great strıdes
years of
we still need your help
This April, the Canadian Cancer Society commemorates its powerful legacy of funding leading-edge cancer research, advocacy and support of Canadians living with this disease. But more challenges lie ahead
From left to right: Participants at a Ladies Great Ride Event held in Thamesville, Ont., in the 1960s and ’70s. Volunteer canvassers from Edmonton recruit new volunteers during the 1940s. The first Relay For Life event in Ottawa in 1999. A Canadian Cancer Society display from the 1976 Daffodil Parade. Andrew Metcalfe nears his 1,200-km Pink Portage on Aug. 1, 2012. Our mascot, Daffy, volunteers during Daffodil Month. A nurse and patient from the Princess Margaret Hospital Lodge in the 1970s. Miss Daffodil contestants from the 1984 Daffodil Parade. Princess Diana visits the Canadian Cancer Society in Sudbury in 1989. Dignitaries from an annual Daffodil Parade in 1976. An active participant at the 2002 Relay for Life event. Humber nurses participate with a float in the 1984 Daffodil Parade. In 2010, Mick Bhatia, a Society-funded researcher, discovers how to turn human skin cells directly into healthy adult human blood cells – a breakthrough that could revolutionize the way leukemia is treated. Members of the Niagara police force fundraise for the Society in the early years. In 1960, new slogan “Cancer can be Beaten” is unveiled. A father and son participate in Hoops, Wheels and Deals in 1996. Daffodil pins, sold nationwide in 2012.
SUPPORT CANADIANS LIVING WITH CANCER
Wear a daffodil. Text FIGHT to 45678 to Donate $5.
produced by:
75 years of progress
what we can all do to change cancer forever by Martin Kabat, CEO, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division
This year, the Canadian Cancer Society marks its 75th anniversary. Since 1938, we have worked relentlessly to prevent cancer, save lives and support people living with cancer. As CEO of the Ontario division of the Canadian Cancer Society, I am honoured to lead an organization that is at such an important juncture in the Society’s history. Proud as we are of our progress, we know more needs to be done. Something needs to change so that there is no longer a need for the Society to exist 75 years from now. Cancer is a big problem that is only going to get bigger as our population ages and grows. Now the single largest killer in Canada, cancer overtook heart disease for the first time in 2011, stealing the health and lives of more people than stroke, diabetes, pneumonia, liver disease and HIV/AIDS combined. We’ve come a long way since the days when people could not even bring themselves to whisper the word “cancer” but cancer still strikes terror in the hearts of most people. A survey we conducted last November shows that 70 per cent of Ontarians fear cancer more than numerous other diseases. So, what can we all do to change cancer forever?
The little flower that could
Martin Kabat
Raise funds or make a donation:
Much of the progress we have made is because of research. Today, more than 60 per cent of Canadians diagnosed with cancer will survive compared to about 25 per cent in the 1940s when the Society began funding research. Just two weeks ago, we announced 37 Innovation Grants across the country, including one in Hamilton where researchers are developing a new imaging technique to enhance colonoscopy and make it easier to zero in on suspicious growths that require follow-up. This first-of-its-kind approach is expected to lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death for men and women combined. We couldn’t support such pioneering research without the support of our generous donors.
Advocate for changes:
Last month, when the Ontario government announced a bill banning youth under 18 from using indoor tanning, Health Minister Deb Matthews congratulated the Society for its work in advocating for this life-saving legislation. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this success without the work of many volunteers working at a grassroots level across the province making deputations at municipal councils and at the provincial level.
Make a difference:
There is nothing more valuable than the time and energy of dedicated volunteers who help us raise funds and deliver services. It is really uplifting when a volunteer driver tells us about how good he feels helping cancer patients get to their treatments and making a difference in someone’s life. We can all play a role in the fight against cancer. In the following pages, you will read about brave cancer fighters and see how they are contributing. You can start today. During April — Daffodil Month — please show your support for those living with cancer and honour those who have died by wearing a daffodil pin, our symbol of hope.
