![\"Craige](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Craige-Combe-and-Ken-McMaster.gif\")
LONDON, Ont. \u2013 A pair of lifelong friends have made an \u201cextraordinary\u201d $2.4-million donation to advance cancer care at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre, LHSC\u2019s fundraising arm says.<\/p>\nLONDON, Ont. \u2013 A pair of lifelong friends have made an \u201cextraordinary\u201d $2.4-million donation to advance cancer care at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre, LHSC\u2019s fundraising arm says.<\/p>\n
Long-time London Health Sciences Foundation supporters Craig Combe (pictured left) and his friend Ken MacMaster (pictured right), the previous owner and longtime leader of the family-owned MacMaster Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC dealership, were inspired to support better cancer care after seeing how the disease \u201ctouched their friends and loved ones,\u201d according to a foundation news release issued on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took it in my heart to help people if I could,\u201d MacMaster said in a statement. \u201cIf we can eliminate some suffering or grief for families, then it\u2019ll be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair\u2019s donation will support LHSC\u2019s purchase of a second Varian Ethos therapy system, an AI-driven linear accelerator, and the introduction of AlignRT radiation therapy and HyperSight imaging systems across the hospital\u2019s fleet of linear accelerators, the foundation said.<\/p>\n
Linear accelerators are used to treat \u201cmany types of cancer,\u201d including prostate, bladder, lung and some blood cancers, LHSC\u2019s fundraising arm said. AlignRT allows continuous monitoring of a patient\u2019s position throughout treatment, helping clinicians maintain accuracy during radiation delivery, while HyperSight gives a sharper, faster picture of the patient for clearer visualization of the tumour and nearby organs.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, these software upgrades will enhance the precision and efficiency of radiation treatment in London. The technology is designed to target tumours with exceptional accuracy while minimizing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue \u2013 similar to treating only the yolk of an egg without affecting the white or shell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donor-funded upgrades to medical technology are crucial to helping LHSC deliver faster, more precise and personalized radiation therapy while expanding capacity to meet the needs of a growing number of patients, the foundation said.<\/p>\n
An estimated two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, according to the foundation, which noted the hospital provides radiation treatment to roughly 300 patients each day.<\/p>\n
Combe said he wanted to see the technology\u2019s \u201cadvanced way of treating people\u201d brought to London.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur physicians already have the expertise, but this helps ensure they have the tools to match,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can help give patients even greater peace of mind during one of the most difficult times in their lives, that\u2019s worth investing in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combe and MacMaster\u2019s \u201cremarkable gift\u201d will help ensure patients continue to benefit from some of the most advanced radiation technologies available, said Michael Ott, LHSC\u2019s department head of oncology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment will enhance the care experience for thousands of patients in the years ahead,\u201d Ott said. \u201cWe are deeply grateful to the Combe and MacMaster families for helping shape the future of cancer care in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON, Ont. \u2013 A pair of lifelong friends have made an \u201cextraordinary\u201d $2.4-million donation to advance cancer care…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84],"class_list":["post-864076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}