The Ministry of Health won't broaden access to PET scans for cancer detection any time soon, Minister George Smitherman's press secretary said on Monday.
"Our priority is in providing access to MRI and CT scanners," Laurel Ostfield said. "It's not likely we'll broaden access to PET scanners in the short term."
All three machines produce images that give doctors a look inside the body. According to Wikipedia, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) scanners generate two-dimensional cross-sections of tissue and three-dimensional reconstructions. MRI images are more detailed.
The PET (positron emission tomography) scanner tracks a tracer called fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) that's been injected in the bloodstream. The FDG used by most centres isn't approved by Health Canada for routine clinical use, but may be used for research purposes. The scanner is particularly useful for finding out how much a cancer has spread. "Tumours jump right out," said David Olinoski, president of Care Imaging in Mississauga.
Currently, there are seven hospitals in Ontario that have PET scanners: Princess Margaret, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton Health Science, St. Joseph's Health Care (London), St. Joseph's Healthcare (Hamilton), The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In mid-May, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre will get one.
Cancer patients who want a PET scan have two options. Their doctor can refer them to a hospital that is doing clinical trials or taking part in a registry study. In this case, OHIP pays the fee. Or a patient can go to Carel Imaging, a private clinic in Mississauga, and pay up to $2,360. "We've never turned anyone away because they can't afford to pay," said Carel's Olinoski.
In the future, the Ministry may pay for patients to have a PET scan in the same way it pays for CT scans and colonoscopies. "We're looking forward to the conclusion of the clinical trials," Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters in Sudbury on April 11.
McGuinty gave a snapshot of health care spending in Ontario. In the last four years, he said, spending has increased by 37 per cent. In the same time span, the province has doubled the money it spends on cancer drugs.
"We have to be careful how we spend the money."
