Participate or donate to a fundraising event to support breakthrough cancer research in BC.
close
See other stories
flyout blocks
flyout blocks
See how your donations are being used to enable the great work at the BC Cancer Agency to continue.
flyout blocks
Read the latest news and research breakthroughs happening at the BC Cancer Agency
flyout blocks
Your donations support innovative cancer research and compassionate enhancements to patient care.
Last fall, the Centre of Excellence for Functional Cancer Imaging opened and became the hub of provincial PET/CT scanning. With the support of BC Cancer Foundation donors, the BC Cancer Agency was able to buy a second state-of-the-art scanner for the Centre. This second scanner will enable us to more than double the number of patients who will receive this life-saving scan.
The PET/CT scan is currently the most accurate test there is. It can tell a physician the location and size of the tumour and how well a patient is responding to treatment. This enables the treatment to be tailored accordingly.
PET/CT scans also help us determine whether a cancer is localized or has spread to multiple organs. They are extraordinarily useful after chemotherapy or radiation therapy: a PET/CT scan can tell us if a residual mass is just scar tissue or if it’s a cancer that might require further treatment. This really helps people avoid unnecessary treatment.
PET/CT scanning is a new technology with a lot of potential. This new facility provides great research opportunities for the BC Cancer Agency and its partners to contribute to the development of new and better ways to use these scanners.
Read PET/CT scanner
Watch PET/CT scanner
Watch video
"With the support of BC Cancer Foundation donors, the BC Cancer Agency was able to buy a second state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner."
You are here
Distribution of Funds
Philanthropy is the fuel that keeps the BC Cancer Agency’s research engine running, and the money the BC Cancer Foundation raises directly funds the work of the Agency throughout British Columbia. We are coming off an amazing year and wanted to share how some of the $39.3 million raised this past fiscal is being used to enable the great work at the Agency to continue.
Below is just a sample of the breadth of the research that the BC Cancer Foundation funded this year and just a few examples of how the partnership of philanthropy and research is making a difference in the lives of cancer patients in our province.
The impact that this partnership has had and will have on cancer care in B.C. is great, and it is clear that the momentum of what is happening at the BC Cancer Agency will continue to move forward.
You can take great pride in knowing that all of this groundbreaking research is taking place in your backyard. All of these projects and the many more that are supported by the Foundation are happening right here in BC. But as our homegrown discoveries are so groundbreaking, they instill new hope for patients around the world.
The BC Cancer Agency’s Dr. Poul Sorensen leads this project that will expand our knowledge of rare childhood cancers. Through the sequencing of cancer genomes, he hopes to find new knowledge that will lead to more effective treatments to improve and extend the lives of the youngest cancer patients.
A new research chair has been established by the BC Cancer Agency and Simon Fraser University that will look at the growing issue of cancer survivorship. The Chair will work with patients, clinicians and administrators from across the Agency to ensure that the more than 12,000 cancer survivors each year can be best supported on their journey.
A second, state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner was purchased and the existing scanner was upgraded to a newer model. Wait times have been reduced and the number of patients able to receive these life-saving scans has more than doubled.
The campaign to expand and improve patient care, support and research space at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre in Victoria achieved its fundraising goal. Increased resources for patients’ care and treatment navigation and their psychosocial needs will give them the tools and support to successfully navigate their cancer journey.
This fund will support small research equipment needs across the province. It will enable researchers to quickly move ahead with new ideas and new research projects, without having to wait for large external or national grants.
The Chair, Dr. François Bénard, conducts research in advanced cancer imaging techniques, such as the use of PET/CT scanning. Dr. Bénard is looking for new ways to use this powerful tool to improve diagnosis and monitoring of cancer.
With plans to analyze the genomes of all types of lymphoid cancers, this project intends to identify a number of possible cancer biomarkers. Each biomarker is a signal or target at which researchers can aim new therapeutics. A deeper understanding of cancer and how to treat it represents a movement away from cancer as a terminal disease and towards it being a chronic one. Such new therapeutics hold the promise for greater treatment efficacy and fewer side effects. These new options hold promise for the up to 50 per cent of lymphoid cancer patients who cannot be treated with standard therapy.
The goal of this collaborative and multidisciplinary research program is to improve the survival rates of ovarian cancer patients through improved identification, understanding and treatment of the disease. Major research discoveries in recent years have already improved the knowledge, diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancers in BC.
The BC Generations Project will help researchers learn more about how our environment, lifestyle and genes contribute to cancer and chronic diseases by collecting health information and biological samples from British Columbians across the province. This project will serve as an invaluable resource for all aspects of cancer prevention research in the generations to come.
The Deeley Research Centre at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre is one of only two sites in Canada dedicated to cancer immunology research. By studying how cancer interacts with our immune system, researchers hope to find ways to harness its anti-cancer abilities, as a less invasive and more effective form of treatment.
A total of $1 million was directed toward Dr. Aly Karsan’s project, which involves the genomic sequencing of AML tumours, with the hope of providing information that will lead to improved treatments for AML patients.
This funding will go toward radiation oncology fellowships at the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for the Southern Interior and its Vancouver Island Centre. Supporting the next generation of leaders ensures that the Agency’s excellence in cancer control continues and that all patients experience the same outstanding level of care.