|
APRIL 2012
Springing ahead: A groundbreaking breast cancer discovery!
With spring finally here, I am pleased to share some exciting news with you. Today, another groundbreaking discovery in breast cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency was announced, adding to the strong momentum of hope and change in cancer research in British Columbia.
For the first time, the BC Cancer Agency's breast cancer research team, led by Dr. Sam Aparicio, has decoded the genetic make-up of triple negative breast cancer―the most deadly form of breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancer currently accounts for 16 per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses and 25 per cent of breast cancer deaths. What is remarkable about this discovery is that we now understand that it is not one uniform subtype of cancer, but that triple negative tumours vary drastically from patient to patient at the time of diagnosis.
This new knowledge means that treatment can be targeted to patients to improve outcomes. Twenty per cent of cases studied revealed genetic mutations that already have potential clinical treatment options. Because the most effective treatment stems from targeting the genetic factors that cause cancer to grow, the results of this study, published in the prestigious journal Nature, will have a worldwide impact on the way breast cancer is studied and treated. This discovery has the potential to improve breast cancer outcomes for patients in British Columbia and beyond.
You can read the full announcement here.
Your support makes discoveries like this possible, yielding results that continue to push us closer to our vision of a world free from cancer. Thank you for being our partner in discovery.
Douglas Nelson President & CEO BC Cancer Foundation
|
Gala Celebration in support of early detection of breast cancer April 22, 2012 at 5:30pm Rocky Mountaineer Station, Vancouver, BC
The BC Cancer Foundation and Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have teamed up to fund an important joint research initiative at the BC Cancer Agency and the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC).
Led by Dr. Karen Gelmon, medical oncologist and senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency, the international study team will look at how genetic markers in breast cancer can play a role in earlier detection and improved treatments.
A Gala Celebration honouring Dr. Gelmon will be held on Sunday, April 22 in Vancouver. All are invited to join the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at this special event in support of breast cancer research.
For more information about the event, please click here, or read more about the research project here.
|
|
Partners in Discovery—Guest bloggers update
Thank you to our March guest blogger, Dr. Marianne Sadar for sharing your experience at the BC Cancer Agency and your work in prostate cancer research. It is great to hear examples that demonstrate the importance of the partnership between philanthropy and research.
Turning over to April, we welcome back our very first guest blogger, Dr. Joseph Connors. Dr. Connors is the Clinical Director for the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancers and will share an update on the AnGELyC project, which he first introduced to us in 2010. Stay tuned!
Read our Partners in Discovery Blog here »
Help Uncover the Cure for Cancers Below the Waist Register today! Vancouver, BC: July 7, 2012
Help uncover the cure for underfunded below-the-waist cancers like prostate, ovarian, bladder, cervical and colorectal. You can run the competitive 10 km or walk the fun 5 km in support of cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency. Visit www.uncoverthecure.org.here.
More Events!
Please visit the BC Cancer Foundation calendar of events page to see what is happening next in a community near you!
|
|
|
Provincial Office 150 - 686 West Broadway. Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1G1 | 604.877.6040 | 1.888.906.2873 Copyright © 2024
BC Cancer Foundation. All rights resenrved. Charitable business #11881 8434 RR0001
www.bccancerfoundation.com As an independent charitable organization, we raise funds exclusively for the BC Cancer Agency that support innovative cancer research and compassionate enhancements to patient care. We maintain offices in, and provide supprt to, all five BC Cancer regional centres --Abbotsford, Fraser Valley, Southern Interior, Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
You are receiving this because you have given us your email address and have asked to receive information from us. The BC Cancer Foundation respects your provacy. To unsubscribe, click here.
|
|
|