It takes a society

[Images of children running through colourful powder appear on screen.] 

Words on screen: Big, complex problems need many hands, minds and hearts working together to help solve them. 

[Images of supporters participating in a fundraising event appear on screen.] 

Words on screen: Profound impact is only possible when we combine our actions with the actions of others. 

[An image of children with their parents appears on screen.] 

Words on screen: Thanks to you, we united hundreds of thousands of donors, volunteers, partners, staff, researchers, event participants and supporters around a collective cause. 

[Various images of people participating in fundraising events and support services appear on screen.] 

Words on screen: Because of you, last year, we invested more than $108 million into world-class research, transformative advocacy, and compassionate support programs to help improve the lives of all those affected by cancer. 

[Various images of researchers in labs and people talking appear on screen, followed by images of CCS representatives with government officials and fundraising events.] 

Words on screen: It takes all of us to change the future of cancer. 

[Images of people participating in fundraising events and support services appear on screen.] 

Words on screen: Thank you for your full-hearted generosity and continued support. 

Words on screen along with the Canadian Cancer Society logo: It takes a society.  Visit cancer.ca/donate.  

Your donations helped us fund life-changing research across cancer types and across the cancer continuum, from prevention to diagnosis to treatment and beyond. Here’s what we accomplished with your generosity:

• We supported 400 active research projects in 10 provinces, continuing our ambitious approach to funding the most promising cancer research.
• We funded 93 new research grants and awards to support high-performance teams across the country. These grants will ensure we continue to have cancer research success long into the future. They include:
  • the Breakthrough Team Grants, which support projects that aim to make life-saving breakthroughs in 6 low-survival cancers in Canada
  • the Emerging Scholar Research Grants and Research Training Awards which are supporting early career researchers and students who will become the next generation of researchers
  • the Challenge Grants, which fund projects that aim to solve a critical problem in research and make a meaningful difference for people affected by or at risk of cancer
• We engaged 145 patients, caregivers and survivors to inform research decisions and ensure we are funding the most impactful research.
• We helped 3,000 people from across the country access clinical trials that are testing potentially life-saving interventions.
• We recognized 6 leading cancer researchers in Canada for their outstanding achievements, including awarding the Lifetime Contribution Prize to Dr Frances Shepherd, whose work has transformed the standard of care for patients with lung cancer in Canada and around the world.

CDL  Cancer – The brightest minds with the boldest ideas 

[Various views of the Centre for Cancer Prevention and Support show on screen, followed by a conference room full of people. Andrea Seale, CEO of the Canadian Cancer society, appears on screen in front of a yellow background.] 

Andrea Seale: CDL (Creative Destruction Lab) Cancer is a way for us to shorten the time that it takes to go from the funding that we provide in research labs to the experience that patients will have. 

[Rubens Mendrone appears on screen holding a sign that says, “Detecting breast cancer early through AI.” He then appears standing in a large room with people in the background.] 

Rubens Mendrone, CDL Cancer graduate: Creative Destruction Lab changed everything for us. It changed the way we’re dealing with customers. The partnerships that we have allow us to get connected to an amazing ecosystem full of amazing partners. Institutions like the Canadian Cancer Society. 

[André Diamant appears on screen holding a sign that says, “Breaking down silos in cancer care,” followed by scenes of him speaking to a room of people. He then appears in front of a white wall.] 

André Diamant, CDL Cancer graduate: CDL really helped us in terms of connections and in terms of mentorship. We were at a stage where when we first entered CDL, we kind of only had the beginnings of a product and it really helped us get the expertise that we needed to kind of go from 0 to 1. And then directly translated to meeting a number of actually our first investors.  

[Pieter Cullis appears in front of a white wall. He speaks while scenes of him speaking to a room of people appear.] 

Pieter Cullis, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia: Creative Destruction sounds like it’s a very challenging environment and access actually is quite nurturing. I mean, they’re really trying to give the best feedback they can and very often some of the people around the table are putting in money and also their own time. 

