The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation revealed today that Irving Oil was the final $500,000 donor to Atlantic Canada’s first PET/CT Scanner. The successful PET/CT Scanner campaign raised over $4.5 million in total.

 

“All of us at Irving Oil are proud that we could make a contribution to bring the first PET/CT Scanner east of Montreal here to Saint John,” said Arthur Irving, Jr. “We want to express our thanks to the dedicated and experienced physicians, nurses and other practitioners who will use this technology, and who deliver excellent medical care to our community on a daily basis. Having this scanner available in Saint John improves our quality of life and gives our medical professionals the latest tool to diagnose and treat people in our community.”

 

Irving Oil’s donation was provided through the company’s “Fuel the Care” program, which helps families of sick children by providing fuel vouchers for the drive between home and hospital for medical care. The program has helped more than 10,000 families since its launch in 2002.

 

“Several tumors and diseases are unique to the pediatric age group and are different from adult applications,” says Dr. John Whelan, Clinical Department Head, Diagnostic Imaging, Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation.  “The diagnostic sensitivity of PET/CT is unparalleled and provides functional information that permits specialists to change a treatment to find the best course of cancer care.”

Applications for children include Brain Tumours, Sarcomatous Lesions, Neuroblastoma, and Lymphoma.  The scanner enables cancer patients to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures, show whether treatment is working or if tumour has spread beyond being treatable, and detect recurrence.

“This is technology that advances cancer diagnosis and health care more than any other medical equipment in 50 years,” says Grant Brennan, chair, PET/CT Challenge Campaign. “It increases the chances of effective treatment, reduces the amount of testing, and lessons the anxiety of the child and the stress of families.”

Before the scanner acquisition New Brunswickers had to travel to the U.S. or to Sherbrooke, Quebec to have access.

“It’s a powerful diagnostic imaging tool that detects cancer at a microscopic level,” says William H. Teed, Q.C., Chair of the Board of Directors for Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation. “Thanks to the generosity of our community, government and local businesses, Saint John Regional Hospital is at the forefront of cancer detection and treatment.”

Contact:

Stephanie Bell

Communications Manager

Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation

648-6410

Jennifer Parker

Public Affairs

Irving Oil

202-2992

Fuel the Care
Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program helps with fuel costs incurred by families who drive between home and hospital for their children’s medical care. Families benefiting from Fuel the Care receive Irving Oil gift certificates, redeemable at all Irving Bluecanoe, Mainway and Big Stop locations.  In Atlantic Canada, Fuel the Care partners with the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick, the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre in Newfoundland, and the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia. Together, these hospitals treat children from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

 

PET/CT
PET/CT combines two complementary state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging technologies – the PET scanner and the CT scanner.  It involves the injection of a mild radioactive pharmaceutical into patients.  In the case of cancer patients the radioactive material is suspended in glucose which concentrates in areas of high metabolism.  Cancer tumors have a higher metabolic rate than other tissue so tumors virtually light up when a PET image is taken.  A CT image combined in the same machine clearly illustrates the anatomy so that both the tumor and its precise location are clearly illustrated.  PET/CT will change conventional cancer care. It is expected that 300 scans will be performed in its first year of operation.