Daffodil décor idea blossomed into an established tradition, symbol of hope By Jaclyn Tersigni
5 ways the Canadian Cancer Society can help you
Transportation
A volunteer-provided program, which helps patients get to and from their cancer-related treatment appointments when they have no other way of getting there on their own. In 2012, our volunteer drivers helped approximately 14,000 patients get to over 118,000 cancer-related appointments, driving approximately 13 million kilometres.
Cancer Information Service
Teams of highly trained cancer information specialists answer questions and provide accurate, up-todate information on all types of cancer, diagnostic tests, treatments, side effects, and clinical trials.
Peer Support
Connects patients and caregivers with fully screened and trained volunteers who have had cancer or cared for someone with cancer. These volunteers listen, provide hope, offer encouragement and share ideas for coping – all from their unique perspective as “someone who’s been there”.
Smokers’ Helpline
Offers proven tips and tools to help people quit successfully. This service offers personalized and non-judgmental support, advice and information over the phone, online and via text messaging.
“Both my parents are cancer survivors. My father has had cancer three times — he’s had testicular, bowel and skin cancer. My mom has had cancer once. She’s had uterine cancer.”
CancerConnection.ca
An online community, available 24/7, where cancer patients and survivors, their families and friends can share their experiences and build supportive relationships in their cancer journey.
“To me, wearing the yellow daffodil is a symbol of their courage, their strength, and their unity in the fight against cancer. But I think it speaks for everybody who is fighting for life … They’re the reason why I work here (at the Canadian Cancer Society) because I want to make a difference.” - Sharon Nicholson Senior Manager, Relay For Life Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division
The yellow flowers — of hardy nature and inspiring a feeling of renewal — were chosen by a group of Toronto Canadian Cancer Society volunteers to decorate tables at a fundraising tea hosted by Lady Eaton in 1954. Soon, “Daffodil Teas” became an established tradition. Almost 60 years later, the daffodil is the chosen symbol of the Society, with a whole month dedicated to its message. “People really do see it as a symbol of hope,” says Patricia Ganter, the Toronto daffodil campaign manager at the Society. “Although cancer sometimes is not the most visible disease, (daffodils are) a visible way of showing support”: by wearing the special commemorative lapel pin sold for Daffodil Month in April to raise funds for the work of the Canadian Cancer Society. “At the beginning of the month you see a few pins and as the month goes along you see more and more,” Ganter says. “You see someone with that pin and suddenly you know that you’re behind the same cause.” The pins, introduced in 2011 as an alternative to live flowers, are available with donations of any size. In 2012, more than $5 million was raised through Daffodil Month in Ontario. The goal of the campaign isn’t solely to collect much-needed funds for cancer research and programs; it’s also to raise awareness and support cancer patients, as well as honour those who have died. “I’d like people to automatically see April as the month that they show their support, that they show hope, and for the (daffodil) to be a universal symbol,” Ganter says. To boost the campaign’s profile, the Society is inviting public figures to don a
daffodil pin. “We are encouraging on-air hosts, MPPs, mayors, police and fire chiefs and public figures from all sectors to wear the pin to drive awareness,” says Michael Sheiner, senior communications advisor at the Canadian Cancer Society’s Ontario office. Daffodil Month runs from April 1 to April 30 — peaking with Daffodil Day on April 27 — but interest in the campaign ramps up early. By mid-March, 10,000 daffodil pins had already been ordered through the Canadian Cancer Society’s workplace campaign. The bulk of pin sales take place early April, when volunteers will be at TTC stations, in Toronto’s PATH system, and at various stores and businesses. Those looking for locations can visit fightback.ca and use the “Pin Locator.” Ganter helps organize the droves of volunteers in Toronto. “A lot of the (volunteers) have a personal connection to cancer and they can really speak to their story,” Ganter says. “We have great families and schools who come out together, workplaces where they’ll set up daffodil pin sales.” It’s the stories of those volunteers that make the daffodil campaign special. “There’s a lot of logistics involved,” Ganter says. “But when you actually get out there and meet families who have teenagers who have survived cancer and they’re out selling the pin and talking to people … it really is heartwarming.”
