Lionel Polard still remembers the phone call three years ago that changed his life. The active 57-year-old had gone to the hospital a few days previously for a routine pre-operative scan ahead of his scheduled hip surgery.
“I got a call from the hospital saying they had to cancel my surgery because they found a cancerous tumour in my bladder,” said Polard, a former bodybuilding champion who exercised regularly. “I had no symptoms, no bleeding, no pain.”
While the type of cancer detected was very aggressive, he felt lucky because it was discovered in its early stage.
“If it weren’t for early detection, I wouldn’t have known I had cancer until it was probably too late,” said Polard, who has called Langford home since 1988. “Early detection saved my life.”
He credits the hospital having the right tools, such as the ureteroscope that was used to discover and later remove his tumour, for his positive prognosis. The tumour was removed two weeks after his diagnosis, and he was discharged from hospital the same day.
“Having state-of-the-art equipment is the key,” said the former Mr. Saskatchewan.
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation opened an operating room at Royal Jubilee Hospital to a media tour, offering a behind-the-scenes peek at some of the medical equipment being purchased with money raised from its Emerge Stronger campaign.
The foundation launched the campaign last October, with a goal of raising $10 million for equipment, and recently surpassed the $5-million, with about 3,000 donors.
“Our teams rely on having the right equipment and resources to ensure that everyone who walks through our doors gets the treatment they need,” said Dr. Nathan Hoag, a urologist. “These community donations directly impact the quality of care that we are able to provide our patients with, every day.”
Hoag noted that 40 per cent of the equipment he and other doctors rely on on a daily basis at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General hospitals are funded by donations to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. The $5 million received so far is enough to fund about 180 pieces of equipment for Royal Jubilee, Victoria General and Gorge Road hospitals.
In the urology department, where Hoag works, he is hoping for 12 ureteroscopes, endoscopes designed to work within the ureter, which allow for early detection and diagnosis of a variety of urinary tract conditions.
“We use these tools on a daily basis. With the right tools, patients get the best possible care with minimally invasive surgeries,” said Hoag.
The ureteroscope, a long, narrow lighted tube with a high-resolution camera at its tip, is considered minimally invasive as it travels up the body through a patient’s penis or urethra. There is a much lower risk of bleeding and infection than with open surgery. The instrument can be paired with a laser that blasts larger stones within the ureter or bladder into smaller pieces, so that they can be removed more easily. The stones are simply sucked out of the bladder through the hollow tube.
The ureteroscope can also help detect and remove tumours.
Other priorities include breast-imaging software designed to improve detection of breast cancer, a state-of-the-art retinal laser used for surgical treatment of retinal damage, and an O-Arm imaging system to advance neurosurgery locally and keep advanced brain and spinal surgery patients close to home.
“We heard first-hand that new and replacement equipment was the best way we could support the growing needs in our hospitals,” said Avery Brohman, CEO of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. “With the help of our community, we celebrate this halfway mark of our most ambitious annual fundraising campaign to date, and we will continue to stand united with our hospitals as they stand ready to care for all of us.”
For more information, or to donate to the Emerge Stronger campaign, go to victoriahf.ca/stronger. You can also donate by cheque, through gifts of securities, or by calling 250-519-1750.