A London couple has donated $1.5 million to help establish a new centre for those suffering from pancreatic cancer in southwestern Ontario.
Rick and Shelley Baker presented the London Health Sciences Centre with the sizable gift on Wednesday. The money will be used to create the new Baker Centre for Pancreatic Cancer, which will provide patients with improved access to care, more targeted personalized treatment, and new treatment options.
“We need to do better for pancreatic cancer patients in our community. Dr. Stephen Welch [an oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre] and his team were excellent, but the access to cutting edge technology and experimental treatment options was just not there,” said Rick Baker, who was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in February 2016. “I had to travel the world to find alternative treatments and trials to help me fight this disease. I want to help others, here in London, to have access to better treatment options and technology."
Pancreatic cancer is fast-growing and has one of the lowest survival rates. Diagnosis and treatment of the disease are considered complex. Often, this form of cancer is not detected until it has reached an advanced stage, making treatment more difficult.
In addition to patient care, the new centre will focus on research, offering a multidisciplinary clinic, new diagnostic technology, and the development of a new translational pancreatic research program. It will also begin genomic sequencing for all newly diagnosed patients - a measure that helped Baker, but that he had to pay for out of pocket in the U.S.
Genomic sequencing can highlight specific anomalies in tumour DNA, that physicians can then target through specialized treatments.
“It is with the help of inspirational donors like Rick and Shelley Baker that a change in medical care for pancreatic cancer patients is possible now and into the future,” said John MacFarlane, President and CEO of the London Health Sciences Foundation. "This gift will not only impact the lives of pancreatic cancer patients in our community, but in communities around the world.”