Your Donation Changes Everything: Carmen Hou’s Story

“Lucky number 8,” says Carmen Hou, who recently marked the 8-year anniversary since she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.

“Eight years in metastatic cancer land is a miracle in itself,” she says, as only one third of patients with metastatic breast cancer survive five years past diagnosis.

The milestone was made even more sweet as Carmen’s most recent scan, which fortunately was stable, was performed on BC Cancer’s new Next Gen PET/CT — a state-of-the-art technology acquired thanks to donor support.

Investing in British Columbians

Twenty times faster than a traditional scanner, the Next Gen PET/CT reduces scan time from 40 minutes to just two minutes, and provides improved image quality, better diagnostic accuracy and exposes patients to less radiation.

For people like Carmen, who receives a scan every six months, the advanced technology brings peace of mind — “If I do have cancer, even a small amount, this new machine will pick it up earlier,” — and allows her to spend less time worrying, and more time enjoying the everyday moments with her family.

From Diagnosis to No Evidence of Disease

Six months after giving birth to her daughter Evelyn, Carmen noticed two tiny lumps on her left breast. An ultrasound suggested they were related to breastfeeding, so Carmen went on with her life as a busy new mom.

The following winter, the lumps had grown, and Carmen was experiencing tiny shocks in her breast. It was confirmed; Stage 3 breast cancer. Further tests revealed the cancer had spread to her spine and it was elevated to Stage 4.

“I called my husband right away and we both started crying. We were at a loss for words.”

Carmen underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to remove 20 lymph nodes, 10 of which were cancerous. She also participated in a clinical trial, for a drug which she is still on, and is currently classified as having ‘no evidence of active disease (NEAD).’

Donations Make a Difference

The Next Gen PET/CT is the gold standard in scanners and can image the entire body from head to pelvis in just two minutes. A first in Canada, it was made possible by a $50 million BC Cancer Foundation fundraising campaign to bring a suite of best-in-class imaging, diagnostics and high-precision radiation technology to BC Cancer – Vancouver to transform cancer research and care across the province.

Game-Changing Technology

Carmen is extremely grateful to have had access to the Next Gen PET/CT as not only does it provide a more detailed and accurate insight into what’s going on in her body, its expedited scan time will also greatly reduce stress and anxiety — what’s commonly refer to as ‘scanxiety,’ — for patients.

During a traditional 40-minute PET/CT scan, “You’re just sitting there with your thoughts … and sometimes they go to a dark place,” she says.

“It’s a constant battle of thinking, ‘I’m okay, it’s going to be okay.’ But then I’ll feel a little tingle in my back, and I’ll think, ‘Is that cancer?’

Lying completely still in the machine, Carmen says it’s hard to distract herself by thinking about anything else. “I basically spend the entire 40 minutes just praying. I pray the whole time, ‘Please let this be a stable scan. Please, if there is any cancer let it be found.’”

Increasing Access Across B.C.

BC Cancer currently operates the busiest PET/CT imaging program in Canada, serving 70 patients per day. This new scanner’s speed, sensitivity and accuracy will greatly improve scanning capacity across the province.

Increasing access to imaging for patients across B.C. is game-changing, says Carmen, and something she’s incredibly excited about.

“Hopefully one day everyone who needs it will have access to these drastically faster scans which offer an opportunity to catch people’s cancer quicker and give them more years with their family as a result.”