“My husband was diagnosed with nonHodgkin’s lymphoma in 1999. ...When I joined the Society in 2001 I had a first-hand appreciation of the situation that faces cancer patients and their caregivers. … My sister was also recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma and she started a treatment last fall in a clinical trial.” “When I wear the daffodil, I think of the good work that the funding for research has paid out in dividends in terms of treatments that give both quality of life or in some cases, provide a cure.” - Maggie De Bruyne Senior Coordinator, Community Services Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division
Victory for front-line activists Indoor tanning danger set to fade for youth as Ontario announces proposed legislation
Wear a daffodil pin this April to show your support for Canadians living with cancer and let them know that no one has to face cancer alone. Visit fightback.ca find out where to get your pin today.
By Donna Yawching Joan Gibb is jubilant. Seven years of hard work, determination, and lobbying have paid off. “I don’t want to gloat,” she laughs, “but this is wonderful.” The Oakville resident is a long-time volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society, and has been on the frontlines of the battle against cancer-causing tanning beds in Ontario. So Health Minister Deb Matthews’ recent announcement that indoor tanning may soon be off-limits to anyone under 18 is a hard-won victory. Similar proposed legislation has fizzled three times, shelved due to provincial elections or, last fall, the prorogation of Legislature. Recognizing that advocacy is the art of finding alternate routes, Gibb and volunteers zeroed in on municipalities, writing letters, giving presentations, organizing school activities, lobbying MPPs. Last August, Oakville became the
first municipality in Ontario to pass a by-law restricting indoor tanning. Gibb praises councillors Pam Damoff and Ralph Robinson for their “courage“ in shepherding the bylaw toward implementation. “We (Oakville) set the pace there,” she says. Mississauga and Peel Region soon followed suit; and now, the province is also (almost) on board. The Society has waged this war for over seven years, ever since the evidence started piling up that this lifestyle practice can be as deadly as tobacco, or asbestos. Ultra-violet rays (UVR) – both natural and artificial – are directly linked to skin cancer; and tanning salons expose their clients to a level of radiation that can be up to five times higher than that of the summer sun. Worse, the effects of UV exposure are cumulative: the earlier and more you tan, the greater your chances of developing some form of skin cancer.
The Society is delighted that the new regulations will – at the very least – protect young people under 18. The proposed legislation will also prohibit marketing that targets minors, and require that warning signs be posted in tanning salons. When the legislation is passed – probably by fall, if nothing derails it – Ontario will become the seventh province to regulate the tanning industry, and the sixth to institute a ban on tanning for minors. “We are focused on trying to make sure the bill passes as quickly as possible, and is enforced,” says Florentina Stancu-Soares, senior coordinator for the Society’s Public Issues team. “We’d really like to have a win.” Gibb is a long-time member of the Public Issues team, and a “proud and passionate” volunteer ever since her father died of lung cancer 45 years ago. She has done everything from
door-to-door canvassing to selling daffodil pins each spring. A former public relations manager with Bell Canada, she has helped train regional volunteers in the art of front-door solicitation. She does presentations in schools, and organizes the annual Relay For Life fundraiser. And, of course, she writes letters tirelessly, and lobbies, lobbies, lobbies. Her children, now grown, were frequently involved. “It’s just a way of life. It’s a huge part of me,” she says. Gibb, says Stancu-Soares, is the embodiment of the volunteer spirit. “She’s really a part of the Society. I feel really fortunate to work with her.” Noting that the Society believes cancer must be fought on many different fronts, Stancu-Soares adds: “It just amazes me how committed our volunteers are in doing these projects. We wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
MELANOMA BY THE NUMBERS Rates for melanoma have shown a slow, but steady rise over 40 years. It is now the third most common form of cancer among young Canadians. In Ontario, in 2012, there were 2,850 new melanoma diagnoses, and 430 deaths. The increase in melanomas on areas of the body not normally exposed to sunshine is one indication that tanning beds and sun lamps may be partially responsible. International studies show that tanning before the age of 35 elevates the risk of developing melanoma significantly. Some countries, like Brazil and two territories in Australia, have banned the practice. Joanne Di Nardo, Senior Manager, Public Issues: “While new legislation that would ban youth under 18 from indoor tanning salons has been introduced at Queen’s Park, note that it has not been passed into law. We encourage people to send letters to their MPPs at takeaction.cancer.ca.”
