Thibeault downplays push for PET scanner

Sudbury Liberal candidate Glenn Thibeault is downplaying comments he made in which he said, if elected, he would press the Liberal government to bring a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner to Health Sciences North.

“It's just an example of what I'm using to say, 'Yes I understand the change in the political level, and some of the concerns people are talking about,'” Thibeault said.

But even acknowledging the need for a PET scanner in Sudbury marks a departure for the Liberal Party, said Frank Bruno.

“We're excited that a Liberal candidate is actually saying the words 'PET scanner' unlike Rick Bartolucci, where he was always not willing to even budge,” he said.

Bruno's brother, Sam Bruno, became a strong advocate for a PET scanner in Sudbury after he was diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2010 after a long battle with the disease.

In November 2010, the Sam Bruno PET Scanner Fund hosted its first sold-out gala.

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.

The Sam Bruno PET Scanner Fund has raised $650,000 so far, but a PET scanner costs nearly $4 million.

The province has said it will not cover the capital costs to purchase a PET scanner, but will pay most of the operational costs once one is up and running.

While Thibeault did not confirm the province plans to change its stance on purchasing a PET scanner, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas said even listing the medical device as priority marks the first time all three major political parties are in agreement on the issue.

“Now, for the first time ever, there is a Liberal who has said yes,” she said. “The family saw this as a very encouraging thing.”

While a permanent PET scanner in Sudbury could still be far off, the Sam Bruno PET Scanner Fund has explored the possibility of a temporary mobile scanner.

If they can prove the community has a great enough need for scans, a mobile scanner from Windsor could be installed at Health Sciences North for a few days at a time.

“It's a Band-Aid solution,” Bruno said.

The committee will continue to fundraise for a PET scanner at Health Sciences North, he said.

The Sudbury Dragon Boat Festival recently announced the Sam Bruno PET Scanner Fund will be its main beneficiary in 2015 and 2016.