Why Donate to the Seeds4Hope Cancer Research Awards Program?
The Link between Advances in Cancer Care and Cancer Research:
A Message from Our Seeds4Hope Research Grants Administrator, Dr. Michael Dufresne

Cancer is not a single disease; it is the general term we use to describe a large number of different types of cancers that can arise from the many different cell types at different stages of cell maturity within the different system and organ structures making up our complex human bodies. Even similar types of cancers behave differently in different people depending on such factors as their gender, age group, genetic make-up and environment. Because of this complexity, finding an effective treatment or cure for all cancers is generally viewed as an improbable dream. This reality and the grim cancer reports in the media can lead to the perception that the billions of dollars we have invested in cancer research have been for naught - that we are actually losing the fight against cancer. This perception is wrong and masks the significant signs of progress that have been made in North America from the time I started my research career in 1974 to the present. For example (data from United States National Institues of Health, Bethesda, Maryland):  

• During the period 1974-1976, the 5-year survival rate among adults for all cancers combined was 50%. The 5-year survival rate for all cancers is now approximately 65%.
• The 5-year survival rate for all childhood cancers combined was less than 50%; today it is nearly 80%.
• For the five most common cancers, the 5-year survival rates were: breast, 75%; colon, 50%; lung, 13%; prostate, 68%; and rectum, 49%. As of 2001, the 5-year survival rates for the five most common cancers were: breast, 90%; colon, 65%; lung, 16%; prostate, 100%; and rectum, 65%.
• Clinical investigation of combination chemotherapy, using multiple drugs with different mechanisms of action, in the treatment of cancer was just beginning. Combination chemotherapy is now standard in the treatment of many cancers and has contributed to increasing survival and cure rates.
• Clinical studies of anticancer vaccines (treatment or prevention) and of drugs to prevent cancer had not yet begun; today two vaccines have been approved that have the potential to prevent some forms of liver cancer and approximately 70% of cervical cancers. Other treatment vaccines are being evaluated in large-scale clinical trials, including vaccines for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma, kidney cancer, multiple myeloma and prostate cancer.

And there are more, including: a) new treatment therapies that target specific molecular changes that cause cells to spread, b) refined radiation therapy techniques which are designed to deliver high doses of radiation to tumours while minimizing the doses delivered to nearby healthy tissue, and c) effective therapies to control the side effects of cancer and its treatment including pain, nausea, vomiting and many more. And what about the amazing advances in the quality of all aspects of cancer care - administration (e.g., comprehensive programs), state-of-the-art technology (diagnostic and treatment), the positive cancer centre environment, the volunteers, hospices and palliative care specialists, the well-being of the patient, family members and their dedicated team of caregivers?

Losing the battle against cancer? Absolutely not! In the coming years, fewer people will be diagnosed with cancer through more effective prevention interventions, more types of cancers will be cured through early detection and more effective treatment options. Even people dying from cancer will live longer lives with more quality. In the past thrity years we have moved from the concept of "dying from cancer" to "living with cancer"; what was once viewed as a terminal disease is more and more being viewed as a chronic one.

And what is the basis of this progress in cancer care? The current state of cancer care in all its tangible forms is a result of advances made through research we invested in during the past. And what is the basis for future progress in cancer care? The progress we hope to realize in the future will be a result of the advances made through research we invest in today. To put it another way, research can be viewed as the seed for all advances in cancer care - the fruit, so to speak. No seed, no fruit. No cancer research, no advances in cancer care. The Foundation's message to you is simple. To continue winning the fight against cancer, keep planting the seeds; consider donating to Seeds4Hope.

Dr. Michael Dufresne Research Grants Administrator Seeds4Hope WECCCF President Michael Gerard Management Group