Nanak Foods Donates $500,000 to new BC Cancer Centre in Surrey

BC Cancer Foundation is honoured to share that Surrey-based Nanak Foods has generously donated $500,000 to the new BC Cancer centre in Surrey.

Founded in Surrey in 1997, Nanak Foods has grown into North America’s largest producer of dairy-based South Asian foods. Over the past 27 years, the Nanak Foods family has been touched by cancer in many ways, including employees, family members and customers. The company is committed to the communities they serve and believes investing in BC Cancer will immensely benefit the residents of Surrey and beyond.

“We recognize that a thriving community requires the active participation and support of its members. It is not enough to rely solely on government funding; rather, it is incumbent upon us to step up and fill the gaps where needed,” says Raj Arneja, Nanak Foods’ Director of Community Engagement & Philanthropy. “And so, with a sense of responsibility and compassion, we have chosen to support the BC Cancer Foundation centre in its noble mission to provide quality healthcare to all.”

“We are truly grateful for the generosity of Nanak Foods,” says Kristina Lebed, BC Cancer Foundation’s Executive Director for the Fraser region. “Cancer is the largest healthcare challenge in our region. With the help of donor support, the new BC Cancer centre in Surrey will ensure our loved ones have access to cutting-edge care, where and when they need it, for generations to come.”

The BC Cancer Foundation is fundraising $30 million to equip the new BC Cancer centre with the latest in life-saving technology – the Foundation’s largest campaign to date in the Fraser region.

Over 10,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed in the Fraser region each year – accounting for over a third of all cases in B.C. – and the number is rising as the population ages and grows. The new centre is essential to ensuring timely access to life-saving care, close to home for patients of the fastest growing region in B.C.

The new centre will create capacity for an additional 50,000 radiation and 22,000 chemotherapy visits each year. Importantly, it will also bring a PET/CT scanner and cyclotron to the region. PET/CTs are critical imaging machines used in cancer diagnostics and treatments. Local patients requiring a PET/CT currently need to travel to Vancouver.

The combination of a PET/CT scanner and cyclotron, which creates the radioactive isotopes used in PET/CTs and in emerging areas of research, will drastically expand the region’s clinical trials program. This will increase local patients’ access to the latest in life-saving care, help attract world-class talent to the region and accelerate breakthroughs in cancer research.

To join Nanak Foods in support of the new BC Cancer centre in Surrey, visit: bccancerfoundation.com/fraser