The Royal Inland Hospital Foundations’ Executive Director says it appears the community will need to fork up some money to help build the Kamloops Cancer Care Centre.

Although, Heidi Coleman says no funding requests for the Cancer Centre have yet been made to the RIH Foundation, she details from Health Minister Adrian Dix were unclear. 

“I went right up to Minister Dix right after (the announcement) and I said to him, ‘I need to know, are you going to come to us and ask us for money? Because we’re still fundraising for the ER and we finished phase one of the Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Tower but there is a phase two,'” said Coleman. “He said, ‘Well, we are a partnership, we will look at it, I know we have the parkade, we’re working with IH,’ so it was very unclear.”

However, Coleman suggests it was cleared up after reading a quote from the CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation which stated community partners are eager and ready to partner with the province.

“That makes me just think yes, they’re gonna they’re gonna come and ask us for some money for it,” she said.

“I think there will definitely be a portion we will have to fundraise for… We have no idea what it is yet, but I’m planning to look at getting together a committee and fundraising for the Radiation Cancer Center.”

Coleman says it brings some ease knowing there are donors in Kamloops who are ready to donate to the radiation centre.

“There are some donors in Kamloops that have been waiting for this and have been holding on to money because they want to give towards a radiation center.”

Health Minister Adrian Dix announced on May 25 that the first patient is expected to receive radiation therapy at the Kamloops Cancer Care Centre by 2027. It prompted a push from Mike O’Reilly who’s the Board Chair of the Thompson Regional Hospital District, who says he won’t rest until shovels hit the ground on the facility.