The Foundation's History

In 1935, the cancer survival rate in B.C. was the lowest in Canada. With a belief that B.C. cancer patients deserved better, a concerned group of citizens established the British Columbia Cancer Foundation on May 7th 1935, over seventy years ago.

The first board of directors, chaired by W.H. Malkin, included some of the most prominent citizens in B.C. history, and included R. Bell-Irving, E.W. Hamber, Premier T.D. Patullo, Dr. G. M. Shrum, W.J. Van Dusen and P.A. Woodward, among the original 98 board members.

First Donations
The first recorded donation to the BC Cancer Foundation was $50 from the Native Daughters of
B.C. Post 1, in 1935. An anonymous donation of $50,000 in 1938 enabled the purchase of 3.5 grams of radium and the establishment of the Foundation's first treatment centre in a former interns' residence at the corner of West 11th Avenue and Heather Street in Vancouver. This treatment centre was the starting point for what would later become the BC Cancer Agency, which was thus started by donors to the BC Cancer Foundation.

Today, the cancer survival rate in B.C. is the highest in the country. Donors to the BC Cancer Foundation continue to support vital progress in research and care at the BC Cancer Agency. In 2005, we celebrated our 70th anniversary.

Read Moments in Time [PDF], covering 70 years of the BC Cancer Foundation's history.