WOODBRIDGE — Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center has been approved to add a mobile PET/CT scanner to its services. This brings important cancer detection technology to the area, which had previously involved long commutes for patients.
“By offering this service locally, we are able to reduce travel burdens for patients by offering conveniently located, easily navigated services with ample complimentary parking,” Heather Causseaux, director of oncology services for Sentara, told Potomac Local.
The PET/CT services “will improve the quality of care, geographic and financial access, and continuity of care to cancer patients,” said Causseaux.
A PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) detects early cancer onset by injecting a radioactive isotope, called a tracer, into the body. Cells absorb the tracer, and cancerous cells absorb more of the tracer because they use more energy than normal cells. The scan reveals which parts of the body absorbed more of the tracer, pinpointing cancerous activity.
These scans are considered effective in detecting cancer in its early stages and an important part of early cancer treatment. When not at its Medical Center in Woodbridge, the mobile scanner can be carted south and used at Sentara’s properties in Hampton Roads.
“This project has strong support from the community including patients, community members, and providers,” Causseaux noted.
Last year, Sentara petitioned the state health department for a certificate of public need to offer the service at a pad site outside their Century Building — a stand-alone, three-story facility on the hospital campus that also houses an ambulatory surgery center and provider offices for primary care physicians, radiation oncologists, general surgeons, gastroenterologists, and medical oncologists.
The petition received some pushback from other medical directors in the area who already provide PET/CT scans, who cited concerns that more scanners would “over-saturate the market.” Prior to Sentara’s bid, patients had to travel to centers in Gainesville, Falls Church, and Arlington to receive PET/CT scans.
An informal fact-finding conference hearing was held in July 2018, and in October the certificate was approved, said Causseaux. The scanner has been purchased, and Sentara is finalizing its pad site permit submission for the Century Building. The scanner will hopefully be ready to use in fall 2019.
Sentara will also be opening a cancer center — the Sentara Cancer Network Resource Center — at the Century Building in June. In addition to the PET/CT scanner and other imaging services, the Center will have supportive services for patients, such as support groups, cancer-related classes and programs, and patient navigation.
Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is the first system in the state of Virginia to be accredited by the Commission on Cancer as an Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP). They are also accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC).
