BC Cancer Blog

Hello, I’m Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi, medical oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency – Vancouver Centre where I’m also the Regional Medical Director. My specialty area is prostate cancer for both my clinical work and research activities. My research is focused on clinical trials and development of biomarkers. Clinical trials are research involving people with cancer where we are trying to develop new treatments, or new ways of using old treatment, to help people with cancer do better. Biomarkers are needed in cancer to help us determine a person’s prognosis and/or response to therapy so we can better...

Special thanks to Dr. Daniel Renouf for sharing the incredible progress being made to treat pancreatic cancer. It is a true testament to the importance of events such as the Glotman-Simpson Cypress Challenge , proceeds from which fund this life-saving work. We are pleased to welcome back to our blog Dr. Kim Chi, medical oncologist and director of clinical research at BC Cancer, for the month of August. Dr. Chi will blog about his work advancing treatment for prostate cancer through a number of promising clinical trials. Dr. Chi will also share his experience participating in this year’s...

In my previous blog I discussed some of the exciting research happening in pancreatic cancer led by our group at the BC Cancer Agency and Pancreas Centre BC. It’s safe to say that none of this would be possible without the very generous donors of the BC Cancer Foundation. When I came to the BC Cancer Agency several years ago, a major fundraising initiative by the Foundation helped create the Pancreas Centre BC. Donor support helped generate an explosion of pancreatic cancer research in BC, making us now a national leader in this area. The 10 th annual Glotman-Simpson Cypress Challenge , which...

Thanks to everyone who had a chance to look at last week’s blog. This week I will share with you a little bit more about my everyday work, and discuss an exciting new clinical trial now underway for pancreatic cancer. One of the fulfilling aspects of working as a clinician-researcher is that every day is different. Several days of the week I spend in the oncology clinic at BC Cancer. We have a great clinical team, including a nurse practitioner, family doctor specializing in oncology, and multiple medical trainees including medical students, residents, and medical oncology fellows. In...

Dr. Daniel Renouf is our guest blogger this month, and talks about his focus on pancreatic cancer research.

Thank you to Dr. Ma for updating us on the status of VERO at BC Cancer. It is exciting to read about the first patient procedure that took place and to know that our generous donors are fuelling this progress. We are pleased to welcome back to our blog Dr. Daniel Renouf, medical oncologist and co-director of Pancreas Centre BC, for the month of July. Dr. Renouf will discuss the life-saving research advancements underway for pancreatic cancer, the deadliest cancer facing Canadians today. He will also highlight the impact of the 10th annual Cypress Challenge, which takes place Aug. 13. Thanks...

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 radiation beams to target the tumour, while sparing most of the heart from significant irradiation. This is a basic function of VERO, yet in that there is already an advantage over the most sophisticated treatments...

One of the most exciting aspects about VERO is how it will improve patient treatments well into the future. Indeed, part of the reason why we selected technology like VERO at BC Cancer was that we saw its future developmental potential. We are just at the beginning stages of using VERO’s full potential. As time goes on, we will be rolling out increasingly sophisticated treatment techniques and that is what makes it so exciting to work with. Every patient who undergoes treatment on the VERO is part of our ethics-approved research protocol where we analyze the many ways in which the technology...

The VERO machine, now installed at BC Cancer, is the most advanced stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) system available in the world. SBRT involves delivering multiple beams of radiation from outside the body in a concentrated (high dose) manner from various directions, effectively targeting a tumour from every possible angle. It’s a highly effective form of treatment for those who have cancers that are hard to address through surgery, such as head and neck cancers, or in cases where a patient’s cancer is surrounded by healthy tissue that can be easily injured with conventional...

My name is Dr. Roy Ma and I work as a radiation oncologist here at BC Cancer. It is a pleasure to be your guest blogger this month. I’ll be blogging about my work with VERO – the most technologically advanced radiotherapy delivery system that is now installed at BC Cancer. It’s an incredible feat made possible thanks to the generosity of donors to the BC Cancer Foundation. First, I’d like to introduce myself and share with you my journey to the BC Cancer Agency. I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Vancouver when I was eleven. I went to high school here and then went on to UBC for both...