Connections run deep in the Maritimes — six degrees of separation is an impossible game here.
That was no truer than in June 2025 when the We Are campaign hit the road, taking our goal to support a new CO2 laser for the QEII Health Sciences Centre to beautiful Prince Edward Island.
In partnership with born and raised Islanders Liz Rigney and Sheri Morgan, co-chairs of the Orchid Women’s Health Initiative, people from all around PEI came together for an unforgettable Evening of Inspiration — a gathering full of heart and hope, all while rallying around the bold vision for this new piece of laser technology.
The CO2 laser has become indispensable in medicine, serving patients in need of minimally-invasive surgeries head and neck, gynecological, and thoracic surgeries, across Nova Scotia and PEI.
PEI’s own Dr. Mark Taylor, the division head of otolaryngology (head and neck) surgery at the QEII, was the driving force for the new CO2 laser. He travels to the island once a month to hold a clinic for patients referred to him and serves patients throughout the Maritimes.
“We (at the QEII) probably have the busiest and most established laser cancer surgery program for head neck cancers in the country. The laser gets used a lot so when one of the two we had started to malfunction, we knew it must be replaced. It means a lot to have donors step up and contribute to the new technology at the QEII — it allows us to provide state-of-the-art cancer care to everyone in the maritime provinces.”
Pro golfer and proud Islander Lorie Kane became a patient of Dr. Taylor’s over the pandemic. She joined the QEII Foundation in Charlottetown and spoke of the importance of supporting Dr. Taylor’s work and the difference the CO2 laser made in her life.
“I had a sore throat that wouldn’t go away. After an ultrasound revealed I had a paragon glioma (a rare, slow-growing, and benign) tumor, I was sent to Dr. Taylor’s PEI clinic. On December 5, 2022, I came to the QEII to be operated on. After the procedure, Dr. Taylor told me everything went great. ‘By the way, we took out eleven lymph nodes’.”
“Everything looked perfect until it wasn't – if I had cancer, it was for all of 45 minutes. There was no bell ringing — it was just taken care of by Dr. Taylor, his team and the CO2 laser at the time. My procedure was quick and I was able to do my 28 rounds of radiation on the Island. We are proud to support Dr. Taylor, an Islander at the top of his game, and his campaign to secure a new CO2 laser.”
Together, Islanders and Nova Scotians raised over $195,000 to ensure this new C02 laser can continue to help save patients with head and neck cancers in minimally-invasive ways, returning them to their regular life sooner.
