Radiation Oncology

It is very exciting for me to share with you that the first patient was treated using VERO last week. It was a true testament of the power of philanthropy to improve patient outcomes.

The first patient treated with VERO is a patient with cancer of the bile duct. We opted to treat them using VERO because of the pivoting ring feature of the machine, which allowed us to maneuver the...

As a radiation oncologist, my days are quite busy and I have both clinical and research duties. My primary role as a clinician is to provide the most patient-centric care. I use evidence-based data from the latest research and clinical trials to present potential treatment options, benefits and risks to my patients. My patients are always partners in this decision making and together we map...

When I came for my job interview at the BC Cancer Agency Abbotsford Centre, I was quite impressed with a state-of-the-art centre that is directly connected with the Abbotsford Hospital. Indeed, the hospital is the first in western Canada to have a cancer centre integrated in its design from the ground up.

I was very excited to join the Abbotsford Centre’s radiation therapy group and...

I chose to come to Canada for many reasons. I didn’t need to do much research to find out that Canadian universities are among the best internationally and have a strong reputation for high quality. Needless to say, peace, stability and multiculturalism also attracted me to this country. I wanted to do training in oncology and I landed in Montreal with my husband in the winter of 2003. It was...

Hello, my name is Dr. Maha Almahmudi - I am a radiation oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency Abbotsford Centre and I am pleased to be your guest blogger for February!

I grew up in North Africa, in Libya. Growing up in Libya in the 1980s during the dictatorship of the Colonel Gaddafi was hard. There was no freedom and because of Gaddafi’s actions such as supporting international terrorism...

Hello again! This week I want to tell you about how BC Cancer Foundation donors have supported our research. While I will focus on how this has happened in Victoria, donors have helped across the province in all six BC Cancer Agency centres.

In 2002, an important commitment was made by the BC Cancer Foundation to support the salary of a medical physicist for two years. The Department of...

Welcome back! After giving you a sense last week of where I’ve come from and how I’ve ended up in B.C. I thought I would let you know what I currently do at the BC Cancer Agency.

I am very privileged to be the overall lead for the medical physics group at the BC Cancer Agency. I have been doing this since 2004. There are about 50 medical physicists working in the BC Cancer Agency's six...

As I mentioned in my last post, I do less research now than earlier in my career. However when I do have time for research questions, they often relate to health operations research: how can we improve what we do to improve the patients’ experience, improve the patient outcome or to improve efficiency so that we can reduce wait times. I continue to pursue research particularly in lung cancer...

Hello, my name is Ross Halperin. I am the proud father of three wonderful children (Talia 6, Ava 9 and Zane 11) and the fortunate husband of Dr. M. Dani Sarbit. Currently I serve as the Interim Provincial Professional Practice Leader for Radiation Therapy, Functional Imaging, Oral Oncology and Surgery at the BC Cancer Agency. I have worked most of my career as a radiation oncologist - first in...

Dear July readers, this is my first blogging adventure.  I was asked to take part of this blog by the BC Cancer Foundation, and for the next month, I will do my best to keep you interested while sharing what I consider the most important elements of my work and experiences.

I suggest that we start from the beginning: my name is François Bachand and, not surprisingly, I am from Québec. I...