Funds raised during the BC Cancer Foundation's Discovery luncheon will go toward the Patient & Family Emergency Fund at BC Cancer – Kelowna.

(SUBMITTED / iNFOnews.ca)

This year’s BC Cancer Foundation Discovery Luncheon in Kelowna has a specific and important goal in mind.

Nov. 15 marks the eighth annual Discovery Luncheon at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna; and this year the fundraising focus is geared toward the Patient and Family Emergency Fund at BC Cancer, Kelowna.

This fund is in place for patients and families during cancer treatment. When a person needs to stop working and is having trouble affording the medical and non-medical costs that come with having cancer, this fund can be of assistance.

A variety of programs are available through the BC Cancer Foundation in Kelowna for those who require help with healthcare coverage and medical costs. Breast prosthesis, Ostomy and medical supplies, tax deductions for medical expenses and a number of other programs are available.

For the past couple of years, the Discovery Luncheon has focused its fundraising efforts on brining in a new PET/CT scanner to BC Cancer, Kelowna. This $5 million milestone was reached with great success last year.

“This is with great thanks to philanthropic leaders in our community and to the 2,100 donors who gave in support of PET/CT. You can take great pride in advancing cancer care for people in the Interior who will face this disease in the years ahead,” says Chantelle Fund, development officer, BC Cancer Foundation Kelowna.

“PET/CT is vital in helping doctors diagnose cancer and create treatment plans for patients. There are currently only two publicly funded PET/CT scanners in B.C., both located at the BC Cancer Vancouver Centre. PET/CT technology can provide more people with the most effective cancer care possible, without having to leave the region.”

This kind of local care is why iNFOnews.ca has chosen to be a media sponsor for the luncheon for the second year. Sponsorships and support are vital to the success of events such as the luncheon.

Nearly 1,000 people travel from the Interior to Vancouver for their PET/CT scans each year, with this new equipment in Kelowna, that burden will be removed.
PET/CT is proven in many circumstances as the most effective tool for obtaining a complete picture of a patient’s cancer, with an ability to detect cancer cells at an early stage – even before a tumor has formed.

PET/CT can save people from unnecessary radiation treatment, chemotherapy, surgery and biopsies, according to Dr. Dr. Ross Halperin, BC Cancer, Kelowna regional medical director.

Construction at BC Cancer, Kelowna where the new scanner will be housed, is set to begin in spring 2019.

Tickets for the Discovery Luncheon can be purchased on line at https://bccancerfoundation.com/events/discovery-luncheon-kelowna

News from © iNFOnews, 2018