Your support of local research is key to achieving our shared bold vision of a world free of cancer. Generous donor gifts enable discoveries to happen at CancerCare Manitoba. Please read on to find out more about some of the amazing work which is only possible because of your investment.
Dr. Versha Banerji
Five years ago we introduced you to Dr. Versha Banerji, who had just returned home to Winnipeg after four years of research and training at Harvard along with her husband Dr. Shantanu Banerji.
Your support of research and clinical trials has helped many lives
Thanks to you, there is great reason to hope, as the vast majority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer will survive the disease. For others with advanced or metastatic cancer, the path is very challenging. Your support of research and clinical trials has helped many lives and is integral to progress which will ultimately cure more men. Every year in our province nearly 800 men will learn they have prostate cancer. It’s the most common cancer affecting males and primarily diagnosed over the age of 50. Mark Domko, 57, is one of those men. He knows all too well what it’s like to live with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Five years ago a routine physical exam with his family physician took an unexpected turn. Very swiftly he was referred to CancerCare Manitoba’s Prostate Centre. Within one month, he had surgery to remove his prostate. This was followed by 33 radiation treatments. Unfortunately, that was not the end of Mark’s journey. “My cancer is not gone. I’m in remission now but I know it’s inevitable it will return,” reflects Mark. Despite living with this uncertainty, Mark’s outlook is positive. He’s very thankful your donations made it possible for him to participate in a clinical trial to treat his advanced cancer. And he appreciates your investment is essential to the Prostate Centre being a centre of excellence. “Thank you for giving me another tomorrow. If it wasn’t for the outstanding care I received at CancerCare and your support, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Dr. Jeff Saranchuk, Medical Director of the Centre, leads the talented team which strives to cure Mark and others like him. In its fifteenth year, it provides world-class care to patients. Care which is greatly influenced by your commitment to research. “Thanks to donors’ support, the Centre has a clinical trials team which contributes to our patients being the second most likely to participate in a clinical trial in the country,” says Dr. Saranchuk. “It also has a donor-funded tumour bank which links tissue to patient outcomes. The huge advantage of being able to correlate biologic with clinical data is we can get to the bottom of many complex issues.” The Prostate Centre team is always seeking to improve outcomes for its patients. Acquiring technology which enhances the quality of care is a top priority. He is very grateful your generosity enabled the Centre to recently buy new state-of-the-art equipment. “Thanks to the many donors who supported the 2018 Gold-Plated Evening for men’s cancers event, we received the funds we needed to purchase a MRI Fusion Biopsy machine,” Dr. Saranchuk said. “This $150,000 piece of specialized equipment accurately detects and diagnoses complex prostate tumours. It is essential to help save more men with this disease.” For Mark, every day spent enjoying life with his wife, family and friends is a gift. He is grateful for your kindness and compassion. Support Research. Become a monthly donor.
Donor generosity has been critical to forward our HALO research program
Andy Cotton has truly defied medical odds. Over the past four years, the 66-year-old has lived through prostate cancer, a heart attack and a stem cell transplant to treat his multiple myeloma. And then this past January, immediately following chemotherapy Andy was struck with sepsis, a life-threatening infection. His wife Tricia was told he would not live. Terrified, she tried to prepare herself for the worst. Eight months later, Andy and Tricia are enjoying summer on their quaint rural Manitoba property. Their bond is obvious and equally apparent is their gratitude to you for yourcontinued support of life-saving research and clinical trials. “We are so thankful to all the people who donate to help people like me,” says Andy. Andy is one of the fortunate patients with cancer or a blood disorder. Many do not survive what he did. Cancer treatments have side effects and can be very hard on the body. Due primarily to chemotherapy, infection is the most common cause of death in people with cancer. Thanks to your commitment, a CancerCare Manitoba and internationally recognized hematologist and clinician-scientist is leading a global trial which he is optimistic will help improve survival for more people like Andy. “Donor generosity has been critical to forward our HALO research program which is evaluating an inexpensive drug to treat severe infections,” says Dr Zarychanski. The HALO trial (a.k.a. The Heparin anticoagulation to improve outcomes in septic shock trial) is targeting infections which are unfortunately a frequent result of cancer treatments. The trial is evaluating if an inexpensive and widely available blood thinning and anti-inflammatory drug can improve survival for people who suffer from these life-threatening infections. HALO is the only multi-country trial to be conducted by researchers in CancerCare Manitoba. A trial the magnitude of HALO requires significant investment. Your past donations have offset trial expenses for patients treated at CancerCare Manitoba. They have also been successfully leveraged to secure national funding. This combined funding is expected to facilitate the enrollment of approximately 500 patients worldwide. Dr Zarychanski’s plans to continue to grow the study and eventually enroll nearly 3,000 patients would not have been possible without the initial investment from generous donors such as you. When Andy and Tricia recall his harrowing experience, the emotions are right there at the surface. Andy was in intensive care for five days and doesn’t remember anything from his first two days in the hospital. And for Tricia, the memory of thinking she would lose him runs deep. They have both been profoundly affected. While Andy is very fortunate to have lived, 25 to 45 per cent of patients with sepsis don’t live. Dr Zarychanski wants to ensure patients like Andy have every opportunity to survive their infection. Thanks to your support, The HALO trial is one of several groundbreaking trials led by Dr Zarychanski and his team at CancerCare Manitoba aimed at improving outcomes for patients with cancer and blood disorders. Support Research. Become a monthly donor.
Sean’s Story
It was only a month before Sean’s wedding, when life as he knew it changed forever. Diagnosed with a rare form of aggressive, incurable thyroid cancer, the future now looked uncertain for Sean and his fiancé Aly.
You make local research a reality for Manitobans like Hargun
When paired with the latest advances in technology, your generosity is helping scientists at the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute provide tomorrow’s treatments today to Manitobans. Dr. Jody Haigh and his team are researching what causes cancer cells to replicate and spread.
