A large part of my role as Regional Medical Director in the Interior is to look ahead and ensure our patients have access to the best treatments and outcomes possible. With a world-leading clinical team and a generous donor community, I see a lot of promising things on the horizon. We face an ever-increasing burden with the incidents of cancer estimated to increase by 40% over the next 15 years. However, at the same time, we are increasingly changing the cancer outcome into a disease that is lived with. This means the amount of cancer services needed in the region is also growing by around 5...
As I explained last week, I hold two positions at BC Cancer – Kelowna as both a Radiation Oncologist and the Regional Medical Leader for the Interior. These two positions allow for diverse work and the opportunity to connect with a variety of patients. WE STRIVE TO ALWAYS IMPROVE THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE My work with patients is what drives me each day. Some of the most important insights and learning stem from my work with patients and have inspired work in my regional medical director role to keep us moving forward and improving the system of cancer care. Together with the Senior Director of...
Hello, my name is Dr. Ross Halperin. I am a Radiation Oncologist and Regional Medical Director of BC Cancer - Kelowna. It has been nearly five years since my last blog post and I have witnessed a lot of progress at BC Cancer and in cancer treatment. Our forward momentum gives me a lot hope that we’re changing outcomes for cancer patients in B.C. and around the world. WE’RE MAKING REAL PROGRESS In 2014, treatment options for patients were developing and my peers and I were energized with our search for better care tools. Today, thanks to a community of donors who have contributed to medical...
Working at the BC Cancer Agency is a privilege. It is gratifying to deliver the best care possible to patients, yet challenges remain. We don't have good options for all patients yet and the search for better care tools continues to energize my peers and I. VERO and SABR are an example of this quest. The implementation of this new treatment technology will be done in parallel with our renewed commitment to learn from the lessons that all patient care can teach us. To explore cancers that have yet to be successfully treated with radiotherapy, we are setting up a database to ensure that we...
The BC Cancer Foundation is a valuable partner to the BC Cancer Agency. By supporting the work of scientists and clinicians, BC Cancer Foundation donors are helping to reduce the impact of cancer on the community and elevate the excellence of BC Cancer Agency centres across the province. I arrived in B.C. in 2003. At that time, prostate cancer was primarily treated via surgery or external radiation therapy but data was emerging showing that brachytherapy—the insertion of radioactive sources directly to a patient’s tumour—could achieve favourable results. As one of a few radiation oncologists...
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 and prostate cancer. A promising development in cancer treatment is the emergence of image-guidance technology and the growth of stereotactic ablative body radiosurgery (SABR). This technique has shown...
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 Edmonton Alberta and for the past decade, primarily in Kelowna B.C., at the BC Cancer Agency Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior. Caring for cancer patients is a privilege. It is...
I am now in a leadership role where my time is half administration and half clinical practice. The latter allows me to still test medical hypotheses through clinical research and to still see patients most days of the week, which I love. I got into oncology because of the connection with patients and would hate to lose that. What I like about being in a leadership role is that I can contribute to improving the care for today and for tomorrow. In my role, I help enable the oncologists’ abilities to deliver care and foster an environment that helps oncologists find improvements through...
Not only did I find my career focus in Edmonton, but while training I met my wife. Her family is from the Okanagan and we’re both outdoor enthusiasts, so we always had Kelowna in mind as somewhere we wanted to live. By 2003, an opportunity surfaced and I joined the BC Cancer Agency’s team in Kelowna at the Centre for the Southern Interior. I’ve been here ever since. I now have three children, and my family loves Kelowna life. One of the things that drew me to working at the Agency’s Centre for the Southern Interior was the collegiality of the team here — they are happy and have a great vision...
