New Calgary cancer centre receives major money from Arc Resources

On Tuesday, the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre received its biggest corporate donation yet from Arc Resources.

CEO Terry Anderson says it’s an emotional moment.

“It is a big donation of $5 million to this cancer care facility,” Anderson said. “It’s emotional because we have staff right now that are dealing with cancer. And to know they are going to get world-class care, that’s what’s so important to me.”

Wendy Beauchesne, CEO of Alberta Cancer Foundation, says some of the money will go towards having more clinical trials.

“Why cancer clinical trials are so important is not only does it offer treatments today to patients, when maybe other traditional treatment options have failed, but also how you propel cancer treatments forward,” Beauchesne said. “It’s through that research is this treatment better than that treatment.”

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Dr. Don Morris, the medical lead at the new cancer centre, says the rest of the money will support it becoming the first cancer centre in the country to offer two new devices that combine MRIs with radiation machines, or linear accelerators.

“Each time a patient comes in for radiation, the MRI takes another picture of the cancer and can, precisely, tone down the radiation beam so it’s more focused on the cancer and minimizes the surrounding area,” Morris said. “Therefore, less toxicity.”

Mark Warmington was present at Tuesday’s announcement but hopes it’s his last visit. A cancer survivor, he is now back in the fight again. But Warmington says he knows the value of the new building:  giving optimism and hope at a dark time for those in need.

“Everybody comes into this with the same ambition, that they are going to fight it and they are going to win, and they are not going to succumb to it,” Warmington said. “I think that is so much of the battle.  I think more and more places like this will help support that.”

The new Arthur Child Cancer Centre is expected to open in the fall. With 1.3-million square-feet it will be seven times the size of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, which Morris says was too small even as it opened in 1999.

“But it is more than bricks and mortars. It is actually the ability for this building to attract talent.” Morris says. “And so, we are only as good as our people, if you will.

“For me it’s really a dream of a lifetime. But I think for most of our health-care teams and researchers it’s the same. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to get into this building.”

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