Boost for Brandon cancer centre

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This article was published 30/03/2023 (1102 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A major donation has been made to help build a new centre in Brandon for cancer patients and their families.

The Paul Albrechtsen Foundation will give $3.5 million to the facility, called the Paul Albrechtsen Centre for Hope, in honour of the late philanthropist from Virden who gave $30 million to various organizations during his lifetime.

The centre will offer physical and emotional wellness programs for cancer patients and their families and will be located in the new Western Manitoba Cancer Centre, which is also under construction as an expansion to the Brandon hospital.

It will be the second Centre for Hope in Manitoba, with the first built in Winnipeg. Brandon’s facility will be about 3,000 square feet and will include a solarium for wellness activities such as yoga, as well as an outdoor courtyard and healing gardens.

Dr. Sri Navaratnam, president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, said the number of Manitobans who get cancer is rising. By 2035, 10,000 new cancer diagnoses will be made annually in Manitoba, compared to the current 6,000 cases each year.

“To meet this urgent need, this expansion will accommodate that and also not just the capacity, but also enhance cancer services by providing second radiation treatment and much-needed clinical and treatment spaces,” Navaratnam said at a news conference Wednesday.

Navaratnam and several other CancerCare representatives were in Brandon, along with Premier Heather Stefanson and Health Minister Audrey Gordon, to announce the donation.

Construction started on the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre expansion in January, with 9,400 square feet of space to provide radiation treatment, chemotherapy, research and, Navaratnam said, clinical trials that will benefit Manitobans outside of Winnipeg.

Navaratnam said helping cancer patients and their families deal with emotional distress is just as important as providing clinical care.

“A patient needs more than clinical care, more than radiation, more than chemotherapy to make a full and complete recovery and have better outcome in counselling,” Navaratnam said. “We’re so pleased that along with increased clinical services in cancer care, we’ll provide a hope and healing program through the Centre for Hope.”

The project is made possible by Albrechtsen, who died in 2019 but began his life in Canada more than 60 years ago. He started Paul’s Hauling in Virden in the early 1950s, after moving there from Denmark. By 1957, he was in business in Brandon, and four years later the company was operating out of Winnipeg.

He was known for his charitable contributions in Manitoba, and was the single-largest donor to the St. Boniface Hospital and Health Sciences Centre foundations. In 2018, Albrechtsen received the Order of Canada.

He would have wanted to know that lives will be changed because of his gift, said Lee Meagher, board chair of the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.

“Years ago, we had the pleasure of dreaming with Paul, and how he would impact and leave a legacy to the province and for the future of Manitobans with cancer,” Meagher said. “This donation will honour his love for this part of the province.”

In August 2021, the provincial government announced funding of almost $110 million for the construction and expansion of the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre and the Brandon hospital, with both projects expected to be complete by 2025.

— Brandon Sun