I wear it for my mother. My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer at age 52 when I was still a teenager and fought it with amazing strength and optimism that was an inspiration to our whole family. Today, she is a happy, healthy woman who continues to inspire the people around her. It is estimated that 186,400 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Canada in 2012. Supporting cancer research can help to find new and better ways to diagnose and treat the disease.
Support Canadians living with cancer. Wear a daffodil.
Dorthe, daughter of a uterine cancer survivor.
volunteer champions four brave cancer fighters and the key roles they play
Ian
Transportation Service is more than just a ride By Matt Kwong
For more information on the Canadian Cancer Society’s transportation program, call 1-888-939-333 or visit cancer.ca.
Volunteer drivers and funds are always needed to support the Transportation program.
Sign up today. Visit cancer.ca.
As if chemotherapy weren’t scary and debilitating enough, simply being able to get home after the treatments can be a major cause of distress for cancer patients. Aggressive chemo comes bundled with life-disrupting side effects like nausea, chills and extreme fatigue. For Mary Ellen Renaud, diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005, medication that attacks her body’s cancer cells also leaves her too exhausted to drive. The 67-yearold retired nurse lives just 10 minutes from the Windsor Regional Hospital, where she goes for biweekly chemo appointments. “But with the chemo drugs, I would never be able to drive back home,” she says. “I’m not mentally alert, I’m very tired. I just couldn’t imagine doing it.” So Renaud rides with the Canadian Cancer Society’s transportation program, a service provided for more than 40 years to Ontario patients. In the last decade, 2,500 volunteers escorted more than 156,000 people and logged more than 130 million kilometres ferrying patients across the province — enough distance to circle the planet 3,248 times. Volunteers like 84-year-old Ian Caunce use their own cars. The Barrie man wakes up as early as 5 a.m., shuttling passengers to cancer hospitals in Toronto, then back to Barrie in his pearl-white 2008 Cadillac DeVille. “Some of them say it’s the smoothest ride they’ve ever had. I could end up with a car-load of people all fast asleep,” says Caunce, who guesses he’s travelled about 154,000 kilometres over eight years of volunteering. He’s transported patients as young as 11, accompanied by their parents for treatment at Sick Kids hospital. “You’re taking somebody an hour and a half from Barrie,” Caunce says. “If your patient is going for chemo, it takes about five hours. You bring them home, that’s nine hours. So it’s a full day.” For many patients, making those long-distance trips alone is risky after radiation therapies or chemotherapy. Others simply can’t afford to commute so regularly. Although Renaud’s adult children took her to appointments at the onset of her treatment, the stress of constantly asking them to take time off from work and family commitments became enormous. “I have a sister I can ask, I have neighbours, but do you know how discouraging it is to ask five people, but somebody has to get groceries, somebody else is doing this, somebody’s picking up their kids?” she says. Renaud began calling the Society’s transportation service in 2009. “It’s made a world of difference for me. It took pressure off me and my family,” she says. “When I go for cancer treatment, I’m relaxed. My son said, ‘Mom, you’re at peace, you’re calm, you’re not stressed out, so we’re not stressed out.’” The program is more than just a ride. Renaud’s advice for new cancer patients worried about getting to appointments is to reach out for help if they’re feeling overwhelmed. “It’s just not worth the hassle worrying and trying to get through it by yourself.”
