Supporting the future of Cancer Care with a New LINAC
Published Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Kathy and Brian Forbes celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii in 2008. Just days after returning home, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer, beginning a journey that would see her face cancer four times.
This past spring, we shared the story of Kathy Forbes, a four-time cancer survivor whose life has been saved more than once by radiation treatments.
Kathy's cancer journey began in 2008, just days after her and her husband Brian returned home from celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. What started as a routine mammogram became a breast cancer diagnosis. Just two years later, despite never having smoked a day in her life, Kathy was diagnosed with lung cancer. In 2013, cancer was found in her lymph nodes, and after eight years cancer-free, she faced breast cancer once again in 2022.
Today, Kathy is cancer-free. Throughout each chapter of her journey, radiation treatments delivered using a Linear Accelerator (LINAC) played a critical role in helping save her life.
To everyone who responded to our Cancer Appeal this past spring, thank you. Your generosity is helping ensure more patients have access to the same exceptional cancer care that made such a difference in Kathy's journey.
The Hospital has shared that the renovations to the radiation treatment suite are now complete, and the new LINAC has been installed at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Over the coming months, the LINAC system will undergo extensive testing and commissioning before it begins treating patients this fall.
Patients at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre currently receive radiation treatments using a Linear Accelerator (LINAC). A newly installed LINAC is expected to begin treating patients this fall following commissioning and testing.
While the Province funded the purchase of the LINAC itself, donor support through the Health Sciences Foundation helped fund the specialized renovations, infrastructure upgrades, and equipment needed to bring this advanced technology into service.
Kathy's story is just one of many. Your generosity is helping ensure more patients have access to exceptional cancer care when they need it most.
This is your support coming to life: giving more patients hope, close to home.