As life circumstances evolve and change, it’s crucial to review our estate plans to ensure they remain informed and relevant. West Vancouver’s Dianne Griffith and her husband, Ken, are doing just that – due to both their growing family and a life-changing cancer diagnosis.
Moving to Vancouver together in 1970, the couple have been married for 55 years. Together, they raised their two children – now adults with their own children – and owned two dealerships in the Richmond Auto Mall. Now, they’re enjoying their retirement and the time they get to spend with their grandchildren.
Initially, the couple’s estate plans primarily focused on supporting their children should anything unexpected happen to them.
“But our children are older and self-sufficient now. They have their own businesses and don’t need us like they did when they were in their 20s and just starting out,” Dianne Griffith explains. “I think that as children get older, parents can look at that and think about what other donations they can make.”
The BC Cancer Foundation was a natural place to start for the Griffiths.
“BC Cancer has been in our lives for over nine years,” says Griffith, who faced her first breast cancer diagnosis in 2014 and underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment.
In 2021, Griffith received her second breast cancer diagnosis. This time it was triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of cancer requiring an intensive treatment plan. She’s since undergone surgery and chemotherapy at BC Cancer and in Palm Desert, where she spends part of the year.
“My oncologists in B.C. and California regularly spoke to each other, and the treatments were identical for anyone comparing the care we have here,” she notes.
Griffith is grateful not only for the treatments she received but the kindness of the many BC Cancer staff she has met throughout her journey.
“The staff at BC Cancer are incredible. It’s really good to know there are people in research, in the hospitals, everywhere, who are looking out for you,” she says. “When I left my final treatment, my chemo nurse said, ‘I hope I never see you again,’ and I think that was just about the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me.”
While Dianne and Ken regularly donate to the BC Cancer Foundation, adding the Foundation to their estate plans was another way to give back to the dedicated BC Cancer team, while also supporting future patients needing world-class care.
The BC Cancer Foundation is the largest philanthropic funder of cancer research and care in the province. Every dollar raised stays in B.C., advancing breakthroughs and innovation across BC Cancer’s research programs and six regional centers.
One in two British Columbians will face cancer in their lifetime – a statistic that Griffith hopes will be changed in the future.
If you'd like to leave a gift to the BC Cancer Foundation in your estate plans, the Foundation will happily work with you and your financial and legal advisors.
Call 1.888.906.2873 or email [email protected] to learn more.
