File photo (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

DONORS COME FORWARD

Kamloops donors lining up to fund PET-CT scanner as Province remains unwilling

Jun 30, 2025 | 5:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — Residents and politicians in the Kamloops-area are asking the Province for equitable health care when it comes to the new Kamloops Cancer Centre.

It comes as the long-awaited cancer centre in Kamloops, which is expected to break ground this summer, will be the only one out of four currently being built that will not be equipped with a PET-CT scanner.

“Its extremely disappointing that every single city in British Columbia that is having a new cancer centre built or a renovation is getting a new PET-CT except for Kamloops,” said Mike O’Reilly, Thompson Regional Hospital District Chair. “To us that is extremely frustrating as it’s something our residents need, and it’s something we have been advocating for.”

With the Province showing no signs that it will change course before shovels are in the ground, there are local donors lining up to try and ensure that Kamloops residents get the best care possible they can close to home.

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“[Donors called and] they asked what does a PET-CT cost? Why don’t we just buy one?” added Heidi Coleman, the CEO of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation. “But just buy one is maybe the easiest part, where are we going to put it?”

“If they will build us that bunker, the hole in the ground, then yes I think we could definitely fundraise for a PET-CT. I know they come in all different prices, so we would just have to get the firm price. And maybe that is what we are going to have to do.”

The importance of building a space for the PET-CT scanner now comes down to timelines, as the next major capital renovation at Royal Inland Hospital scheduled for 2040.

“If we don’t have the space our next major capital build at Royal Inland Hospital will not be for at best 13 years,” added O’Reilly. “So that is a very long time between getting the services we need for our residents now and when it actually may be built.”

While health officials in Kamloops are not giving up on the belief that the Province should foot the bill for the PET-CT scanner, they say at the bare minimum that empty bunker should be included in the design.

“We would like it to be the same as Nanaimo and the same as other cities, I don’t know why Kamloops sometimes is different,” added Coleman. “But we are going to have to, we will do it. We are here for a short time on the planet, and we need the best healthcare possible for whatever years we have left to live. We need a PET-CT here in Kamloops.”

Construction on the Kamloops Cancer Centre is scheduled to begin this summer, and O’Reilly says it’s not too late to correct course.

“That is our ask and that is our hope,” he said. “It’s not just myself as chair and our board, it is our residents, it’s First Nations, its leaders throughout municipalities in our hospital district that want this PET-CT scanner.”

“We hope the provincial government will listen to our duly elected officials and our residents.”