[Sam Chen appears holding a sign that says, “Maximizing the potential of cancer treatment.”] 

Sam Chen, CDL Cancer graduate: The ability to really connect with people with such deep expertise in the area. So really it has propelled INT and really moved INT forward. 

[Andrea Seale appears on screen in front of a yellow background. She speaks as scenes of researchers in laboratories appear.] 

Andrea Seale: There are more than a million and a half Canadians who are currently living with or beyond cancer, and for them the work of scientists is incredibly important. They want to see those opportunities for better care, for earlier detection, for a better quality of life. These are the kinds of things we’re hoping for to see from the ventures that successfully graduate from the CDL Cancer program. 

[Words appear on screen: We’re looking for the brightest minds with the boldest ideas to change the future of cancer. Learn more at cancer.ca/CDLCancer.] 

[The Canadian Cancer Society and Creative Destruction Lab logos appear on screen.] 

Winners of The Colorectal Cancer Early Detection Challenge, Niagara Folk Arts Centre 

[A women sitting in a room appears on screen. As she speaks, images of a washroom and the Niagara Folk Art Centre appear on screen. The words “Monitoring Health: Insider and Out” appear on screen.] 

Emily: I think that there’s a bit of stigma attached to talking about our bodily habits, specifically in various newcomer communities. This may be a taboo subject.  

[Words on screen: “Emily Kovacs, Executive Director/CEO, Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre.”] 

Emily: We at Niagara Folk Arts are beyond thrilled to be the grand prizes winners of The Colorectal Cancer Early Detection Challenge.  

[Words on screen: Everybody eats, everybody poops] 

Emily: We created a tagline called “everybody eats, everybody poops” to demystify the idea that we have to talk about our eating habits and that our stool samples can say a lot about our eating habits and what we can do so we’re trying to get to that problem by working with peers and knowing that early intervention is the best. 

[Words on screen: Colorectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada. This year, approximately 24, 300 new cases will be diagnosed.] 

[A photo of a group of people holding awards appears on screen. Various images of food and meal preparation appear on screen as Emily speaks.] 

Emily: We’ve been reasonably successful in graduating 54 international educated health professional as health navigators, so we’d like to leverage their skill sets to be able to act as leaders in the community. So our plan is to host at least eight magnet events serving about roughly twenty-four hundred newcomers who are specifically older, racialized community members who will be able to have dinners who are specifically catered for a colorectal cancer-friendly meal, and we’re going to talk about prevention and give out kits and using and leveraging the idea of culturally sensitive peers to act as ambassadors to talk about health prevention, specifically about colorectal cancer prevention. 

[Words on screen: The five year survival rate for colorectal cancer increases to 90% when diagnosed early. Various images of people preparing food continue to appear on screen as Emily speaks.] 

Emily: And then we finally also thought about giving out these fresh meal packages to the individuals who are participants again to model behaviour about practicing good eating habits and also making sure that individuals follow through with their colorectal cancer screening kits. So we’re hopeful that the friendly atmosphere, the meals that we provide and the linguistically appropriate peers will be able to bridge that stigma and will be able to also overcome individuals fear or resistance to actually having colorectal cancer screening done and now preventable it is if you have early detection. 

[The MaRS and Canadian Cancer Society logos appear on screen.] 

[Words on screen: Innovating for Everyone: The Colorectal Cancer Early Detection Challenge.] 

Thank you for making the Canadian Cancer Society’s Camp Goodtimes possible in 2023! 

[Juliana and Jennifer are seated on steps outside a cabin] 

Juliana: My name is Juliana, this is my mom Jennifer. We’ve been attending camp for three years. At the time of my diagnosis, I was six years old. 

[A father and his daughters are seated on rocks] 

Father: We’ve been attending Camp for three years. 

[Father points to one of his daughters] 

Father: How old were you? 

Daughter: Four. 

Father: You were four years old when you got diagnosed? Yeah. 

