The BC Cancer Agency is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority

Provincial Health Services Authority

Provincial Health Services Authority is a publicly funded health service provider in the province of British Columbia. Other health authorities in the province have a regional jurisdiction. PHSA is unique in Canada as the only health authority having a province-wide mandate for specialized health...

 in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Mission

The Agency has a three-part mission:

• To reduce the incidence of cancer
  Cancer
  Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
  
  .
• To reduce the mortality rate
  Mortality rate
  Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time...
  
   of people with cancer.
• To improve the quality of life
  Quality of life
  The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
  
   of people living with cancer.

Facilities

The Agency operates five regional cancer care centres and the BC Cancer Research Centre

BC Cancer Research Centre

The BC Cancer Research Centre is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

, with departments in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 and in Victoria.
Essentially all radiotherapy services in British Columbia are provided by the BCCA, as well as a majority of chemotherapy services. The agency provides clinics in areas remote from the five main cancer centres, to provide cover for rural British Columbia and the Yukon

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

. In addition, the agency provides prostate

Prostate

The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male reproductive system in most mammals....

 brachytherapy

Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy , also known as internal radiotherapy, sealed source radiotherapy, curietherapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where a radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment...

 services to Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

province.

Fundraising

By raising funds in the community, the BC Cancer Foundation an independent charitable organization, provides direct support for research and enhancements to care at the BC Cancer Agency.

The Foundation has offices in all five of the BC Cancer's Agency's treatment centres - Abbotsford, Fraser Valley, Southern Interior, Vancouver Island and Vancouver.

Sources

• About BCCA
• About the BC Cancer Foundation, an independent charitable organization that supports research and care at BC Cancer Agency

External links

• BC Cancer Agency website