I am the Medical Director at the BC Cancer Agency’s Fraser Valley Centre. We are very excited at the Centre to be working with the BC Cancer Foundation to fundraise for the expansion of our chemotherapy unit.
Surrey, and surrounding communities, make up one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, and to be able to serve the cancer patients in our region we need to expand into a larger space. This will allow us to treat more patients. In upcoming posts I will provide more details about the expansion, and why it is needed.
I started working as a Medical Oncologist at the Fraser Valley Centre in 2004, after completing my training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology in Vancouver.
During the first two years of Internal Medicine training, young doctors decide whether or not they wish to sub-specialize and after completing a rotation at the BC Cancer Agency, I knew that I wanted to become a Medical Oncologist.
I was inspired by the doctors, nurses, and all the members of the health care team, as they worked together to provide the best cancer care for patients. Oncology is an area that constantly changes and the last 10 years have brought major advances in cancer care that is making a real difference in patient’s lives.
We are only at the beginning of an exciting era in oncology in which major breakthroughs in science and technology are expected to transform cancer care. At a recent medical conference a patient spoke about her journey. She participated in a clinical trial and her cancer responded dramatically to the therapy that was not available even a few years before. She had done very well and her life had been transformed and her wish was that her experience would soon become the norm. I am inspired by what the future of oncology holds, as we strive to make this patient’s wish come true.
Gary
