South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation received a $500,000 donation to kick off a $10 million fundraising campaign for a better oncology clinic.
The Better Care, Better Outcomes campaign began on Sept. 27, and to jumpstart it Essio Truant made a generous donation in honour of his late wife Dianne of $500,000.
Dianne passed away at the Penticton Regional Hospital on May 21, 2019 after a brief battle with cancer. Essio passed away on March 28 of this year.
The campaign will more than double the capacity of the existing oncology clinic at the hospital, which will allow for timelier treatment.
“The expansion of oncology services at Penticton Regional Hospital is very exciting news for everyone touched by cancer in the South Okanagan and Similkameen, and I am confident our generous donors will see the importance of this expansion to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10 million,” said SOS Medical Foundation board chair Peter Steele.
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According to the SOS Medical Foundation, one in two Canadians will develop a form of cancer in their lifetime and one in four will die from the disease.
It is estimated that cancer incidence will increase by approximately 30 per cent in the Interior region over the next 20 years. The Interior has the oldest population in B.C. and will continue seeing an increase in the proportion of its aging population.
That is why this campaign is so important and needed.
To make a donation, please visit sosmedicalfoundation.com, or to find out how you can be a part of this once-in-a-generation campaign, call the Foundation Office at 250-492-9027.
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
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