Someone has given 100 million Canadian dollars to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation in Toronto, and they do not want anyone to know their name. The foundation raises money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, a Toronto hospital that sees about 21,000 new cancer patients every year. It is the largest gift the foundation has ever received.
The foundation shared the news on Tuesday, September 22. It said only that the donor has a “personal connection” to cancer. Dr. Miyo Yamashita, the foundation’s CEO, told reporters, “You feel so much emotion when you see that someone wants to support a world free from the fear of cancer.” She also told the crowd at the event, “It’s the largest single investment ever made in cancer research, education and care, anywhere in Canada.”
The money has three main goals. The first is to find cancer earlier, when it is often easier to treat. The second is to develop new kinds of treatment. The third is to make life better for patients and their families, with services such as rehabilitation, which helps people get their strength back, and mental health support.
That last goal matters to people like Beth Johnston. About three years ago, when her two children were still young, doctors found that she had an aggressive type of leukemia, a cancer of the blood. She started treatment just hours later. Today she is doing well, but she still goes to physiotherapy and gets mental health support. She said life after cancer is “very complicated,” because many people think it is over once the treatment ends.
The foundation announced the gift as it launched a new fundraising campaign called Carry the Fire. The foundation hopes to raise 2.5 billion Canadian dollars, and Yamashita said that by the evening of the launch, it had already passed 1 billion dollars.
Annie Raimondo, a cancer patient, spoke to reporters at the event. Her doctors have told her that her cancer is stable, but she is not yet cancer-free. “It gives me hope that there are cures for cancer and that there are generous donors who are willing to fund that research,” she said.
Sources: CTV News, Global News
An anonymous donor has given C$100 million to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the largest gift in the Toronto charity’s history. The foundation supports the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, which treats about 21,000 new patients a year, and it announced the donation on Tuesday, September 22.
The donor’s name has not been released; the foundation said only that the person has a “personal connection” to cancer. “While this donor has chosen to remain anonymous, the impact of their leadership will resonate around the world,” said Dr. Miyo Yamashita, the foundation’s CEO. She went further in her remarks to the crowd, calling it “the largest single investment ever made in cancer research, education and care, anywhere in Canada.” She also described the gift as “a huge vote of confidence.”
The money is earmarked for three priorities: catching cancer at its earliest stages, developing new approaches to treatment, and improving the experience of patients and their families through services such as rehabilitation and mental health care. Yamashita said advances in artificial intelligence are making this an unusually promising period for cancer research, and Keith Stewart, the centre’s director, said AI is already helping with scheduling, radiation planning, and drug discovery. He also urged people to get screened: “if we can pick up your cancer early, we’re going to find cures for you.”
The donation was unveiled alongside Carry the Fire, a campaign with a C$2.5 billion target. By the night of the launch, Yamashita said, it had already raised more than C$1 billion. The need is growing: cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada, and the World Health Organization predicts that new cases could rise by 77 per cent by 2050.
For Beth Johnston, the patient-care side of the plan is personal. Diagnosed about three years ago with an aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood, she began chemotherapy within hours, while raising two young children. An immunotherapy treatment later made her eligible for a stem cell transplant, and 18 months on, she is doing well. She still attends physiotherapy and receives mental health support, and she described survivorship as “very complicated,” since many people assume treatment is over once chemotherapy or radiation ends.
Annie Raimondo, whose doctors say her cancer is stable but not yet gone, also spoke at the launch. “It gives me hope that there are cures for cancer and that there are generous donors who are willing to fund that research,” she said.
Sources: CTV News, Global News