Raymund
YOUTH VOLUNTEERS PICK UP THE TORCH By Jaclyn Tersigni
For 24-year-old volunteer Raymund Ong, the drive to help others was born from life experience. Ong had just turned 20 when the cramps started. He was studying zoology at the University of Guelph and chalked the stomach pains up to too much abdominal work at the gym or midterm stress. Cancer was the furthest thing from his mind. But the cramps continued during a visit home to Toronto, and his mom took him to the emergency room. Two days later, the diagnosis was in: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “What’s leukemia?” Ong recalls asking. “(The doctor) had to take a breath. She replied, ‘It’s a cancer.’ And that’s when it dawned on me ... it was a heavy diagnosis.” Treatment began at Toronto Western General immediately; Ong tried to stay sunny. “I was trying to instill a sense of positivity and optimism so I could get through it.” But a couple of weeks into treatment, a blood clot in his brain caused a stroke, leaving his left side paralyzed. Chemotherapy would continue at home for another two years, forcing him to drop his studies and live with his parents. What’s more, his friends had moved on: growing up and making plans. “I was 20. Then I turned 21. And then 22. It was still the same life,” Ong says. “All my friends were getting jobs, graduating, meeting people, dating, having a life. And I was still the same.” The experience was a motivator for Ong. He finished treatment in January 2011, and began physiotherapy the following month. His health and his paralysis improved. That October, he ran a five-kilometre charity race. Then, a volunteer workshop with the Canadian Cancer Society in the spring of 2011 ignited his interest. “I immediately told (staff) that I wanted to get in the network of the Canadian Cancer Society so I could start seeing how much I could help young adults affected by cancer,” Ong says. He hopes to get involved with the Relay For Life campaign and speak to youth about the importance of healthy living. It’s young men and women like Ong who provide the strength, by talking openly of their experience, to youth going through cancer.
Suzanne
the DEDICATion of a long-time volunteer By Jaclyn Tersigni
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Canadian Cancer Society, working the frontlines to raise research dollars, boost awareness, and provide support for those living with cancer. Suzanne Wilkinson is an exemplary portrait of the staunch dedication of the volunteers. She was recently recognized for her 55 years of work with the Canadian Cancer Society. Her work in support of the cancer cause began even earlier on a grassy knoll in West Virginia.“On the hillside of the property that our (family) home was on, we grew daffodils and they were sold to raise money for research dollars at the hospital,” says Wilkinson, 73. “I’m not sure if my father started the daffodil campaign but … he was doing it in the early 40s.” Wilkinson’s father was a pathologist, with expertise in the popular cancer treatment of the time — “Cobalt bomb” therapy. His work took the family from London, Ont., to West Virginia in 1939. Wilkinson returned to Canada in her early teens. “The state of West Virginia really didn’t have any cancer treatment facilities,” Wilkinson, a retired nurse, says. “He went down and worked at Camden Clarke Hospital (in Parkersburg, W.Va.) and did his best to treat cancer patients.” Wilkinson’s interest in cancer research bloomed. In a high school writing contest, an essay titled “Cure for Cancer” won her $50, “in those
days, a lot of money,” Wilkinson says. “I bought my first record player.” Volunteering took on an important role in her adult life. For more than five decades, she has canvassed neighbourhoods, sold daffodils, and on occasion, driven cancer patients to their treatment. “It has been an enjoyable experience,” Wilkinson says. “A time to learn something of my neighbours and make a new friend or two.” “In the 55 years that I have volunteered … I have met many who have had their lives shortened or devastated by cancer,” Wilkinson says. “We all have a part to play in order to discover the elusive cures.” She now lives in North York and works as an ordained minister; she says giving back has always come naturally to her. “It’s in my blood,” Wilkinson says. “I grew up in a medical family. I think helping others is just in my DNA.”
it takes ONLY three hours to fight back. join the fight againcst cancer.
volunteer. Visit cancer.ca.
