FAQs
Radiation treatment, including shielded treatment rooms with linear accelerators
- Radiation therapy planning, including CT simulator
Diagnostic MRI
Outpatient oncology ambulatory care unit, including exam rooms and consult rooms
Interfaith sacred space for traditional cultural and healing practices
Patient arrival and check-in
Staff workspaces, including offices and workstations
A parkade with spaces for patients and staff
What are the timelines for the project?
Construction is now underway on the new BC Cancer centre on the Royal Inland Hospital campus in Kamloops. EllisDon Corporation is leading construction in partnership with Interior Health and BC Cancer. The new centre is targeted to open in late 2028. More updates will be shared on EngageIH.ca as the project progresses.
Why can’t all services be under one roof at the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops?
We understand the desire to have all cancer care services under one roof at the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops. The centre has been designed within the available space on the Royal Inland Hospital campus, with a clear priority: bringing radiation therapy to the region as early as possible, so patients no longer need to travel to Kelowna for this care.
Systemic therapy services require close adjacency to the pharmacy and accessibility to hospital code blue response team for treatment of reactions and emergency situations, making this proximity an important patient safety and quality of care consideration.
While construction is underway for the new cancer centre on site, Royal Inland Hospital continues to provide systemic therapy (chemotherapy) to patients through its Community Oncology Network clinic.
The new cancer centre is a part of BC's 10-Year Cancer Action Plan, which outlines immediate steps to prevent, detect and treat cancers, delivering improved care for people facing cancer.
Will there be a PET/CT Scanner at the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops?
APET/CT scanner is not included in the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops. The centre was designed within a defined footprint, with available space prioritized to fulfill an urgent and critical need for an additional MRI at Royal Inland Hospital to support increased MRI capacity.
A PET/CT suite and the accompanying support spaces requires approximately 515 m², comparable to four radiation treatment vaults, and comes with high equipment and operating costs. PET/CT scans also rely on a special radioactive tracer that cannot be produced locally and must be flown in daily from Vancouver due to its very short shelf life, adding further logistical complexity and cost.
In addition, PET/CT professionals are highly specialized and challenging to recruit, especially in smaller communities. The recruitment of the specialized cancer care providers and technologists required to staff a PET/CT that operates only one day a week would not be financially or operationally sustainable.
Current and projected demand in the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap region
PET/CT service expansion is guided by assessments of catchment areas, operating capacity, population growth, and projected cancer incidence to determine where and when new equipment is needed as part of a coordinated provincial service.
Based on current utilization, demand for PET/CT in the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap region is relatively limited. In 2024/25, residents of the region received a total of 892 PET/CT scans. Based on this volume, a local PET/CT scanner in Kamloops would operate only one day per week to meet existing demand.
BC Cancer is working on expanding PET/CT operating hours provincially to increase the scans per day as much as possible, maximizing the utilization of existing PET/CT scanners.
BC Cancer continues to review service needs across all regions to help guide long-term planning and ensure patients have access to high-quality care as close to home as possible.
Supporting patients with travel
While the new centre will not include a PET/CT scanner at launch, patients will continue to access this service at one of BC Cancer’s existing PET/CT scanners in Kelowna, Vancouver, or Victoria.
We recognize the stress that travel puts on patients and families undergoing cancer treatment. Unfortunately, in a province as large as BC with many people living in rural and remote areas, there will always be a need for some patients to travel for care, whether that is to see a specialist, to be part of a clinical trial or for leading-edge medical imaging, such as a PET/CT scan.
Travel support is available to help patients access nearby PET/CT and specialized cancer services across the province. This includes support for travel and accommodation offered through partners such as Hope Air and the Canadian Cancer Society. Additionally, the BC Cancer Foundation offers the Beyond Barriers Patient Relief Fund, providing financial, travel and resource support to patients across the province.
Why aren’t we building a comprehensive cancer centre in Kamloops?
The new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops is focused on meeting the most urgent cancer care needs in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region, particularly access to radiation therapy and expanded systemic therapy services.
Currently, the BC Cancer centre in Kelowna is the only site in Interior Health that provides radiation therapy. About half of all cancer patients require radiation as part of their treatment, and projections show that existing capacity will not meet future demand. Bringing radiation therapy to Kamloops will significantly improve access to care for patients in the region.
Systemic therapy (chemotherapy services) at Royal Inland Hospital’s Community Oncology Network are also experiencing capacity challenges. The current space has limited ability to expand and is not well suited to meet growing demand. When capacity is reached, some patients face longer wait times or must travel to Kelowna, Prince George or Vancouver. This can create additional stress, time commitments and expense for patients and their families.
Several options were carefully reviewed to determine the best way to expand cancer services as quickly and efficiently as possible. A comprehensive cancer centre was explored. However, it would have taken longer to build and would have delayed the opening of urgently needed radiation therapy services.
While the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops may not offer all cancer services, it will bring critical radiation therapy closer to home and reduce the need for patients to travel outside the region for this care. This approach allows important services to be delivered sooner while continuing to support high quality cancer care for the community.
What is the cost of the project?
The project budget is approximately $386 million, shared between the provincial government, Interior Health and Thompson Regional Hospital District.
What is the difference between the new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops and BC Cancer – Kelowna?
The new BC Cancer centre in Kamloops is a major investment in local cancer care and will significantly improve access to treatment for people in the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region. Its primary focus is bringing radiation therapy services as quickly as possible to the region, while also expanding systemic therapy services to better meet growing demand. The new centre in Kamloops will offer:
Both the Kamloops and Kelowna centres will deliver the core cancer services most patients need, including radiation therapy, systemic therapy, oncology ambulatory care, and supportive care. Patients at both sites will receive curative and palliative treatment, with opportunities to participate in clinical trials and research. BC Cancer – Kelowna will continue to provide certain highly specialized regional services, such as gynecological and prostate brachytherapy, and molecular imaging and therapy (MIT) that uses a PET/CT.
Together, the two cancer centres will strengthen cancer care across the Interior, with the Kamloops centre enabling more patients to receive radiation therapy closer to home.