Bulletin

Radiation Therapy wait-time guarantee

October 19, 2009

Construction of a new radiation therapy bunker has begun in Sydney at the Cape Breton Cancer Centre. The new bunker will house a new linear accelerator that will boost the centre's capacity to treat cancer patients who need radiation therapy.

The bunker is part of the Radiation Therapy Wait-Time Guarantee project - a partnership between Nova Scotia and the federal government which led to Canada's first wait-time guarantee.

Under that agreement, Nova Scotia received $24.2 million from the federal government to improve treatment capacity for cancer patients. With an aging population, it's expected the need for this treatment will grow and Nova Scotia is preparing for that. By March 2010, when the guarantee takes effect, cancer patients in Nova Scotia needing radiation therapy will begin treatment within eight weeks of their ready-to-treat date or arrangements will be made for them to get it elsewhere.

Nova Scotia has also formed a partnership with other Atlantic Canadian provinces to help meet this guarantee. Other provinces are adding capacity to meet the growing demand for this treatment.