SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Run For Our Lives committee raised enough money to purchase a new digital mammography machine for Stanton Territorial Hospital last October, but it still hasn't arrived, and a Yellowknife woman is asking why.

Dawn de Aguayo with Stanton Territorial Hospital's current mammography machine in 2005. A new digital machine should arrive in June, according to hospital officials. - NNSL file photo

Debbie Maracle, a breast cancer survivor, went into the hospital for a mammogram last week and was disappointed to see the new machine wasn't there.

"Why are we wasting time getting it in here if the money's in place?" she asked. "People worked hard to raise that money, and whose life are they not saving or not getting to quick enough because they don't have (the new mammography machine) here yet."

Digital mammography machines provide clearer images, which help with early detection.

The Run For Our Lives committee raised $300,000 to put towards a digital machine for the hospital, while the Stanton Foundation raised the remaining $100,000 needed for the machine.

The hospital is aiming to have the new machine in place by June, said Robin Greig, director of operations at Stanton, on Monday.

He said part of the hold up is the shifting around of staff at the hospital, which affects the team of experts reviewing the request for proposals to ensure the hospital gets the correct piece of equipment.

"The technology does change fairly quickly in this world, so we want to make sure we're getting the most current technology we can afford.

"Sometimes it takes a little bit longer (because) you want to make sure you're expending the money wisely and you're getting the best product for the patients in the territories," he said.

Greig and his team is currently developing a request for proposals to attract the appropriate vendors.

Stanton's mammography machine is the last large piece of diagnostic imaging equipment to go digital, he said.

The benefit of going digital is the quality of the image and the ability to store that image digitally, said Greig.

As an example, Greig compared the difference between the resolution of a photo taken by a digital camera versus a film camera.

The improved resolution is good for early detection, he said.

Linda Bussey, executive director of the Stanton Foundation, which helped fund the machine, said the sooner breast cancer is detected, the better off a woman is.

"Early detection is the best," she said. "There's no prevention, but the image (produced by a digital machine) is so strong and so clear that you can perceive more quicker."

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