Health Minister Adrian Dix in Kamloops, Feb 8, 2024 (Image credit: CFJC Today)

By Adrian Dix, Minister of Health

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SOUND OFF: Enhancing cancer care in Kamloops

Feb 14, 2024 | 10:30 AM

ENHANCING ACCESS TO CANCER CARE services for people in British Columbia is a top health care priority of our government. This past week, I was in Kamloops to announce the business plan approval for the new BC Cancer Centre at Royal Inland Hospital.

Normally, business planning takes approximately 18 months, but our incredible team and partners were able to complete this stage just seven months after the approval of the concept plan last May.

This is an exciting step forward in our work to increase access to cancer care for people in Kamloops and the surrounding area.

The approval of the business plan means that we are now in the procurement phase, with construction expected to start next year and be complete in 2028. The new five-storey facility will be built on the Westlands site on the Royal Inland Hospital campus. It will include:

• Radiation therapy planning
• CT Simulator
• An outpatient ambulatory care unit including 10 exam rooms and two consult rooms
• A net new MRI suite with intravenous preparation space
• Three linear accelerator vaults
• Patient arrival and check-in space
• A sacred space for patients, caregivers, and staff with features to support traditional ceremonies planned in collaboration with Indigenous partners

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In addition to the new BC Cancer Centre, upgrades to the hospital have also been approved, including updating and expanding the pharmacy, new workstations and offices, relocation of the Community Oncology Clinic to the northwest wing, and a new parkade.

We are very happy to deliver this great news for people in Kamloops and the surrounding region. As the population grows and ages, the number of people diagnosed with cancer will increase. It is expected that there will be a 33% growth in incidence of cancer between 2021 and 2041 in Kamloops. In B.C., one in two people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime.

This is why our government is taking action to get patients the treatment they need – now and in the future. Last week’s announcement of business plan approval for the new cancer care centre is a critical milestone for this crucial project. Through our government’s 10-year Cancer Care Action Plan, we will continue to make improvements in supporting health-care providers, building new cancer care centres, and adding state-of-the-art equipment across the province.

Investments like the new BC Cancer Centre will bring care closer to home for people in the Kamloops and surrounding area, help accelerate treatment for people diagnosed with cancer and help thousands more survive their cancer diagnosis.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.