on.
"When we've opened other cancer centres, often there's a more gradual increase in the utilization in the community as people get accustomed to the cancer centre being there," Miller said. "Now that we're open, we're seeing the benefits of having established those lines of communications and relationships."
Miller thanked all the referring physicans as well as the University Hospital of Northern B.C. for helping make the first month of the cancer centre a success.
The BCCA had to balance the resources available with the needs in the community when deciding to fire up the second linear accelerator just three weeks after the centre opened.
"When we opened that second machine, we could reduce wait times for the patients," Miller said, "Many of our patients - up to 50 per cent - are from two hours or more away so if we open a second unit we have more flexibility to bring a patient in who may need urgent or palliative treatment, see them, plan their treatment and start to provide their treatment right away."
With the two accelerators currently running 6 1/2 hours a day each, Miller said there's still more room to increase capacity in the future, if needed. Miller and her colleagues at the BCCA will meet in late January to go over the numbers during the start up phase and decide on what future staffing levels might look like.
