PET CT scan to start at IGMC-Shimla by mid-October

Cancer patients will not need to rush to Chandigarh and beyond for a PET CT scan any more. In all probability, the PET CT scan facility will be available in the cancer hospital at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital by mid-October. “The PET scan machine has reached the hospital, and it will be soon installed. We are hopeful that by mid-October, we will start conducting the scans,’ said Dr Sita Thakur, Principal, IGMC.

Presently, no PET scan facility is available in the state government’s health institutions in the state, and normally patients go to the PGI or private diagnostic facilities in Chandigarh for the scan. “A patient has to wait for two to three months for a PET scan date in PGI. It’s not advisable to wait for such a long period for the scan,” said a doctor.

Besides, the test in private facilities is very expensive, ranging from Rs 15,000 to 25,000. As several patients have to get the scan done repeatedly after three to six months, many patients struggle to afford it. After the PET CT facility becomes functional at the IGMC, the patients will not have to pay as much as they are currently paying at private facilities. Besides, the waiting period will be much shorter than at PGI.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had laid the foundation stone for the PET CT facility about two years back. The estimated cost of the project was around Rs 45 crore. While Rs 21 crore was allocated for a single positron emission tomography (PET) CT scan machine, Rs 9 crore for a photon emission computerised tomography (SPECT) CT scan machine and Rs 15.68 crore for civil works.