The Goh Foundation made a whopping $50 million donation to the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) on Saturday for cutting-edge cancer treatment technology. It is the centre's largest single donation in its 14-year history.

Goh Foundation founder Mr Goh Cheng Liang said that the donation was a show of support for "the good work that (NCCS) has been doing all these years".

The bulk of the donation will go towards funding Southeast Asia's first proton therapy machine. Proton therapy is a form of cutting-edge radiation treatment that can reduce unwanted side effects on cancer patients. It can also be used to treat recurrent cancers that standard radiation therapy may not be able to. The $140 million machine will be housed in NCCS's new premises on the Singapore General Hospital campus, which will be ready by 2018.

Cheques for the donations amounting to $54.8 million were presented to guest of honour President Tony Tan Keng Yam at the NCCS charity gala dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The dinner was the first of a string of events intended to raise funds for the new proton therapy machine. Part of the funds raised will also go towards the Community Cancer Fund and cancer research.

"We will still have to keep up with our robust research programme to deepen our understanding of the various biological cells... and their behavioural patterns, to gain better insights into the disease and how to treat it," said NCCS director Professor Soo Khee Chee.