Couple donate $1.5M for cancer care research in Kelowna

A $1.5 million donation to the a cancer research program in Kelowna promises to drive advancements in cancer care in the BC Interior and the rest of the province. Ken and Gloria Sargent have a history of supporting the BC Cancer Foundation including donations to bring a PET/CT scanner to the city in 2020, and the recent campaign to raise $6.1 million to establish a Systemic Therapy Suite in Kelowna. In honour of the $1.5 million donation today, Sept. 5, Kelowna’s Molecular Imaging and Therapy Suite will be renamed the Ken and Gloria Sargent Molecular Imaging and Therapy Suite. “Over the years, we have watched BC Cancer–Kelowna grow into a centre of excellence, driving global advancements and providing exemplary care,” Ken and Gloria Sargent said in a media release. “It fills us with hope for the future, knowing that generations to come will continue to benefit from world-class care and research, right here at home.” The new Surgical Oncology Research Program will support and train highly-specialized surgeons who diagnose, stage and remove cancerous tumours. In the past, organs and the surrounding tissue needed to be removed to get rid of tumours which was problematic for patients’ recovery. Researchers are working to create more precise surgical techniques and integrating them with chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy. "Cancer care has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. Where there were once limited options, patients now have numerous potential treatments,” BC Cancer’s regional surgical oncology lead Dr. Chris Baliski said in the release. The new research program will launch surgical oncology clinical trials for highly prevalent cancers like breast, melanoma and thyroid cancer, enhance the standard of care regionally through health services research with a special interest in patient-reported outcomes, bring less invasive and more effective treatment options to patients and create research opportunities to attract and retain top talent in Kelowna, the cancer foundation said. For more information on the foundation’s fundraising efforts go here. https://bccancerfoundation.com/why-give/beyond-belief/interior/ To contact a reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander mailto:halexander@infonews.ca  or call 250-309-5343 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tip@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .