On May 9th and 10th, Regional Cancer Care Northwest hosted it’s annual Community Oncology Professional Education Workshop (COPE) for 2024. Returning after a four-year hiatus, this workshop provided an opportunity for over 170 local and regional cancer care providers to share knowledge and expertise and to set the stage for exceptional, evidence informed care.
This year’s theme was ‘Catching Up After COVID’ and featured a variety of local, provincial and national speakers who are experts in cancer care. Sessions highlighted topics including serious illness conversations, concurrent therapy, remote treatment planning, and finding balance between life and work.
Shared on behalf of Jeannine Verdenik, Vice President, People and Culture
We have recently been informed that St. Joseph’s Care Group has made the difficult decision to close the Behavioural Sciences Centre (BSC) effective October 31, 2024. The BSC has been our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) provider for the past 27 years.
We have been assured that BSC will continue to operate status quo through to their closing date of October 31, 2024.
Our organization has begun the process of finding a new provider of EFAP services. We will provide you with important updates as they arise through the Daily iNformed Newsletter in the coming months as we transition to a new Employee Assistance Program provider.
Dr. Naana Jumah is an Obstetrician Gynaecologist and our Regional Cervical Screening and Colposcopy Lead for the North West region. Each day she sees patients in her clinic for a Pap test. A Pap test is a screening test that can detect changes on the cervix that may lead to cancer before people feel any symptoms. It is important that these changes are found and, if necessary, treated before they cause cervical cancer. Pap testing can be scary when patients don’t fully understand what their health care provider is looking for.
To help clear up some of the confusion, Dr. Jumah shares some of the most frequently asked questions she gets from her patients when they come for a Pap test.
Why is Pap testing done every three years instead of yearly?
Pap testing is done every three years and does not increase your risk of developing cervical cancer. On average, abnormal cells take 10 years to develop. By doing Pap tests every three years, we are still able to effectively screen for cervical cancer. We also decrease the number of individuals who have unnecessary tests and procedures that can be uncomfortable.
Does an abnormal Pap test result mean I have cancer?
No, an abnormal Pap test result does not mean you have cervical cancer. Pap tests look for pre-cancer changes on the cervix. These pre-cancer changes have no symptoms. With cervical cancer, people often notice irregular bleeding or abnormal discharge.
Why do I get a letter from Ontario Health – Cancer Care Ontario after my Pap?
Pap tests are part of the Ontario Cervical Screening Program (OCSP) that is run by Ontario Health-Cancer Care Ontario. The OCSP is an organized screening program that notifies patients when they are due for a Pap and about the results from a Pap test.
What is HPV?
HPV is short for human papillomavirus. It is the virus that causes changes on the cervix that can lead to cervical cancer. A Pap test does not look for HPV directly. Instead, a Pap test looks for cell changes caused by HPV.
How do you get HPV?
HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that is spread very easily. Approximately, 75 per cent of people who have had sexual touching or sexual intercourse have been exposed to HPV at some point in their life.
How do you manage HPV?
There are two ways to manage HPV:
Get immunized with the HPV vaccine. It is recommended that people get the HPV vaccine before becoming sexually active.
Get routine cervical screening and go for follow up if your Pap test is abnormal.
During the month of April, participate in Pap-A-Palooza by getting a Pap test. Pap-A-Palooza is a campaign that aims to increase awareness and encourage eligible individuals living in Northwestern Ontario to book a Pap test to be screened for cervical cancer. To find a participating clinic near you or to learn more about Pap-A-Palooza, visit tbrhsc.net/pap-a-palooza or call the Pap-A-Palooza Hotline at (807) 684-7787.
There are currently no blue STAXI or other wheelchairs in the Main Lobby for patients and others, forcing them to wait until a chair is returned before they can get to their appointments in the Hospital.
The blue Staxi wheelchairs were purchased through funds from the Hospital and the Volunteer Association for the volunteers to use for the transport of patients and others to and from the Main Lobby.
If you see any blue Staxi wheelchairs in or around your unit/department/an in-patient room, please see that they are returned to the Main Lobby as soon as possible or contact the volunteer at ext. 4304.
Your Impact: New PET Replaces Ageing Unit and Provides New Possibilities
When Thunder Bay got its first PET/CT scanner in 2008, it was a major accomplishment. We were one of the first hospitals in Ontario to get this advanced scanner – PET/CT wasn’t even approved for use in Ontario at the time except for research. It quickly became a very useful tool for diagnosing cancer as well as planning and monitoring treatments.
But 16 years is a long time in the medical technology world. The original unit was becoming obsolete and more prone to breakdowns. Community support has been overwhelming for the acquisition of this new technology – starting with Dancing with the Docs in November 2022, where over $250,000 was raised through the efforts of Trisha and Dr. Joseph Del Paggio, over 400 guests, and the 8 local doctors and 8 dancers who took part.
Sandra Willson, Manager of MRI, Ultrasound, and Nuclear Medicine at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, said the new unit isn’t just a replacement though – it represents a huge advance in technology.
“The real upgrade is the way that the software works with the PET/CT,” Willson said. Advanced features such as motion correction decrease blur, making the images clearer and easier to read.
Not only that, imaging and processing times will be faster. That means less time for patients, both in terms of lying still on the table and reviewing the images before they leave.
“Whereas it could take 15 minutes to process those images on the old scanner, now it might take one or two minutes. That means we will be able to scan more patients in an hour, and get those patients in and out faster,” Willson said.
PET/CT is a type of molecular imaging that uses medical radioisotopes, many made in our cyclotron. These radioisotopes light up cancer cells, allowing doctors and technologists to pinpoint tumours in the body.
The upgraded PET/CT scanner offers new imaging possibilities. Recently, our Hospital introduced a new PET imaging technique specifically for prostate cancer called Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA). This technique lights up cancer cells not detectable by other imaging methods to check for recurrence in some prostate cancer patients. In the future, the upgraded technology can also be used for cardiac PET/CT and expanded research capabilities including potential clinical trials, which would directly benefit patients.
“Having this new PET/CT scanner will increase our capacity not only in number of patients but also in technology and the number of ways we can use it,” she said.
What’s really exciting is that having both the new PET/CT and our cyclotron will offer many “build it and they will come” moments. New PET/CT imaging techniques for a wider array of cancers and other diseases are developed every year. Having our own cyclotron to produce many of those custom radioisotopes opens up more possibilities for diagnostic imaging and research.
You helped bring this new and vital technology to our Hospital! This is just one example of how your purchase of Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets brings closer-to-home healthcare to our region. Buy your tickets online at: thunderbay5050.ca
