FAQs
- Radiation therapy planning and delivery
- Systemic therapy (e.g., chemotherapy and immunotherapy)
- Oncology ambulatory care unit (OACU)
- Supportive care
- The current radiation therapy capacity at BC Cancer – Kelowna is insufficient to meet the projected need for radiation oncology services in the region.
- Kamloops cancer patients currently receive radiation therapy treatment at BC Cancer – Kelowna. Approximately 50% of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy treatment.
- It is a high priority to provide radiation services to this community as early as possible.
- When the hospital CON is at capacity, patients either wait longer than recommended or commute to Kelowna, Prince George, or Vancouver. These are barriers to some people due to travel time and expense and ideally, we want to provide cancer care closer to home where possible.
What are the timelines for the project?
The project is currently in the procurement process. EllisDon Corporation and PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. have been invited to participate in the request for proposals (RFP) stage to design and build the new BC Cancer centre at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
Interior Health and BC Cancer will choose the project's design-build team by May 2025, with construction beginning in summer 2025. The Kamloops Cancer Centre is anticipated to open in 2028.
What is the cost of the project?
The project budget is approximately $359 million, shared between the provincial government, Interior Health and Thompson Regional Hospital District.
What is the difference between the Kamloops Cancer Centre and the BC Cancer – Kelowna?
Both sites have the following service delivery areas:
Both sites will provide curative and palliative treatment for patients and have capacity to participate in clinical trials and/or research.
BC Cancer – Kelowna also has the capacity to provide more specialized regional services, such as gynecological and prostate brachytherapy, and molecular imaging and therapy (MIT) that uses a PET/CT.
Will there be a PET/CT Scanner like there is in Kelowna – and if not, why?
There is no PET/CT planned for the Kamloops Cancer Centre at this time.
The scope and floor plate of the Kamloops Cancer Centre did not include the space required for PET/CT. It was decided to put forward the need for an MRI as Royal Inland Hospital has an urgent need for additional MRI capacity.
BC Cancer is working on expanding PET/CT operating hours to increase the scans per day as much as possible, maximizing the utilization of existing PET/CT scanners.
Patients in the Kamloops area who require PET/CT are accommodated at one of BC Cancer’s existing PET/CT units in Kelowna, Vancouver or Victoria.
Why aren’t we building a comprehensive cancer centre in Kamloops?
We need to address the immediate need for radiation therapy in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap Health Service Delivery Area with the Kamloops Cancer Centre project.
BC Cancer – Kelowna is currently the only treatment location for patients requiring outpatient radiation oncology services in Interior Health.
Current systemic therapy (chemotherapy) capacity at the Royal Inland Hospital Community Oncology Network (CON) doesn’t meet current and projected demands for service. The current CON has limited space to expand, and the layout is not efficient.
Several options were explored to see what the best option would be to bring radiation therapy services to the region in the fastest and most cost-efficient way possible.
We explored the option of a comprehensive cancer centre, however, after evaluating the timeline and cost, it was decided that a comprehensive cancer centre would not be the recommended option to best meet the more immediate need for radiation therapy services in the region, as it would result in longer construction timeline and delayed date of opening the centre.
While the Kamloops Cancer Centre may not offer all required cancer services, it represents the best current solution to meet the increasing demand for radiation therapy services in the area, for patients who currently have to travel to Kelowna or another BC Cancer regional centre for this component of their cancer care.