As a former service chief on 7 Medical, I feel I should let you know how important the renovations of the oncology floor were and are to our daily functioning. Prior to Cedars’ involvement in breathing new life into the oncology floor on 7 Medical, rooms were outdated and inadequate to serve the needs of our sickest patients. The nursing and administrative areas, including the teaching area and family room also benefited from the Cedars’ touch.Everyone, but more importantly our patients, benefited from Cedars’ generosity. The improved care and increased morale that accompanied your most important gesture will not soon be forgotten. Thank you again.

On November 22, 2000, the official inauguration of the Ocular Melanoma Laboratory took place in the Lyman Duff Medical Building, McGill University. Made possible by a generous grant from the Cedars Cancer Institute, this state-of-the-art facility serves as both consultation service and research center. The Laboratory is equipped with the latest in computer technology that has enabled us to embrace the newest concept in patient care, telepathology. Through the use of scanners, fax machines, and electronic mail, we can now provide diagnoses to ophthalmologists across the street, the country or around the world in a matter of minutes. The impact of this new development is tremendous. Distance will no longer be a factor, and it will be possible to offer the same quality of care to all patients, regardless of geographic location or economic status.

I am very honoured to be associated with the Cedars Cancer Institute. Words simply cannot convey my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Board of Directors for their support, encouragement and friendship.

The Department of Urology at the MUHC has been continuously encouraged and supported by the Cedars Cancer Institute over the last two decades. The initial gift resulted in the creation of the Urological Cancer Research Laboratory at the Royal Victoria Hospital, which has continued to grow ever since and the urology research team, under the direction of Dr. Claude Gagnon, is now spread over three hospitals and is comprised of 5 full time basic scientists, and 7 urologists and 1 student, 5 fellows, 18 post graduate students and 7 research personnel. Cedars provided funds that made it possible to purchase a trans-rectal ultrasound machine that has helped thousands of patients requiring prostatic examinations and biopsies, and led to earlier diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The department over the years acquired two lasers through Cedars, which were made possible by a special contribution of Tom Nacos for the first laser, and helped by a major contribution towards the second laser, a gift from Michael Hornstein, who also helped acquire a third laser this year. Brachytherapy for prostate cancer is another growing field and thanks to a major contribution from Cedars to the Radiation Oncology and Urology department at the Montreal General Hospital site of the MUHC we will be able to provide this form of treatment. The last major contribution this year has been a contribution to the creation of the Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence, which was created to consolidate the efforts in the Urology department towards improving quality of care through research. This major fundraising effort with an initial objective of 3 million dollars has been initiated by a major gift from Cedars ($100,000). We are almost half way there.

The Radiation Oncology Departments at the McGill University hospitals have depended heavily on the generosity of private individuals and organizations who over the years have contributed very substantial amounts of money for the acquisition of equipment. The Cedars Cancer Institute has been a major supporter of Radiation Oncology since the departments were rebuilt in the 1970’s. Not only did Cedars provide most of the equipment at the refurbished RVH site but it also contributed significantly to some of the many "firsts" at McGill. In 1984, the first high dose rate after loading device to be installed in North America was installed at the RVH as a result of the generosity of Cedars.Cedars has continued to support the Brachytherapy program since then, most recently through the acquisition of ultrasound localization equipment and a treatment planning program that will allow us to begin using high dose rate Brachytherapy for patients with cancer of the prostate. Recently, Cedars has contributed ancillary equipment that allows us to continue to develop this technology. We appreciate very much the support that Cedars has afforded us over the years. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with Cedars that is clearly very greatly to the benefit of our patients.

Minimally invasive surgery is a surgical approach whereby access to the abdominal cavity is created through a series of very small punctures or incisions in contrast to the traditional surgical approaches involving a large incision to gain access to the structures within the abdominal cavity. Minimally invasive surgery has applications for many different types of cancer and in order to allow us to perform these operations, an operating room environment must be available to allow us to use this technology appropriately. The Cedars Cancer Institute is funding in part a project at the Montreal General Hospital site to design an operating room specifically for minimally invasive surgery.The estimated total cost of the complete project, including the appropriate equipment, will be in the range of $750,000 to $850,000. The Cedars Cancer Institute has offered to donate $240,000 that would make them the single largest donor to this project. This has been a very complex project involving many people from many different fields, but it also is a very exciting one that can serve as a prototype for operating room design for the new hospital site of the MUHC. I gratefully appreciate the contribution that Cedars has made towards the project.

