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Drive for Cure comes up with cash for LMH

Drive for the Cure Foundation members Doug Hawley and Rob Jeeves presented $22,500 for the purchase of a new colonoscope.
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Doug Hawley

Drive for the Cure Foundation members Doug Hawley and Rob Jeeves presented $22,500 to Dr. Donald Shirley and staff members of the Langley Memorial Hospital Colonoscopy Clinic for the purchase of a new colonoscope.

"This new equipment is very helpful for us," said Dr. Shirley, a long-time Langley physician. "This new colonoscope means more efficiency – the more scopes we have the better care we can provide for our patients."

A colonoscope is a thin, flexible tube that has a small video camera attached that enables the physician to take pictures or video of the large intestine (colon). A colonoscopy helps find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding. During a colonoscopy, tissue samples can be collected and abnormal growths can be taken out. Colonoscopy can also be used as a screening test to check for cancer or precancerous growths in the colon or rectum.

"The Drive for the Cure Foundation has been raising money through events such as our annual golf tournament for 19 years. Our desire is to fund equipment that is used to fight cancer," said Doug Hawley. "We started out working with the BC Cancer Society and we funded a lot of equipment there, but then expanded our reach by providing funding to various local hospitals. We really enjoy seeing the equipment and knowing that it’s hard at work in our communities."

Due to the aging population in Langley, there is an increasing demand for colonoscopies at LMH. Located in the Ambulatory Care Unit, the Colonoscopy Clinic performs almost 100 colonoscopies each week. The more scopes they have, the longer they last, as they can be rotated through on a continuous basis. If there isn't enough of these scopes or if there are any broken ones or ones that require maintenance, there is a resultant increase in wait times for procedures.

With the increased demands on our health care system, government funding is stretched to capacity and only covers the basic costs.  As medical research progresses and our expertise grow, the cost of specialized health services has increased beyond the basics.

"We rely heavily on our donors to help purchase equipment for our hospital and we’re really grateful for the long-standing support of Drive for the Cure Foundation," acknowledges Kate Ludlam, Donor Relations, LMHF. "Their organization has been supporting us for a long time – since 2004 – and almost $200,000 has been provided to our hospital, to purchase equipment."

Langley is fortunate to have generous community support that fills the gap between government funding and the greater needs of the hospital. Simply put, donations from the community give doctors and nurses the tools they need to provide the best possible care to every patient at Langley Memorial Hospital.

The Drive for the Cure Foundation, along with generous support from local businesses and individuals in BC, has come together to raise over $1.7 million dollars; providing funds for cancer care and treatment in British Columbia.