HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match: Innovation Improves Access, Wait Times, and Experiences

Advancing diagnosis, accelerating treatment, and transforming care for Southlake’s Regional Cancer Centre.  

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our communities, the HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match campaign is delivering meaningful progress, bringing advanced technology and increased access to patients facing cancer, right here at Southlake.

Over the past year, donors have helped achieve a major milestone: the arrival and implementation of a new, state-of-the-art MRI. Now fully operational, this advanced technology is already transforming the way cancer is diagnosed and managed.

With faster scan times, enhanced image quality, and a more comfortable patient experience, the new MRI is enabling care teams to see more patients each day while improving diagnostic accuracy. For patients, this means shorter wait times and quicker answers during an already stressful and uncertain time.

“Southlake serves some of the fastest growing and aging communities in Canada, and we are excited to introduce to them the new Philips Ambition X MR, which provides a more comfortable experience for patients, while also reducing scan times and improving image quality,” said Lisa Thain, MD, Staff Radiologist and Clinical Director of MRI at Southlake Health. “With this leading-edge technology, our teams will be able to provide faster, more confident diagnoses for patients — a win for everyone!”

This investment reflects the campaign's core goal: ensuring patients receive the same high-quality, advanced cancer care close to home that they would expect in larger urban centres.

Building on this momentum, donor support is also advancing a new frontier in cancer care at Southlake: next-generation sequencing (NGS).

This transformative technology enables clinical teams to analyze cancer at the molecular level, identifying the specific genetic drivers of a patient’s disease. The impact is profound, enabling truly personalized treatment plans that target each patient’s unique cancer, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Just as importantly, NGS will dramatically reduce wait times for critical test results. While patients once waited weeks for results from external labs, testing can now be done on-site, with results available within days. In cancer care, where every moment matters, this acceleration can significantly influence outcomes.

“Each person is unique, and no two cancers present in the same way. Our cancer patients deserve more than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach,” says Dr. Shaqil Kassam, Medical Oncologist & Head of Oncology Research at Southlake’s Regional Cancer Centre. 

“Precision medicine, such as NGS testing, means we can provide the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.”

Together, these advancements represent powerful momentum as the campaign approaches its goal. With more than 90% of our cancer campaign target raised, the vision of a fully equipped, leading edge Regional Cancer Centre is within reach.

Yet the need continues to grow.

As our communities expand and demand for cancer care rises, ongoing investment in technology, research, and innovation remains essential. With donor support, Southlake is not only keeping pace with advances in cancer care but also helping to lead them locally.

We are deeply grateful to every donor who has contributed to this progress. The generosity of our donors ensures that patients facing cancer can access the most advanced diagnostics and treatments available without leaving their communities, when they need their support networks most.

Cancer always hits close to home. And because of donors, care does too.