BC Cancer is part of the

Provincial Health Services Authority Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) is a publicly funded health service provider in the province of British Columbia. PHSA is unique in Canada as the only health authority having a province-wide mandate for specialized health services, al ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada.

Facilities

BC Cancer's first cancer treatment centre (then known as the British Columbia Cancer Institute) officially opened in Vancouver on November 5, 1938. BC Cancer operates six regional cancer centres (in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria) and the BC Cancer Research Centre, with departments in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and i
Victoria
All

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ...

services in British Columbia are provided by the BC Cancer, as well as a majority of chemotherapy services. BC Cancer works with local health authorities across the province to provide cancer clinics in areas remote from the six main cancer centres, to cover rural British Columbia and the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Projects

In 2000, the agency partnered with the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. History ...

to create the Chinese Women's Health Project that provides culturally competent outreach programs to increase cervical cancer screening rates among this population.

Fundraising

The BC Cancer Foundation is the fundraising partner of BC Cancer. Established in 1935, the BC Cancer Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises funds to advance research innovation and accelerate access to world-class care for all residents of the province of

. All donations to the BC Cancer Foundation stay in British Columbia to make a direct impact on residents in every corner of the province. Some of the achievements include: discovering and deploying the first effective prevention strategy for ovarian cancer, being the first cancer centre to effectively treat a patient based on the DNA of their cancer, and launching Canada’s first province-wide lung cancer screening program. The Foundation has offices in six of BC Cancer's regional centres: Abbotsford, Surrey, Kelowna, Victoria, Vancouver and Prince George.

History

In May 1935, the BC Cancer Foundation was founded to provide cancer care and treatment across B.C. The launch was announced at the

Hotel Vancouver The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, formerly and still informally called the Hotel Vancouver, is a historic hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Located along West Georgia Street the hotel is situated within the city's Financial District, in Downto ...

, and their first donation received was a $50 gift through a local women's community group. In 1938, a transformative $50,000 bequest from an anonymous woman enabled the conversion of a Vancouver hospital’s intern residence into the province's first cancer treatment centre, which went on to care for 288 patients in its inaugural year. In 1977, the BC Cancer Foundation contributed $2.3 million to establish British Columbia’s first cancer research centre in a converted bakery on 601 West 10th Ave—now known as the L. J. Blackmore Cancer Research Centre. Since then, BC Cancer has established research facilities at all centres across the province, including the Deeley Research Centre in Victoria.

Fundraising Events

The BC Cancer Foundation is the beneficiary of major fundraising events. Th
Workout to Conquer Cancer
is a 31-day challenge to move every day in May while fundraising. The Tour de Cure is an annual cycling event that raises funds for the BC Cancer Foundation to support cancer research and patient care programs. The event takes place in British Columbia, and participants of all skill levels can choose to ride different routes of varying distances. It is the largest cycling fundraiser in the province. The inaugural Tour de Cure event was held virtually in August 2021 due to the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

, and helped raise over $5.5 million for the BC Cancer Foundation. In 2022, the event was held in-person for the first time at Chilliwack Heritage Park, raising $6.3 million with over 1100 cyclists attending. In 2023, 2,000 riders will be participating in the two-day event, which will take place on August 26 and 27 from Cloverdale to

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

. Notable corporate sponsors teams include Wheaton Precious Metals,

KMPG KMPG (1520 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Hollister, California, United States, it serves the Gilroy/Hollister area. The station is currently owned by Promo Radio Corp. KMPG is the only AM statio ...

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

Harbour Air Harbour Air is a scheduled floatplane service, tour and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The predominantly seaplane airline specializes in routes between Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Sechelt, Comox, Whistler and ...

, CTV, Ledcor,

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

, and

RE/MAX RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums, is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchising, franchise system. As of 2015, RE/MAX had more than 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices. RE/MAX operates in over 100 countri ...

. The Foundation has offices in six of BC Cancer's regional centres: Abbotsford, Surrey, Kelowna, Victoria, Vancouver and Prince George. On October 29, 2024, the BC Cancer Foundation announced the discontinuation of the event, citing increased costs, reduced revenue, and external risks, including extreme climate events and unpredictable weather that pose safety concerns. Over its 16-year history, the event generated more than $131 million in gross revenue for cancer research.

References

External links

BC Cancer
website
About the BC Cancer Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports research and care at BC Cancer
{{DEFAULTSORT:BC Cancer Cancer organizations based in Canada Medical and health organizations based in British Columbia 1938 establishments in British Columbia