News

2015 December 17

Patient Makes A Significant Donation

John Taylor (left) presents a cheque to Dr. Eric Frechette. John was assisted in the process by Shawna Ferguson, London Health Sciences Foundation.

It was a normal day for John Taylor - the sun was shining and he was looking forward to taking his sister out for her birthday dinner. During the meal, however, John noticed a piece of his steak had become stuck in his throat. It would not go down or come back up - a weird feeling, and John knew something wasn't right. He went to LHSC's Emergency Department, and he later learned he had esophageal cancer.  

John was immediately referred to thoracic surgeon Dr. Eric Frechette, who performed life-saving cancer surgery (removing a large portion of John's esophagus) in May 2015.  

The care he received inspired John to make a $5,000 gift to Thoracic Surgery. "I'm forever grateful for the care I received from Dr. Frechette," says John, "and the rest of the health care team." 

This donation will be utilized to support the highest priority needs of the Division of Thoracic Surgery.

In addition to John's donation in support of Thoracic Surgery, he gave an additional gift of $5,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society's volunteer driver program.