Canada's British Columbia (BC) Government has sanctioned the business plan for the new BC Cancer Centre at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH). 

The three-storey facility, which will be established adjacent to the NRGH’s ambulatory care building, will include a range of diagnostic and treatment equipment. 

It will feature an oncology ambulatory care unit and house a computed tomography (CT) simulator and a PET/CT diagnostic scanner.  

This ambulatory unit will be equipped with four consultation rooms, 12 exam rooms, as well as designated spaces for medical physicists and radiation therapists.  

Nanaimo Cancer Centre’s lower level is set to feature four linear accelerator vaults, which are concrete structures with radiation equipment to treat cancer patients. 

The procurement process is currently in progress, with construction expected to commence in 2025 and conclude in 2028.  

The initial plans for this cancer centre were unveiled by the BC government in May 2023.  

Apart from the cancer centre, approved upgrades to NRGH include a new single-storey addition to an ambulatory care building, which will have a new community oncology network clinic and an expanded pharmacy. 

Once upgraded, the clinic will include private consultation rooms, 16 treatment bays, a medication room, and other support spaces.  

Cancer care services provided at this clinic will encompass treatments such as immunotherapy, oral and intravenous cancer treatments, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormonal therapy.  

The clinic will also facilitate initial consultations and treatment planning with a medical oncologist, supportive care, follow-up care, and patient education. 

Besides, the construction plan includes 164 parking spaces, featuring a two-storey parkade next to a cancer centre, as well as parking stalls in the north lot.  

The entire project entails a budget of around C$289m ($209.2m). 

BC Cancer Centre is part of a ten-year BC Cancer Action Plan, which lays out a strategic approach to improving the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer.  

BC Health Minister Adrian Dix said: “This state-of-the-art facility will benefit patients in Nanaimo and the surrounding region through the latest medical technology. This is part of important work we’re doing to detect, prevent and treat cancer in BC.”