By Marlene Bryenton
Guest Opinion
We are so blessed on Prince Edward Island to have not one but two linear accelerators at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. What is a linear accelerator? The Guardian explained it this way, "The machine will enable higher precision radiation therapy to be delivered for cancer patients on the Island. It will allow for treatment of smaller tumours earlier and will allow clinicians to expand treatment to tumour sites such as the spine, liver and brain."
I am a breast cancer survivor. My first bout was in 1998 followed by the second in 2001. At that time, there were no linear accelerators on the Island. Cancer patients were forced to go to the Dr. Georges Dumont Hospital in Moncton, N.B. Family and friends transported me to Moncton on Sunday and I returned home on Friday. Islanders stayed at the Rodd Motel. Radiation treatments were only a few minutes each day but required that we stay in Moncton.
I can remember vividly the long hours spent at the motel alone watching reruns of old movies, such as Murder She Wrote. The radiation therapy knocked the energy out of me and all I wanted to do was rest. I wished that family and friends could have been closer to support me. There were about seven Islanders staying at the Rodd when I was there. It was Christmas time and I recall Urban Carmichael singing Christmas Carols around the tree.
At that time CBC television was doing a story on the plight of Islanders going to Moncton for radiation treatments. They wanted to see what the day in a life of a cancer patient was like off Island. They followed me from home to the Moncton hospital and into the stark linear accelerator room. The CBC story conveyed to Islanders what a burden it was for cancer patients to be away from home during this difficult time.
CBC also included the issue of added costs of the bridge, gas and daily taxis to the hospital. Meals and some associated costs were covered by government. However, it was a financial difficulty for some patients going to Moncton. I was away for 25 radiation treatments covering five weeks. It was quite an experience telling my story and how it affected me and my family. Many people saw my story on Compass and had much more awareness of the need for a linear accelerator on the Island.
I remember dropping tears as I counted the squares in the ceiling blocks for a distraction in the linear accelerator room. This life changing event challenged me to fight for a linear accelerator on the Island. A new machine was purchased in 2003 thanks to newspaper, radio and television media attention, and pressure on the government to honour their election promise. This now retired machine is being replaced with a $10-million TrueBeam state of the art linear accelerator.
According to The Guardian, there are about 900 Islanders diagnosed with cancer every year delivering approximately 9,200 radiation treatments annually. Islanders should be so thankful that there are two linear accelerators at the P.E.I. Cancer Treatment Centre.
My mother used to say, "If you don't have your health. You don't have anything." I never really understood this until I got breast cancer. In 1967, when my mother had breast cancer there were no mammogram machines on P.E.I. She died at the age of 40 as a result of no early detection.
Count your blessings every day that the P.E.I. government is providing technology, doctors, nurses and technicians to help save many Island lives. I have been able to enjoy many years of good health thanks to everyone who cared for me during my illness. You never know when someone you love is given a cancer diagnosis and requires medical services.
Marlene Bryenton of Charlottetown is a well-known community volunteer.
