With the execution of new scanning machines at the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre of Excellence for Functional Cancer Imaging, the commencement of number of screening tests is expected to rise.

The centre already has one Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) machine and another has been launched. With the launch, the number of scans is believed to rise from the limit of 3,100 to 6,200 every year.

The new machine is priced at $3.2 million and the yearly expenditure on the working of the machine amounts to $1.5 million, which will be financed by the Provincial Health Services Authority.

The machine, which scans entire body, is helpful for medical professionals, as apart from cancer, it is capable of detecting various other diseases. The machine will provide an even more early-detection of the disease to a large population followed by an immediate treatment and cure.

As per Margaret MacDiarmid, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors to the Minister of Health, “Having the best diagnostic tools available ensures patients in B. C. continue to have some of the best cancer outcomes in the country, and health professionals have the technological support needed to provide effective cancer treatment”.