Nick
A family legacy lives on By Collene Ferguson
When Nick Natale came to Canada from Italy at 13, he worked three jobs to help his family. “He began setting tiles for a living,” says his daughter, Jennifer Bartos. “Then he and my uncle began building houses, probably in the ‘60s. They worked really hard to make what they had.” In 2003, at 64, Natale was diagnosed with colon cancer. He fought back by putting his characteristic work ethic into raising money for cancer research. When Natale started treatment, he joined a cancer support group. They talked about how underfunded colon cancer research was, considering it is the second-leading cause of cancer death in Canada. Natale’s wife, Lidia, encouraged him to do something about that. “At the beginning, she did a lot to push him in the direction of doing it for the Canadian Cancer Society, for colon cancer,” says Bartos. In 2007, Natale hosted the first annual Canadian Cancer Society Colon Cancer Gala. As owner of his own home building company, Saberwood Homes, Natale went to the building trades to support the gala. Bartos says her father was a real go-getter, very charismatic and loved to tell jokes; people in the business rallied around him. Natale sold out the event, and persuaded many to donate prizes and services. Natale was already a legend at the Canadian Cancer Society’s Toronto office when Linsay Moran was hired as manager, premiere events, by the Society’s Toronto division and assigned to help with the gala in 2009. “I was basically told that there’s this dynamo guy who runs this event,” says Moran. “They said, ‘He’s just this real personality. Wait till you meet Nick’.” Moran says Natale more than lived up to the legend: “Nick had eight times more personality than anybody you ever met.” She worked closely with Natale on his gala for three years. Moran says he was passionate
about the fundraiser and it was in his DNA to make sure every single detail was right. Each year on the night of the event, he glowed with pride. “We were standing at the back of the room and a photographer came by and took a picture of us,” Moran recalls with a smile. “And Natale turned to me and said, ‘I throw a pretty good party, don’t I.’ And I said, ‘Ya, Nick, you do’.” Throughout endless rounds of chemo and radiation, he kept at it. “He plowed on,” says Moran. “He’d come to meetings after just being at chemotherapy the day before.” Natale’s daughter says when he became gravely ill in 2011, he carried on planning the gala, with her help. Bartos says it was her parents’ goal that year for her father to be there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. “He did make it to his 50th wedding anniversary, and died four days later,” she says. “We had a little party for them and at that party he was awarded the Canadian Cancer Society Award of Courage, which is apparently the highest award you can receive.” Bartos has taken up the torch, the family carrying on his good work. She wasn’t sure she could do justice to the event her father had so lovingly created, but she says the Society has a great support system. In her opening remarks at last year’s gala, Bartos reminded people why the event is continuing after her father’s passing: “To stop this reality for people. To raise awareness of colon cancer. To make people realize colonoscopies, while uncomfortable and hard to talk about, can save lives. To remind us that while my father’s battle ended here on this earth, that it continues for many others like him still, and it is up to us to continue to fight, to continue the battle to stop cancer, and find a cure in our lifetime.”
Dr. Brenda Coomber wants to find a way to make an anti-cancer drug called Avastin a more effective weapon in the fight against colon cancer. The University of Guelph research scientist’s study is being funded by a nearly $200,000 Canadian Cancer Society Innovation Grant – money raised by Nick Natale and his family through his annual Colon Cancer Gala. Avastin is very effective in treating certain patients with colon cancer, Dr. Coomber says, but for some reason it doesn’t work well for other patients. Her study has two goals: how to identify which patients best respond to Avastin, and how to improve the overall effectiveness of the drug.
