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Sault Area Hospital’s (SAH) Radiation Therapy Department has received Honourable Mention for the 2015 Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO) Innovation Award for the development of real-time image guidance for Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) treatments. The Radiation Therapy Department operates within the Algoma District Cancer Centre at SAH which is a satellite of the Northeast Cancer Centre (NECC) in Sudbury.

The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO) is responsible for advising Cancer Care Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in their efforts to improve the quality of cancer care in the province. The Quality and Innovation Awards encourage and reward the development of quality and innovative initiatives aimed at enhancing and improving the performance of cancer care in Ontario.

Introduced at SAH in March 2015, SABR uses concentrated doses of radiation six times stronger than traditional radiation therapy. The doses are delivered with pinpoint accuracy to the site of the cancer tumour, with less impact on the surrounding healthy tissue. As a result of SABR, cancer patients can complete their radiation therapy in as few as four treatments, compared to over 30 (six weeks), with potentially better results.

Most remarkable is that the delivery of SABR is monitored in real-time through a virtual connection via the medical team at the Northeast Cancer Centre in Sudbury. “On behalf of the Northeast Cancer Centre, I want to thank the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario for this recognition, and congratulate the Sault Area Hospital for its excellent partnership in this venture,” says Mark Hartman, Vice President, Regional Cancer and Support Services at the Northeast Cancer Centre. “The unique set-up that’s been created for radiation therapy in Sault Ste. Marie was a first in Canada and shows how cancer care partners in Northeastern Ontario are embracing innovation to improve the care and experience for patients.”

SAH was selected among 50 applicants throughout the province. “We are thrilled to have been recognized and honoured by one of the leading cancer institutions in the world,” says Ron Gagnon, President & CEO. “We thank our entire team in the Radiation Therapy Centre and our partners at the Northeast Cancer Centre in Sudbury.”

To find out more about SAH, visit: www.sah.on.ca

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