$20-million Transformational Gift

This gift will support advanced cancer care technology, such as personalized radiotherapy, a world’s first cancer-fighting technology being developed at the QEII. The family’s generous support will also be a catalyst for enabling future innovation and discovery opportunities to happen sooner. This will help contribute to delivering care differently, improving access and patient outcomes, reducing wait times, and attracting and retaining the brightest minds in medicine.

In honour of their late parents, Colin and Belle MacDonald, the MacDonald family’s tribute gift will name the new cancer care centre being developed as part of QEII New Generation.

With a vision of integrated, advanced care delivered in a supportive, healing environment, the new cancer centre will be a beacon of hope for patients and families and exemplify the commitment to deliver compassionate, innovative health care. The MacDonald family shares a similar commitment, as healthcare connections run deep in their family.

The matriarch of the family, Belle, spent her career caring for others, as head nurse for many years at the former Halifax Infirmary hospital. In addition to caring for hundreds of patients and families, Belle raised her seven children while working long hours and stretching every dollar. 

Her strength, perseverance, and giving nature was instilled in the MacDonald children, who are proud to honour both of their parents with this lead gift.

Earlier this year, the QEII Foundation launched its We Are campaign, a $100-million campaign to transform health care at the QEII. Supporting many care areas, such as diagnostic imaging, mental health care, rehabilitation, heart health, cancer care, and surgical robotics, the We Are campaign will truly elevate clinical excellence at the QEII to new heights. 

The Centre is responsible for delivering safe, equitable and sustainable cancer care services; the full continuum of cancer care from prevention and early detection through to screening, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, palliative, and end-of-life care. 

Personalized radiotherapy is a new way to deliver radiotherapy to patients. Through research and development, QEII experts will help develop an advanced model of adaptive, personalized radiotherapy technology that will be first in the world.

The goal is to allow healthcare teams to evolve, adapt and re-map a patient’s unique treatment plan in real time – using unparalleled imaging quality – before each radiation treatment session begins. This means targeting radiation beams with unprecedented accuracy; completely personalized based on the shape and movement of the patient’s tumour and anatomy mere minutes before their treatment begins.