What is a radiation bunker? How adding a fourth one will help Windsor-Essex residents
The Ontario government announced funding Thursday to help the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre.
“This is the first time we've had the full greenlight to move ahead and we've got the finish line in sight,” Regional Vice-President of Cancer Services, Jonathan Foster told CTV News Windsor Friday.
Foster said they’ve been waiting for nearly a decade to get a fourth radiation bunker — which is a “specialized structure that houses what's called a ‘linear accelerator’ or in layman's terms a radiation treatment machine.”
The province is funding the project with $10 to $15 million in support.
“Some supply chain issues have popped up since the project started, so the costing is a little bit of a moving target,” said Foster.
Foster noted adding a fourth machine will open the door for more cutting edge therapies.
“And each radiation machine can roughly treat about 500 unique people more per year,” said Foster. “So that's 500 more people in Windsor-Essex that would be able to get radiation treatment.”
Like Windsor Regional Hospital, the cancer centre is landlocked within their current building. The new bunker will be built outside the current walls of the building with a “passageway” connecting the two.
Regardless, Foster believes the bunker will be operational by the fall, which means their spring and summer will be especially busy.
“It's going to be a labour of love from our team because as I've stated they've been waiting for this for a decade,” said Foster. “They're definitely motivated to do everything that they can to get this up and get this started.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.