• Two lab technicians prepare doses at the cancer clinic

    New Radiation Treatment Clinic

    Donors raised over $4-million for cancer care at the QEII.

The QEII Foundation has a long-standing history of supporting cancer care priorities at the QEII for the one in two Atlantic Canadians who will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

reducing wait times and improving treatment options
Putting cancer in the crosshairs

Thanks to donors of the original Cancer Never Waits fundraising campaign, the QEII Foundation celebrated the opening of the James and Edna Claydon Radiation Treatment Clinic in 2012 which raised over $4-million. Aimed at reducing wait times and improving treatment options, the over $20-million expansion to the cancer centre – jointly funded by government and QEII Foundation donors – transformed the care journey for patients receiving radiation therapy at the QEII.

This transformation included establishing one of North America’s best and most innovative radiation treatment clinics, here, at the QEII and funding three new linear accelerators. These linear accelerators are specialized radiation equipment that provide unparalleled image guidance to target a patient’s tumour with the upmost precision and accuracy – avoiding harm to the surrounding healthy tissues. Targeting tumours with arcs of radiation beams like never before, the addition of three new linear accelerators significantly reduces treatment times for patients – and, ultimately, decreases radiation wait times overall.

A patient getting radiation screening on a linear accelerator at the QEII
state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology
Getting to the root of it

QEII Foundation donors also helped introduce state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology at the QEII. This next-generation sequencing equipment helps scientists understand genetic changes associated with individual types of cancer – in addition to providing information that can help predict the course of a disease and even reveal which genetic changes are causing it. This information allows the QEII’s team of experts to more precisely target a patient’s tumor with specific novel treatments that hold the promise of better outcomes. In some cases, this cutting-edge technology can spare some patients from treatment if DNA sequencing indicates the patient would not be receptive to it.

A nurse administering cancer treatment to female patient at the QEII

Take a virtual tour of the James and Edna Claydon Radiation Treatment Clinic.