New cancer centre coming to Nanaimo: B.C. Health Minister
If you live anywhere on Vancouver Island and get diagnosed with cancer, chances are you'll be making a trip to the South Island.
Victoria has the only cancer care centre on Vancouver Island, but there's a push to change that.
"People routinely have to drive the Malahat to go down to Victoria for their treatment and that could be several times a week," said Ian Thorpe, board chair of the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District.
As the province announces a new high acuity unit at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, the hospital district says it's also time to build a cancer centre.
"We serve a population north of the Malahat – through Nanaimo, North Island – a population greater than is served by the hospitals of Victoria," said Thorpe.
"And they have two hospitals and their level of staffing is way beyond what we have here," he said. "So the need is great."
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix says cancer diagnoses in the province will grow from 30,000 annually to 40,000 per year in the next decade.
"This is particularly true on Vancouver Island, which has a relatively older population and is facing more age-related cancer," he said.
Moving forward, Dix says Nanaimo "will be a centre for communities on the Mid- and North Island for cancer care."
That cancer care facility is currently in its planning stage, and no deadline has been announced by the province.
"It’s going to take a lot of money and a lot of effort, but the need is there and I think our community is really supportive of working toward that," said Thorpe.
Community members who are used to spending hours travelling and racking up mileage on their vehicles are looking forward to spending less time on the road and more time with their loved ones.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. Both weren't expecting to meet someone special the night they crossed paths at a bar in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.