Clinical trials
Dr. Ming-Sound Tsao
It’s all in the genes Researchers work hard to crack cancer, rely heavily on funding to make breakthroughs a reality By Bryan Borzykowski
Dr. Ming-Sound Tsao can’t remember exactly when he wanted to become a doctor, but he’ll never forget why:“I was curious. I’ve always been interested in discovering something new.” More than two decades later and the respected cancer researcher is still as inquisitive as ever. Dr. Tsao, who studies lung and pancreatic cancer at the Princess Margaret Hospital, is trying to discover what kinds of gene mutations allow cancer cells to grow. He does this by studying human DNA and how people’s genetic makeup changes. Once he understands which types of gene changes cause cancer cells to multiply, then doctors will be able to treat these cancers better. “There’s a change on the molecular level that the cancer cells are dependent on,” he says. Dr. Tsao, who graduated from the University of British Columbia, is just one of thousands of researchers trying to unlock the disease’s myriad mysteries. Having an inquisitive mind is only part of what makes a researcher successful. This type of work depends on funding, and while billions of dollars have been earmarked for cancer research — the Canadian Cancer Society has given out more than $1 billion in grants since 1947 — however a significant number of applications go unfund-
ed. Dr. Tsao is one of the lucky ones. He received his first Society grant in 1994 and has been consistently awarded money ever since. But only a small percentage of researchers receive funding, he says. “It’s very competitive,” he explains. “You have to propose really cutting-edge research.” While he’s thankful that the Society funds his work, there is always a need for more. He recently received two research grants — an Impact Grant that gives him $250,000 a year for five years and an Innovation Grant worth $100,000 per year for two years. If he received double the sums, he says, he could hire more people, buy more material to conduct research and come to conclusions faster. Still, a lot of important research is being funded. Last year, the Society began investing in Innovation Grants. Some of the work involves studying the immune system’s response to cancer; if exercise-based
video games can promote healthy lifestyles and reduce cancer risks; how exercise affects breast cancer. Another of Dr. Tsao’s Society-funded projects is finally ready for clinical testing. He found that early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer patients with a certain gene structure have a worse outcome than those without this biomarker. It was an important discovery, because people with this genetic makeup will one day get targeted treatments. “Lung cancer (research) has seen quite significant advances in the last eight years, but we still don’t quite understand the major molecular genetic abnormalities,” says Dr. Tsao. The goal for any researcher is to get their work out of the lab, into clinical trials, and into doctor’s offices. That can only happen if people continue to fund the projects of Dr. Tsao and other Canadian researchers. “Research is not a fast thing. ...” he says. “But if you can bring your discoveries all the way to clinical testing, then that’s so gratifying.”
“It’s very competitive,” he explains. “You have to propose really cutting-edge research.”
from research bench to bedside Tests ‘could not happen’ without support By Bryan Borzykowski
Dr. Ralph Meyer
Most patients might be surprised to learn that many of their life-saving medicines or treatments were tested in Canada. In 1980, the Canadian Cancer Society created and still sup-
women with breast cancer. A randomized trial (a random set of patients is given the regular treatment and another set the new one) was done as the early cancer-fighting method was already in wide use. The trial, led by the CTG, showed the treatment didn’t work. “This was being done in around the U.S.,” says Dr. Meyer. “It was proven that it wasn’t beneficial.” Now, doctors and researchers know to conduct trials before making new therapies available to patients. In phase 1 testing, a select number of patients help determine the dose and scheduling of medication. In Phase 2 testing, some patients are given a placebo and others are given the experimental medicine. “You’re testing the treatment to ensure that
patients in Canada participated in CTG trials, 648 of them in 16 communities across Ontario. “ One former participant is retired engineering professor Michael Piggott, 82. The Ontario resident was one of 1,205 men who participated in a prostate cancer clinical trial that ran from 1995 to 2005. The CTG was testing a whether localized prostate cancer could be more effectively treated with hormone therapy and radiation. The results, published in 2011, conclusively showed that combined radiation and hormone therapy helped men with highrisk prostate cancer live longer. This combination is now the standard way to treat prostate cancer. Piggott, who received the radiation, says he’s glad he participated in the study that has meant improved treatment for other men.
