Our Founders
Norma Brockenshire and Dr. Hakam Abu-Zahra are the heart and soul of our organization. When they started this foundation in 1996, they saw a need to support local cancer care, and their dedication to patients in our community runs deeply through our organization to this day.
Dr. Hakam Abu-Zahra
Dr. Abu-Zahra graduated from Cairo University, Egypt and did post-graduate training in Hematology/Internal Medicine at Dundee and Edinburgh Universities in Scotland. In 1969, he arrived in Canada where he accepted a position as Research Fellow at Queen’s University in Kingston and then Research Associate at Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto. In Windsor, he was Head of the Systemic Therapy Program, before being named Chief Executive Officer of the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre and Vice President of Cancer Care Ontario. He was Chief of Oncology at Windsor Regional Hospital and Founding Member of the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation.
Norma Brockenshire
Norma Brockenshire was born in New Waterford, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. After studying at St. Francis Xavier University, she moved to Windsor and married John Brockenshire, a lawyer who later became a judge. Together they raised three children. During the early years, Norma volunteered with the Windsor Aquatic Club and the Canadian Cancer Society. This, together with a diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer, started a lifetime commitment to cancer care. In 1993, Norma attended the first meeting of community volunteers who became known as the Friends of the Centre. In 1996, after a successful lobby to leverage funding for a new cancer centre, Friends of the Centre formed a charitable foundation, the Windsor Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation. Norma was elected President, which was a volunteer position that she proudly held for many years. Sadly, Norma passed away July 19, 2016.
DEDICATED TEAM
A complete list of the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation staff can be found on our Contact page. For a list of our Board Of Directors, please click here.