Calgary Cancer Centre is scheduled to open in 2024 and will serve residents across the province, including Medicine Hat and area.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
A fundraising campaign in support of Calgary’s newest cancer centre – set to open in 2024 – is making waves in Medicine Hat, as local cancer patients will also have access to the centre.
The OWN.CANCER campaign is a collaborative fundraising effort between Alberta Health Services, the University of Calgary and the Alberta Cancer Foundation, which aims to raise $250 million for advances in cancer research, treatment and care soon to be offered at the facility.
AHS describes the centre as having “a multidisciplinary health system (which enables) access to comprehensive cancer care services” for both inpatients and outpatients.
While Medicine Hat is already home to a cancer centre, medical professionals say the new Calgary centre will benefit southeast Albertans diagnosed with cancer through its advanced treatment options and by way of research.
“Advances in cancer care that are developed in the Calgary Cancer Centre are shared provincially with the other cancer centres, including the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre in Medicine Hat,” local centre manager Dan Thomas told the News. “So what’s developed in Calgary, our local patients benefit from. (And) the standard treatments in Calgary are available to our patients locally.”
Thomas says the Medicine Hat centre receives about 300 patient referrals in a given year, on top of established patients.
Hatter Janet Porter knows well the prevalence of cancer, having had several family members and friends impacted by it, as well as having received her own diagnosis.
And while Porter is no longer receiving treatment and is now a breast cancer survivor, she remains passionate about advancements in cancer care, and is a strong supporter of the new centre.
“It’s a very important and worthy cause,” Porter said. “The Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre in Medicine Hat is amazing, and is very supportive of all its patients with the things it can do. But Medicine Hat is a small city, and we simply can’t specialize in, or provide everything the Calgary Cancer Centre will be able to.”
To show her support for the new centre, Porter joined in fundraising efforts through the OWN.CANCER campaign. She has already hosted one fundraising event and plans to continue raising money through the upcoming year. She invites other Hatters to show their support by joining in efforts.
“Everybody knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, who has passed from it or who has survived with it,” she said. “So, anything that can be done to improve the outcomes, to improve the cancer treatments and to decrease cancer in the population, is so important.”
For more information on the OWN.CANCER campaign and how to get involved, visit owncancer.ca.