The Royal Victoria Hospital can take pride in having one of the most modern departments of Nuclear Medicine in North America. The department is a standout in the quality of diagnostic care it offers patients because of its number of imaging cameras, their state of the art sophistication, and computer power. Much of this credit befalls the Cedars group.

The Cedars Cancer Institute, in partnership with the RVH foundation, has been instrumental in developing this ultramodern equipment base. Without Cedars and the foresight of its board, Nuclear Medicine at the RVH would never have been able to aspire or achieve the level of care it currently provides to our community.

Since its beginning in May 1984, the Cedars Breast Centre has been generously supported by the Cedars Cancer Institute. Cedars has always updated our old equipment and provided us with the new state-of-the-art ones. Over the last year and a half, Cedars purchased a new mammography machine, a new ultrasound machine and a set of computers, thus providing us with the infrastructure to be a model center for the provincial screening program. Women referred to our center have the advantage of being assessed by a team of experts in a single site, thus reducing the lag time associated with making appointments and reading tests, thereby helping reduce anxiety.As we are moving towards a new merged center combining our Cedars Breast Centre with the Breast Clinic at the MGH, which will be at the RVH, the Cedars Cancer Institute Board has been very favourable of such a move and is willing to help make it happen.On behalf of all the staff of the Breast Centre and all the women using our facilities, I would like to sincerely thank you for all you support throughout the years.

In 1962, while I was a surgical resident in training, my mother died of cancer of the throat. It was then that I decided to become a surgical oncologist, along the same line as Dr. Edward J. Tabah, one of the founding members of the Cedars Cancer Institute. The tremendous generosity and efforts of the Chamandy family, and each of the past presidents and their committees who have followed, have led to the many important projects and equipment purchases that have benefited each and every patient with cancer treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital. The funding of young scientists at McGill University through the Fellowship Fund has helped to make the Department of Oncology at McGill and the RVH one of the leading research centers in Canada.

The Prostate Centre and the soon to be established Breast Centre should be the focus of further clinical and basic research in the field of breast cancer. As well, in the area of education, the establishment of the Vivian Saykaly and Edward J. Tabah professorships has contributed to the education of oncology at McGill institutions. The initiation of the CanSupport program has had an immense impact in improving the quality of psycho-social care for patients and their families as well. Therefore as an individual oncologist benefiting from the largesse of Cedars, as well as in my role as one of the directors spearheading the multi-disciplinary management of the patient with cancer, I wish to thank profoundly the unselfish contributions of Cedars to our cause. Furthermore, I wish to state with great humility that we oncologists and our patients will continue to require your support for many years to come.

When I returned to Montreal from New York City in 1983, my goal was to establish a state of the art gynecology oncology unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill University. It became evident to me quite early in the game that I could never as an individual satisfy all the needs of my patients. This is when I first met the people from Cedars.Throughout the years, the Cedars Cancer Insitute and all of its members have provided unselfish support to gynecology oncology patients whenever they were in need. In the true spirit of the word, this is truly "People Giving to People". As Director of gynecology oncology, I salute you and wish you many more years of devoted volunteer work in the care of my cancer patients.

The McGill University Health Centre is proud to be associated with the Cedars Cancer Institute. The activities of Cedars have been broad and all encompassing and have allowed the MUHC to provide outstanding cancer care. Cedars has had an impact on virtually every aspect of cancer care at the MUHC. Throughout the MUHC, Cedars is well recognized for providing the "nuts and bolts" of modern cancer care through the purchasing of specialized medical equipment as well as the construction of state-of-the-art facilities for both outpatient and inpatient care. The Cedars Breast Centre was the first truly multidisciplinary breast clinic in Quebec. Also well appreciated by the public are the activities Cedars has directed to the professionals of the MUHC. Cedars has sponsored a regular lecture series for the lay people as well as annual visiting professors in both Medical and Surgical Oncology.

A Cedars sponsored fellowship has allowed McGill to send bright, young physicians abroad for additional training, thus ensuring that our staff remains at the forefront of cancer care. Cedars has also sponsored many important research projects directed at the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.To the individual cancer patient at the MUHC, Cedars has provided important "extras" which are not funded through the provincial Health Insurance Board. Through its CanSupport program, patients have access to information and support in managing their disease. The Cedars Wilfrid Howick Humanitarian Fund is unique in that it provides a means to ensure that disadvantaged patients can complete their treatment. In short, it’s hard for me to imagine the state of cancer care at the MUHC without the help of Cedars. On a more personal note, Cedars has allowed me to meet and know a group of dynamic, generous and caring individuals who give selflessly of their time and expertise for the betterment of their community. "People helping People" is what Cedars means to me.