$50M cyclotron will help cancer patients in southern Alberta, Shandro says

After about a decade of doctors advocating for it, Calgary will geta cyclotron and radio-pharmaceutical facility to improve both access and treatment for cancer patients.

Funding for the $50-million project was earmarked in the provincial budget, with $18.6million set aside over the next three years to start building the project at the Foothills Medical Centre.

Calgary relies on Edmonton's cyclotron for the medical isotopes used during PET-CT scans, which allow doctors to detect and monitor cancer.However, outages and an inconsistent supply have led to testing delays.

Minister of Health Tyler Shandro said at a press conference Thursday that these agents also have a short half-lifeand that only 25 per centcan actually be used after being shipped to Calgary.

"It's vital that we have access to robust tools which can help diagnosis medicalproblems or find tumours as quickly as possible and then to guide thetarget treatment," he said.

The facility will also produce a consistentsupply of radio-pharmaceuticals, which is a special class of drug that can help diagnose and treat many types of cancers, bone disease, strokes, epilepsy and dementia, according to a release.

"A new radio-pharmaceutical facilityalso means that Calgary will be able to spark new, cutting edge research and to create unique radio isotopes," Shandro said.

Shandronotedthe investment in this project will also help with other research initiatives and possibly attract scientists and medicalexperts from around the globe.

Brett Wilson, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, says that six years ago a PET-CT scan was used to discoverhe had five active tumoursdespite an MRIconcluding he had nothing "remarkable" to worry about.

Wilson says he's gone through four rounds of cancer treatment and has had to go to B.C. and Montreal to get access toa cyclotron for diagnosis.

"Bringing thecyclotron to southern Alberta will save lives," he said. "With these sort of tools, we can offer that to men sufferingfrom recurring prostate cancer in Calgaryand southern Alberta."

According to the release,final dates for construction are stillbeing set, but the project is expected to be completed in either 2024 or 2025.