Advancing Cancer Care, One Gift at a Time

For patients facing surgery, even small advances can make a profound difference.

Donor-funded innovations are helping surgeons at Langley Memorial Hospital (LMH) locate hard-to-find tumours with precision, diagnose cancer more accurately and improve surgical outcomes and recovery for patients.

In 2025, donor support helped add several important tools to LMH’s surgical department, including Magseed technology for breast surgery, a new video surgical system for urological procedures and a specialized catheter PACE cart. Together, these innovations are improving the patient experience while helping surgical teams work efficiently and safely.

Magseed technology is transforming the experience for patients undergoing breast cancer care, says Dr. Sarah Lord, an LMH surgeon. Traditionally, patients undergoing breast surgery for non-palpable lesions have required a wire localization procedure on the day of surgery. A radiologist would insert a thin wire into the breast to mark the area of concern, and the patient would then proceed to surgery with the wire still in place.

Magseed offers a more patient-friendly solution with a tiny marker, about the size of a grain of rice, which can be placed days or even weeks before the surgery. During the procedure, a specialized probe detects the seed and guides the surgeon directly to the target tissue.

“Patients with non-palpable breast cancers would often face additional procedures on the morning of surgery, sometimes at different hospitals,” says Dr. Lord, who has been working to introduce the technology to Langley patients. “With Magseed, we can complete part of the preparation well in advance, reduce logistical challenges, minimize stress and streamline care.”

That leads to greater flexibility, fewer appointments and less anxiety for patients, while giving surgeons confidence that the marker remains exactly where it was placed, helping them locate lesions precisely.

“This new technology is definitely much more costly than the old approach, and although we breast surgeons feel it is a small price to pay to improve patient experience and care, getting government funding is difficult, especially in the current spending climate. We would not have been able to fund this without donor contributions,” she says.

A clear vision, with donor support
Moving forward, donor support is also helping address another important gap in breast health services. Langley Community Health & Hospital Foundation is leading a $2.1 million campaign to bring diagnostic mammography to LMH. While patients can currently access screening mammography at the hospital, those requiring diagnostic imaging must travel to Abbotsford or Surrey, and are likely to face additional waits and uncertainty at a stressful time.

This initiative, part of the Foundation’s $25 million Future of Health Care campaign, will replace an aging mammography machine with a state-of-the-art system featuring tomosynthesis, or 3D mammography, which delivers clearer images using lower radiation doses. Donor support will also fund operating room tables for mastectomy and reconstruction procedures, pharmacy and lab equipment and a CT contrast injector to help physicians visualize tumours more clearly. Together, these investments will allow more Langley women to receive diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care closer to home.

Motivated by loved ones
Support from donors, including participants in the annual Drive for the Cure Foundation golf tournament, continues to advance cancer care at LMH. The tournament was founded by longtime friends Doug Hawley, Rob Jeeves and Kirk Fisher at Langley’s Redwoods Golf Course, where Hawley serves as managing director. Over the past two decades, each has lost a parent to cancer.

The tournament has raised more than $433,500 for cancer-related care and treatment at Langley Memorial Hospital over the last decade. In 2025 alone, participants raised approximately $505,000 to support innovations in cancer care and treatment across the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver, including at LMH.

“Over the last 25 years, there’s been so many other people we’ve lost from cancer, and so much along the way that keeps motivating everyone to keep doing it, to keep going to the next level,” says Hawley.

Learn more about how donors are supporting breast health in Langley