A new machine at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) is set to cut wait times from weeks to days for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Fraser Health unveiled the $150,000 Ventana BenchMark ULTRA analyzer at the New Westminster hospital on Thursday, Oct. 26.
It's purpose, according to a news release, is to simplify the testing process in allowing pathologists to determine the best course of treatment for patients.
The addition to RCH was motivated by a recent experience for Tania Gardner.
The medical laboratory assistant recently received news that she's cancer free, but weeks prior, she got a call on her 46th birthday to get an "urgent" biopsy.
After results confirmed she had breast cancer, Gardner then waited three more weeks to see if more testing would reveal whether her tumour expressed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) — a protein on the surface of cells that may cause cancer to grow quickly.
"It was a mental game — your whole world goes black," Gardner explained.
"I didn't want to tell my children about my cancer diagnosis until I had the answers to the questions that I knew would come. Three weeks later, when I had the HER2 result — which came back negative — I had those frank discussions and moved forward with surgery."
Knowing a patient’s HER2 status helps oncologists determine the best course of treatment, Fraser Health explained.
RCH's new analyzer, which quickly determines if a tissue sample is HER2 positive, is set to cut wait times for those diagnoses from weeks to days.
Using dual-coloured in situ hybridization (ISH), the new technique automates the testing process, allowing pathologists to interpret results with a standard microscope.
The funding for the machine was made possible through the Drive for the Cure Foundation, as well as Sanjeev Garg and Seema Garg.
"We are humbled by the continued support we see from donors who share our mission to provide the best in care for people in our province, and who step forward to fund important equipment such as this," said Jeff Norris, president and CEO of Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation.
"We are thrilled to partner with the foundation to introduce this cutting-edge technology," added Fraser Health president and CEO Dr. Victoria Lee.
"This analyzer will enable us to diagnose and treat breast cancer faster and more effectively, empowering our patients with more options earlier in their care journey."
Screenings at BC Cancer Breast Cancer are free for all eligible women in the province aged 40 years and older.
