Sault cancer, radiation medicine patients soon to be able to receive local treatment again

Sault radiation therapy to resume this summer Equipment replacement that diverted hundreds of cancer patients from Sault Ste. Marie to Greater Sudbury is nearing its end.

An equipment replacement that has diverted hundreds of cancer patients from the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to Greater Sudbury since February is nearing its end.

The Sault Area Hospital is on track in its timeline to replace its linear accelerator.

As many as 200 patients have had to travel for radiation treatment and care since the work began.

The hospital has now completed the installation of the new equipment – however, officials told CTV News that there is still much to do before it begins operation in August.

“What happens next is testing to ensure patients safety and that all of the parameters for the radiation therapy work are complete,” said the hospital’s vice president and chief nursing executive, Sue Roger.

“We have a period, a short period of staff training on the new equipment and the new I.T. components of the software.”

The previous accelerator had reached the end of its 12-year lifespan and the new $2.5 million unit is being paid for by the province.