What Your Fundraising Efforts Will Support

Thanks to your participation in ROAD HOCKEY TO CONQUER CANCER, The Princess Margaret is able to initiate and continue promising cancer research programs, platforms and initiatives such as those described below.

Prostate Cancer

Just like a coach determines the line-up for the best matchup, new tests and targeted therapies are being developed to match men with the most appropriate treatment depending on their age, family history and aggressiveness of their cancer.

Image-Guided Surgical Program

Precision is the name of the game for this highly specialized multi-disciplinary team. This program combines imaging with surgery to increase accuracy during the operations and, in doing so, minimizes damage to healthy surrounding tissues for cancer patients.

 
L to R: Dr. Jonathan Irish and Dr. David Jaffray

Cancer Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells were discovered by Dr. John Dick, one of the pre-eminent scientists at The Princess Margaret. Dr. Dick captains a multi-institutional team transforming stem cell research into new targeted cancer treatments.

L to R: Drs. Ben Neel (PMH), Tom Waddell (TGH), Peter Dirks (Hospital for Sick Children), John Hassell (McMaster), and John Dick (PMH)

Lung Cancer

PMH is a world leader in the treatment of lung cancer, and, through the efforts of a stellar team led by Dr. Frances Shepherd, the hospital has changed the standard of care for lung cancer around the world.

Tumour Microenvironment

Understanding the unique properties of the environment in which tumours grow and thrive is leading to new therapies, and our scientists believe they may be able to exploit this knowledge to conquer cancer. This is a very promising area of cancer research and one in which The Princess Margaret is a world leader.

Dr. Michael Milosevic and Dr. Brad Wouters

The Robert and Maggie Bras and Family New Drug Development Program

The Princess Margaret is a top-tier drug testing facility and is the only non-U.S. site to receive both a phase I grant and a phase II contract from the U.S. National Cancer Institute. This means that The Princess Margaret is able to offer the world’s most promising cancer treatment options to its patients.

High Content Clinical Trials

The percentage of patients involved in clinical trials at The Princess Margaret is one of the highest of any cancer centre in the world. The Princess Margaret runs over 350 trials involving over 20% of the patient population.

The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre

In 2006, Dr. David McCready, Head of the Breast Cancer Program at The Princess Margaret, requested funds from The Weekend to End Breast Cancer and the Laugh Lines fundraiser to explore a brand new approach to breast cancer diagnosis that would reduce wait times from an average of over 4 weeks to just 24 hours.  The pilot project which ran for over two years concluded that this approach was greatly appreciated by those who had the benefit of this ‘rapid diagnosis’.

A generous donation from Emmanuelle Gattuso and her husband Allan Slaight of $12.5 million initiated the campaign to raise the $25 million needed to move from a pilot to a fully operational clinic.  The hope is that this program will serve as a model for other cancer clinics. Emmanuelle and Allan are also matching all donations made to this campaign.  Funds are still needed to reach the final goal.

Dr. David McCready and Emmanuelle Gattuso

Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research

No hockey GM has put together a stronger team than the one created by Dr. Tak Mak at The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research. Dr. Mak has recruited an elite team of scientists and clinician scientists dedicated to making breakthroughs in breast and gynecologic cancer research.

 
L to R: Drs. Pamela Ohashi, Lisa Martin, Tak Mak, Hitoshi Okada, Norman Boyd, Kala Sridhar

Immunotherapy

A team is only as good as its defence and the body is no different. The immune system is your body’s enforcer, and the immunotherapy team of expert researchers studies the body’s ability to stimulate the immune system to reject and destroy tumours.

Dr. Tak Mak and Dr. Pamela Ohashi

BioBank

The BioBank allows for translational research that can only take place in a setting like The Princess Margaret, with a large patient population and a substantial research operation. Many patients have advanced, very aggressive types of cancer and/or rare cancers at The Princess Margaret.

Dr. Patricia Shaw

Like setting up the best shot, the BioBank encourages collaboration and allows researchers and clinicians to leverage one another’s work, in hopes of providing better patient outcomes.