John's Story

For John, a cancer patient at Lakeridge Health, the arrival of Durham Region’s first PET-CT scanner could not have come at a better time.

“Dr. Schattner and I knew it (PET-CT) was coming to the Hospital,” John said. “We were waiting for this and talking about how much easier it would be to have it in Oshawa.”

John’s entire cancer treatment has taken place at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, just a few blocks from his home, but he has had to travel to Toronto for two PET-CT scans. Although he was grateful for the care he received, the additional travel created added stress for his family.

“We’re a one-car family, so it takes a lot of planning,” he explained. “Typically my wife drops me off at work and heads to Port Perry. When I go to Toronto for scans, she has to take the day off to take me there. It’s too much to take yourself. We have to figure out childcare too, so there are a lot of moving parts. It’s a whole day thing.”

During a follow-up test, John’s Oncologist, Dr. Ariah Schattner, noticed some inflammation in his results. While the rest of John’s levels were good, Dr. Schattner wanted to investigate further. That would require a third PET-CT scan.

The hope was that this scan would be close to home.

“I live five minutes from the Hospital,” John said. “Just the idea that I could come here and get this scan was amazing.”

Thanks to the incredible donor support of Our Cancer Campaign, Lakeridge Health officially unveiled the scanner at the beginning of November. John was one of the first 50 patients to benefit from the new scanner, which meant he was able to avoid the stress of travelling ahead of the Holiday season.

He received his results on Christmas Eve, which revealed that the swelling had gone down.

John, who also works at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, was thrilled with his experience.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to wake up in the morning and just know you don’t have to travel and sit in traffic. It’s a relief,” John laughed. “My appointment was in the morning and I was back home having a coffee before noon.”

“My care was great before, but now that I can get scans here it’s even better.”

Along with the convenience of having the scan take place minutes from his house, John’s care team filled him with confidence on the day of his scan.

“I’ve had two of these scans before and this was probably my best experience,” John shared. “Everyone was very nice and thorough. They made it as easy as possible and someone was always there to help you.”

John will have a fourth scan this year to track the inflammation, but the hope is that he won’t require any additional treatment.

“I could even take an Uber here; it’s that easy,” John smiles. “It’s everything in one space; I don’t have to go anywhere else.”

Thanks to the support of our donors, we are ensuring that patients like John have access to exceptional cancer care, close to home.