[A man sits at a picnic table] 

Man: When I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL, I was eight years old. This is my twenty third year here. 

[A family are seated on rocks] 

Child: We are the Dixon family and we’ve been here for three years. 

Mom: We were diagnosed in 2018, just before Casper turned three. 

[A woman standing in front of a white wall with shelves speaks] 

Woman: I was diagnosed with Wilms tumor in my right kidney at 18 months old and this is my eleventh summer at Camp Goodtimes. 

[A family is seated on a bench] 

Father: We are the Edmonds family and we’ve been attending Camp Goodtimes for the last five years. First attended in 2018. 

Boy: I was seven years old and I was diagnosed with leukemia. 

[Mountain and water scenery appear on screen, along with views of Camp Goodtimes from above] 

[The Camp Goodtimes sign flashes on screen, followed by cars driving through a forest and being greeting by Camp Goodtimes volunteers.] 

[Volunteers wave at the camera while standing in front of a table with camp T-shirts, followed by various scenes of camp activities] 

[Camp activities flash on screen while Juliana is speaking] 

Juliana: Campers like you arrive, you unpack all your luggage. All day you have fun and there’s no such thing as anger or any type of negative things. 

[A man is seated at a picnic table. Camp activities flash on screen while he is speaking] 

Man: When I was a kid I was like eight or nine years old and I was a little overweight and bald due to the treatment so a lot of coming to camp was a place where people didn’t really see that they just saw as like a kid who wanted to have fun and act really silly all the time. So when it came to kind making my confidence come back a lot at that age Camp Goodtimes was really helpful for me specifically. 

[A father and his daughters are seated on rocks. Scenes of camp activities flash on screen while his speaks] 

Father: I think it’s a safe place where we all know each other’s experience, and we can kind of talk about it openly, and everybody here knows what you’ve gone through, and you can kind of open up and realize that everybody a shared path. 

[A woman standing in front of a white wall with shelves speaks. Scenes of camp activities flash on screen while she speaks] 

Woman: It shows that there’s kids that have gone through the same things and that you’re still the same as some other kids out there. 

[A family is seated on a bench. The father speaks while scenes of camp activities appear on screen] 

Father: Camp’s really been the silver lining in a difficult spot for us as a family at times and now thankfully our journey is behind us in terms of treatments and that kind of thing and we get to still come together and be with other families, encourage them and be encouraged by them, spend quality time together as a family. 

[A family are seated on rocks. The mother speaks while scenes of camp activities appear on screen] 

Mother: It’s just been so nice coming to a place where you get to meet other people who have experienced the same experiences that you have been through. Everyone understands it on every level possible and just let loose and live beyond the diagnosis. 

[Juliana and Jennifer are seated on cabin steps. Juliana speaks while scenes of camp activities appear on screen] 

Juliana: The role that camp played was that we have to like believe in yourself and you always have to be happy. 

[A man is seated at a picnic table. Camp activities flash on screen while he is speaking] 

Man: I just love the idea that I get to be someone that they can look up to a little bit to see that the journey doesn’t necessarily end bad. You do and can come out of cancer really happy. It’s really fun to create that magic that was created for me. 
 

[A family is seated on a bench. The father speaks while scenes of camp activities appear on screen] 

In 2023/24, we provided information and support to people with cancer and their loved ones every step of the way – from prevention to diagnosis, treatment and beyond. We achieved all of this thanks to you:

• We continued to grow the Wheels of Hope program to 43 vehicles in communities across the country. Volunteers drove an incredible 4.5M kilometres to help patients get to and from their treatment, which is equal to more than 600 trips across Canada.
• We engaged 316 people with cancer and their caregivers to understand their needs and to inform discussions around a national clinical trials database for patients.
• We launched a new online platform for our peer support programs, CancerConnection.ca and ParlonsCancer.ca, to provide a better user experience and enhance the ability to connect with people from across Canada.
• We offered our national sun safety program, SunSense, in 177 schools and daycares.
• We launched the Cancer Travel and Accommodation Services program (CTAAS). With generous funding from the Government of British Columbia and through a partnership with Hope Air, this program offers financial grants, air and ground transportation and accommodations for people in treatment for cancer.

