Cancer care forever changed in southern Alberta after OWN.CANCER fundraising campaign exceeds $250 million goal

Calgarian Heather Culbert recalls three defining moments over the past five years that made her believe the impossible might be possible: the day construction started on a much-needed new cancer centre in Calgary; the shivers she felt when she heard the bell ring in this launch video for the OWN.CANCER campaign and the day she learned the campaign had attracted the largest gift to health care in Alberta’s history. 

All leading to now, when southern Albertans who have experienced cancer – like herself and her mother – can walk through the front doors of the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre and feel hope knowing the best researchers, the best clinicians and the best equipment are ready to support their cancer journeys. 

“It's epic, what can I say? The generosity of donors to the OWN.CANCER campaign is going to change the lives of cancer patients forever,” says Culbert, who co-chaired the campaign with John Osler and Deborah Yedlin. 

More than 17,000 Albertans contributed to the historic fundraising achievement of the OWN.CANCER campaign. Launched in 2021, the campaign, a partnership between the Alberta Cancer Foundation (ACF), Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the University of Calgary, aimed to elevate the new Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre into one of the world’s leading centres for cancer care. 

“It’s well beyond anything that we believed could have happened for sure,” adds Culbert. 

A monumental $30 million gift this fall from Calgary philanthropists Stan and Marge Owerko lifts the total raised to $298 million, exceeding the campaign's $250 million goal and marking one of the largest philanthropic fundraising efforts in Alberta’s history.

While the fundraising effort also included a number of other transformative gifts to the ‘Arthur Child,’ including a $50 million gift from the Arthur J.E. Child Foundation, and a $25 million gift from Calgary’s Riddell family, every single donation contributed to the campaign’s remarkable achievement.

The Arthur Child began welcoming patients in late October. Culbert is ecstatic patients and their families will now receive care and support at a spacious single location where treatment spaces are filled with sunlight and steps away from fresh air in plant-filled courtyards. 

“Cancer touches all of us, and we knew from the start the only way this vision would be realized is if the community stepped up as part of the solution,” says Culbert, who underwent treatment for breast cancer herself in 2009 while also supporting her mother Connie through cancer treatment.

“My mom would be seen at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre then I would have to take her to the Holy Cross Centre and for various treatments at Rockyview General Hospital. The space where she received chemotherapy was crowded and the radiation area had no windows,” Culbert says.

The new centre – the largest of its kind in Canada – is also ‘comprehensive’ – it includes 110,000 square feet (roughly two football fields) of dedicated research space.

Donations to the OWN.CANCER campaign have allowed the University of Calgary’s Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute to staff up with top Canadian and international research experts to lead discoveries in immunotherapy and precision oncology. Campaign giving will also fund new clinical trials that will save the lives of Albertans and has supported the purchase of some of the world’s most advanced, most precise radiation technology for the centre. 

“Having researchers in the building with oncologists and radiologists is going to make a huge difference when it comes to boosting access to customized treatments for patients. I’m just so grateful for Calgary – Calgary is the place where we make the impossible happen,” says Culbert. 

Campaign closes with transformative gift to support critical cancer care and research

The $30 million gift from the Owerko family, which will also benefit the Alberta Children’s Hospital, will support three critical areas of cancer care and research: immunotherapy, radiation therapy and clinical trials.

A significant portion of the gift will focus on pediatric initiatives tied to the children’s hospital by establishing the Stan & Marge Owerko Biomanufacturing Facility for Immunotherapy at the Riddell Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy – allowing discoveries in the Centre to be translated quickly and cost effectively into clinical grade treatments for both children and adults. The gift will also go towards supporting state-of-the-art MR Linac technology that is already providing advanced radiation therapy at the Arthur Child. The remaining portion of the donation will support the Owerko Family Centre for Clinical Trials at the Arthur Child while also expanding the pediatric cancer clinical trials program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“Cancer is a frightening disease and a diagnosis at any age is a crushing blow to the whole family” say Stan and Marge Owerko. “The Arthur Child is poised to change lives by bringing together the very best researchers, clinicians and practices in cancer care to help patients and families during one of the most difficult times of their lives. It’s an honour to support their extraordinary work and our hope is that the discoveries made at this inspiring centre will benefit all cancer patients – not only here in Alberta – but around the world.”

Cancer now impacts one out of every two Albertans over the course of their lifetime. Thanks to the campaign, the Arthur Child will change the future for Albertans facing cancer by becoming a global leader in immunotherapy and precision oncology, driving more effective, personalized cancer treatments. It will also bring more life-saving clinical trials to Albertans and give cancer patients access to some of the most advanced and precise cancer treatment technology on the planet.