Sam Bruno Gala Dinner raises more than $140K

The fifth Sam Bruno Gala Dinner Oct. 23 was a bittersweet affair, said Bruno's brother, Frank Bruno.

“We're obviously thrilled to have everyone here, and the continued support year over year is just getting bigger, but we're trying to fundraise for something that should have been passed by now by the government.”

Before his battle with cancer took his life in 2010, Sam Bruno was a strong advocate for a PET scanner in northeastern Ontario.

A PET scanner is a medical detection tool used in clinical oncology, to help detect brain diseases, such as various types of dementia, and heart disease. It is also an important research tool to map normal brain and heart functions.

Of the nine machines in Ontario, one is located in Thunder Bay; the rest are in southern and eastern Ontario.

Thursday's gala raised more than $140,000 for the Sam Bruno Scanner Fund, bringing the total funs raised since 2010 past $500,000.

But a PET scanner can cost up to $3.5 million, and the province won't cover the cost of purchasing the device.

“It's frustrating just to know the way we're being mistreated in the north without fair and equitable access to a PET scanner, like the rest of the regions in Ontario,” said Frank Bruno.

Sudbury MPP Joe Cimino said the NDP has asked the province to purchase a PET scanner for Health Sciences North since 2010.

“Our community has carried on Sam’s fight to ensure northerners have equitable access to life-saving technology,” Cimino said in a press release. “Will the new Minister of Health commit to finally bringing a PET scanner to northeastern Ontario?”