International team recruited to prepare machines for clinical use

When the BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre begins caring for patients on August 25, its new linear accelerators (radiation therapy machines) will be ready for use thanks to the hard work of a team of internationally recruited medical physicists. The team has just completed six months of commissioning – or preparing – the machines to ensure they are safe for clinical use.

“When the BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre opens its doors to patients next week, residents of the Fraser Valley and surrounding area will have access to an outstanding cancer care team and state-of-the-art medical equipment,” said Maple-Ridge Mission MLA Randy Hawes on behalf of Health Services Minister George Abbott. “Cancer is a devastating disease that each year touches the lives of many British Columbians. We are committed to providing residents of all areas of the province with the best possible cancer prevention and treatment services as close to their home communities as possible.”

“It’s been an intense process to get to this point. We’re very excited to be at a stage where we’re ready to treat patients,” says Ramani Ramaseshan, medical physics leader for the BC Cancer Agency’s Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centre. “This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our medical physicists and their support staff who have worked tirelessly to put the linear accelerators through rigorous testing.”

The commissioning team – hired from the U.S., England, Saudi Arabia, and Canada – has the breadth and depth of skills required to assemble and operate some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world.

“It is extremely difficult to recruit experienced physicists,” explains Ramaseshan, who himself was recruited from Ontario two years ago.

“Once they’re settled somewhere, they tend to stay put, but we were able to hire some very talented staff because of the lifestyle offered in the Fraser Valley, and the BC Cancer Agency’s provincial cancer control system, which offers medical physicists the opportunity to network with their colleagues and researchers from throughout the province.”

One of the medical physicists recruited to Abbotsford is Bilal Shahine, a Canadian who has been working in Saudia Arabia for the past several years.

Shahine first joined the BC Cancer Agency more than 10 years as a university student working on his PhD. His career came full-circle this past July when he was hired as a key member of the commissioning team. He immediately bought a home in Abbotsford for his young family. “It’s a beautiful area,” says Bilal, “we live near Sumas Mountain, where we have an incredible view of the valley.”

Truly an international citizen, Shahine, a Canadian, born in Lebanon, completed his residency in medical physics at Stanford University in California, and following that, spent five years abroad in Saudi Arabia, establishing protocols and commissioning equipment for cancer facilities.

He was impressed with the commitment of government funding for cancer services. “It’s amazing how two new cancer centres will be opened in BC, first in Abbotsford, and later in Prince George in several years,” says Shahine. “That shows a high level of commitment to providing the best possible cancer care for patients in the province.”

The four new linear accelerators, funded by the Ministry of Health, arrived in pieces in crates to the Abbotsford Centre in the fall of 2007. A special team from the manufacturer spent the next several months assembling each linear accelerator before medical physics staff started commissioning the machines for clinical use.

Linear accelerators are highly complex machines, and every possible radiation dose that may be given to a patient is calculated and entered into software that operates each machine. The strength of the radiation dose is measured by directing radiation therapy beams into a specially designed water tank, which mimics what happens in a patient’s body.

The new Abbotsford Centre will serve approximately 2,500 new patients annually. Approximately 60% of new patients will require radiation therapy at some point in the course of their treatment.

The BC Cancer Agency’s Abbotsford Centre is the fifth of the regional centres that are at the heart of the Agency’s provincial cancer control network. The new centre will provide a full range of cancer control services, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, clinical trials, and supportive care, such as patient and family counseling, nutritional assessment, pain and symptom management and palliative care.

The BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care at the BC Cancer Agency.

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Contact:
Jinny Wu
Communications Specialist
BC Cancer Agency
Tel: 604.877.6272
Pgr: 604.806.2338
Toll-free: 1.800.663.3333, ex 6272
jwu2@bccancer.bc.ca