$14-million Breast Health Centre opens at The Ottawa Hospital

Gina Mertikas, of Ottawa, was 34 when she was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer which threatened her life.

It's not news that anyone wants to receive, and her health care journey over the last 18 months didn't made things much easier.

When Mertikas first got the news from the hospital, she and her family members had to squeeze into a small room with her doctor. 

Then, since wait times for immediate treatment were so long, she was travelling to Montreal. Even once she was able to visit her local hospital, she was bouncing between The Ottawa Hospital's civic and general campuses.

That's why she is so excited about the opening of the hospital's new $14-million Breast Health Centre.

Mertikas told 1310 NEWS' The Rick Gibbons Show, all of the breast cancer specialists are now in one place.  Plus, the building is bright and spacious.

“This is not something you ever want to deal with, but when you do go, having the support of your family or close friends is huge, so it's really nice, at the new breast centre, they have much bigger family rooms,” she said.

Listen to the full conversation with Mertikas and Radiologist and Head of Diagnostic Imaging at The Ottawa Hospital Dr. Jean Seely:

Radiologist and Head of Diagnostic Imaging at The Ottawa Hospital Dr. Jean Seely said, not only is the new centre easier for patients to navigate, new equipment should help to diagnose breast cancer patients at earlier stages.

She added that this new centre is three times larger than old one, which allows for more rooms dedicated to equipment for ultrasounds, mammograms and biopsies.

Dr. Seely said the new Breast Health Centre has been 10 years in the making, and became possible thanks to community-raised funds.