DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

At some stage in the cancer journey you are likely to visit a diagnostic imaging facility. This could be for the purpose of initial investigation or subsequent monitoring, including the staging (grade) of the cancer or identification of any metastastes (occurrence of the cancer at another location in the body). Your diagnosis will not necessarily be based only on what the images reveal, although they are an important tool. Analysis of blood and tissue samples and your clinical symptoms may also be taken into consideration.

This photo-story has been based around the Canberra Imaging Group facility at the Calvary Clinic. According to its website "Canberra Imaging Group is a Canberra based, private, comprehensive diagnostic imaging organisation. The practice is owned by Specialist Radiologists and Nuclear Medicine Physicians, who have provided radiology services throughout Canberra and the surrounding regions since the 1950's." It has nine facilities in Canberra and nearby towns. The Calvary facility offers all services except Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

MRIs can be obtained at Canberra Imaging at the Deakin facility adjoining the John James Memorial Hospital, and at National Capital Diagnostic Imaging (NCDI) at 161 Strickland Cres, Deakin.

The MRI facility at National Capital Diagnostic Imaging is a rebated machine and thus patients receive a Medicare rebate.

The person sitting next to you in the waiting room will not necessarily be a cancer patient, they may very well be there because they have a suspected broken bone or some other form of injury; however, in the nature of things the facility is often used by patients who may have lung, breast, colon, or prostate cancers, which are the more common cancers found among the Canberra community.

Our thanks to one of the Group partners, Dr John Connors, for facilitating our visit and explaining the functions of the service.

Visitors to any technical medical facility can often be confused by who is doing what. This brief explanation from the website for the University of Sydney School of Medical Radiation Sciences (SMRS) might be helpful: "Nomenclature used to describe practitioners of the medical radiation disciplines varies due to state industrial awards, regulatory bodies, professional bodies, tradition and common community usage. Diagnostic Radiographers may also be referred to as Radiographers or Medical Imaging Practitioners. Radiation Therapists used to be called Therapeutic Radiographers and this term is still occasionally used. Nuclear Medicine Technologists may also be referred to as Nuclear Medicine Scientists and Medical Imaging Scientists or Practitioners. For many years practitioners of diagnostic ultrasound were referred to as (Medical) Ultrasonographers but now the term Sonographer is preferred. Within NSW all such practitioners working in Public Institutions are included in the category of Medical Radiation Scientists for industrial purposes. It is anticipated that over the next few years the diversity of names will be rationalised."

The people who work in this facility differ from those you might meet in the Radiation Oncology unit at The Canberra Hospital (TCH). Although they share many of the same skills, staff in the Calvary facility are involved with diagnostic imaging, whereas those at TCH are involved with curative or palliative treatment of cancer patients: "A diagnostic radiographer and nuclear medicine technologist are responsible for the production of diagnostic images on patients who have an injury or a disease. A diagnostic radiographer uses x rays to produce anatomical images of the body, whilst a nuclear medicine technologist uses radiopharmaceuticals to acquire images that demonstrate the body’s physiology or functions. A radiation therapist is responsible for the accurate and precise planning, calculation and delivery of radiation to cure or relieve the symptoms of a malignant disease." (SMRS website.)

The Canberra Imaging Group facility is located in the Calvary Clinic opposite the entrance to Accident and Emergency at Calvary Hospital, Bruce. The Calvary and Belconnen facilities are the nearest for those living at Yass and nearby areas. Transportation for patients from those areas is provided by a community organisation.

The facility is located at the far end of the ground floor of the Clinic, adjacent to a small cafe and near Dr Buckingham's rooms, which are also featured on this website.

This is a close up view of the entrance.

Click on the blue buttons to visit other sections of this photo-story about imaging.