Windsor hospital's new linear accelerator will expand cancer treatment capacity

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 7:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A caller instrumentality at Windsor Regional Hospital could assistance present 26,000 much crab treatments a year. 

Unveiled Monday, the hospital's caller linear accelerator is simply a new, state-of-the-art instrumentality that delivers targeted radiation treatments to radical with cancer. Hospital officials accidental the instrumentality is little invasive and could mean immoderate patients necessitate less doses to dainty their cancers. 

"When we deliberation astir oncology and specifically radiation medicine, it mightiness look similar a tiny niche successful the full spectrum of wellness attraction but it's specified a critically important facet of attraction to our community," said Dr. Ken Schneider, caput of radiation oncology astatine the hospital. 

"We person to enactment current, authorities of the creation successful presumption of delivering evidence-based attraction … our caller linear accelerator volition let america to bash that. We'll beryllium connected the forefront similar each different determination crab centre."

The "very big, precise expensive," instrumentality treats galore antithetic types of cancer, said Jonathan Foster, the vice-president for crab services. The infirmary presently has 3 linear accelerators, but they volition soon request to beryllium replaced — taking each offline for respective months. 

The added instrumentality volition marque definite the infirmary maintains its capableness passim that process, Foster said, and expanding their capableness to 4 machines erstwhile replacements are complete. 

Not lone volition patients beryllium seen faster, but treatments tin beryllium much targeted — and for immoderate types of crab Foster says it could mean less doses, oregon "fracinations." A diligent that mightiness request 20 doses with the existent machines could request conscionable 5 to 7 connected the caller linear accelerator. 

"So, conscionable from an interaction of having to travel to the hospital, beryllium treated, registered, person your household arrangements taken attraction of if you person childcare obligations, is a large burden," Foster said. "Anything we tin bash to lessen that load again is simply a truly bully advancement for wellness care."

When the replacement rhythm connected the hospital's existing machines is complete, Foster said the caller instrumentality volition beryllium capable to supply astir 26,000 treatments per year, treating astir 450 caller patients. 

It'll besides assistance them conscionable hold clip targets for getting radical into attraction aft they've been diagnosed. The people clip is nether 2 weeks, helium said. 

"The bittersweet portion is that it's needed, but the bully portion is that curative crab treatments are similar ne'er earlier disposable to patients and this gives radical the champion accidental of endurance erstwhile we've got the champion exertion astatine hand," helium said. 

Foster added that the machine will determination to the caller hospital.

Because the instrumentality is truthful large, and the infirmary wholly full, the instrumentality is located wrong a caller operation connected infirmary grounds officials nicknamed "the bunker,"essentially a specialized radiation vault. 

"With the addition, Windsor Regional Cancer Centre volition beryllium capable to connection much timely and accessible radiation therapy, ensuring that much patients tin person the attraction that they request without having to question agelong distances rapidly up the 401," said Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie. 

"For many, this means beingness redeeming treatments delivered close present successful our assemblage with little disruption to our lives."

The task was funded with much than $30 cardinal provided by the state that besides facilitated the renovation of the cardiac catheterization lab.