“You’re testing the treatment to ensure that it’s safe.” ports the NCIC Clinical Trials Group (CTG), a cross-country organization that’s played a large part in testing cancer treatments used in hospitals globally. This group is crucial to the cancer community, says Dr. Ralph Meyer, director of the CTG. To get a new treatment into clinics, a trial needs to compare it with current standards of care to make sure that it is more beneficial to patients These comparisons haven’t always been the norm. For instance, about two decades ago, doctors would give high doses of chemotherapy and conduct a stem-cell transplantation in
it’s safe and that it’s giving you the results to support the premise that it’s a better therapy,” says Dr. Meyer. If it passes, it moves to phase 3: randomized testing on a much larger group. The CTG typically has 60 trials ongoing at any given time. Not all trials are drug-related — many also involve new uses of radiation or chemotherapy, surgical treatments or lifestyle interventions. The Society gives the CTG $5 million a year — “we could not survive without it,” says Dr. Meyer — but if it weren’t for the thousands of patients who participate there would be no research to assess. In 2012 alone, 1,441 cancer
“As far as my two sons are concerned, there is prostate cancer in our family and it’s possible this research will benefit them.” Dr. Meyer, who has headed the group since 2006, finds the research rewarding. What’s got him excited now is a trial that’s trying to determine if Metformin, a diabetic drug, can reduce breast cancer incidences. The lead oncologist on this trial, Dr. Pam Goodwin, found that diabetic women taking the drug are less likely to develop breast cancer. She’s hoping the medication might have the same affect on non-diabetic women too.
Research progress has been made, but more needs to be done. On average, the Canadian Cancer Society funds less than 25 per cent of recommended research grants due to lack of funds. Make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society.
1950s: Dr. Harold Johns
develops revolutionary Cobalt-60 radiation therapy. At the time it was the newest and most effective kind of radiation therapy used to treat tumours in humans. Dr. Johns and his colleagues also led the way in devising techniques to measure how much radiation cancer patients received during treatment. These two discoveries improved the outcome for millions of cancer patients around the world.
1960s: Drs.
James Till and Ernest McCulloch discover that all blood cells come from “blood-forming stem cells” in the bone marrow. This finding led directly to the development of bone marrow transplantation in the treatment of many cancers and becomes the foundation for promising cancer stem cell research that continues today.
1980s: The NCIC
Clinical Trials Group is established at Queen’s University in Kingston and grows to become an internationally recognized clinical research origanization leading trials that have changed treatment for patients around the world. In 1982 the CTG launches an Investigational New Drug Program to ensure that promising new drugs are tested in Canada.
1970s: Dr. Anthony Miller evaluates the effectiveness of Pap smear screening as a way to reduce the
numbers of Canadian women who were dying from cervical cancer. He showed that for women aged 30 to 64 years, regular screening was linked to a significant decline in deaths from cervical cancer.
Today, over 60% of Canadians diagnosed with cancer will survive.
Support Canadians living with cancer. Wear a daffodil.
Trials Group leads a clinical trial showing that drugs plus radiation can sometimes cure small cell lung cancer. The clinical trial demonstrates that if treatment with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation was started early enough, 1 in every 5 patients was cured (compared to 1 in every 10 patients who received the then-standard approach). This treatment for small cell carcinoma of the lung changed practice throughout North America.
2010: Dr. Mick Bhatia leads a research team in Hamilton that
directly converts human skin cells into different types of blood cells, a breakthrough that could benefit cancer patients who need bone marrow transplants. Specifically, this discovery could provide the advantages of a self transplant eliminating matching problems of risk rejection and bypass the risk of transplanting stem cells that carry the same mutation that cause the original tumour.
2011:
A large international clinical trial investigating a new way to prevent breast cancer in women at increased risk of developing the disease finds that the drug exemestane reduces this risk by 65 per cent compared with placebo. The trial was led by the NCIC Clinical Trials Group, funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society. This discovery is recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology as one of the world’s most important cancer breakthroughs in 2011.
I wear it for my sister.
I wear it for my grandmother My grandmother is a fighter. At the age of 81, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She was told there was a 30% chance she would survive. She fought back and now, my grandmother is 92 years old.
1990s: The NCIC Clinical
Laurence, proud grandson of a cancer survivor.
My sister, Bev, bravely battled breast cancer. During her treatment, I turned up at her door with my head shaved. It was my way of showing her that she was not alone. Thankfully, my sister has been cancer-free for over 10 years. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women. Thanks to research and early detection, more and more women are surviving.
Support Canadians living with cancer. Wear a daffodil.
Brenda, sister of a breast cancer survivor.