With your support, our advocacy work made a measurable difference for people impacted by cancer:

• We engaged 5,000 passionate advocates through our Voices for Change network and our Advocacy Constituency Team (ACT) program to help improve cancer prevention, treatment, and care.
• We established Canada’s first federal all-party cancer caucus to provide MPs with access to information, data, experts, and individuals with lived experience, helping them better assess how to support cancer care issues at the federal level.
• We released the first-ever comprehensive report detailing the number of hospice beds per province and territory to help identify gaps and opportunities to better support people living with progressive illnesses like cancer.
• We brought the voices of people affected by cancer from across Canada to Parliament Hill for a powerful day of sharing personal cancer stories in 44 meetings with elected officials.
• We helped provinces take steps to participate in the federal e-cigarette tax, aiming to reduce youth vaping. As a result, 12 of the 13 provinces and territories enforced or committed to the tax. Quebec banned all e-cigarette flavours, except tobacco, and increased the tobacco tax.
• We advocated to strengthen cancer screening programs across Canada, resulting in the following achievements:
  • British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island committed to rolling out HPV testing in place of Pap tests.
  • Nova Scotia and New Brunswick advanced programs to support lung cancer screening.
  • Ontario and New Brunswick committed to lowering the eligible age for breast cancer screening to 40.
  • The Quebec government committed to introducing a province-wide organized colorectal cancer screening program.

For more information about how we work with governments to take control of cancer, visit cancer.ca/advocacy.

The cost of cancer: Taaha’s Story 

[Taaha Ijaz is seated in front of a white wall in a well-lit room with a green plant to the left as he speaks to the camera.] 

Taaha Ijaz: I was 17 years old when I was diagnosed with cancer. 

 [The Canadian Cancer Society logo appears on screen.] 

Words on screen: Taaha Ijaz, Registered Nurse and cancer survivor 

Taaha Ijaz: It impacted my life big time. It takes away a lot. My mom came to every single appointment, every single chemo session. My dad made lots of sacrifices as well. 

[A picture appears on the screen of Taaha’s father and mother outside seated on a rock together.] 

Taaha Ijaz: Five days in a row where we're at the hospital 10 hours a day, that’s 50 hours. 

[Taaha is seated speaking to the camera.] 

Taaha Ijaz: My parents are, you know, taking time off work. 

[A picture of Taaha and his mother appears on screen. Taaha’s arm is wrapped around his mother’s shoulder.] 

Taaha Ijaz: And taking time off, attending to my other brothers as well to be with me during my treatment. 

[A selfie of Taaha and his father appears on screen during a time when Taaha was in treatment in hospital.] 

Taaha Ijaz: Bringing awareness to the hidden costs associated with the cancer diagnosis and treatment is extremely important. 

[Taaha is seated speaking to the camera.] 

Taaha Ijaz: Fortunately, a lot of the things are covered here in Canada, but there's still a lot that isn’t covered. 

[A picture of Taaha appears on the screen from his time in the hospital. He is laying on his hospital bed.] 

Taaha Ijaz: The costs add up really quickly. 

[A picture of Taaha appears on the screen where he is sitting on a bench in the hospital and his head is shaved. He has a blanket over his shoulders and is resting up against a pillow.] 

[Taaha is seated and speaking to camera.] 

Taaha Ijaz: Before you know, you've got this long list of bills that have shown up out of nowhere and you haven't been able to go to work and all that because you're making a decision between attending treatment or going to work. 

[A list of costs associated with cancer care written on a notebook grid-style paper comes up on the screen and in bullet point form the costs appear in order: 

- childcare 

- travel costs 

- testing 

-medication 

-side effect management supplies] 

[Taaha is seated speaking to the camera] 

Taaha Ijaz: Having to make that decision is devastating and heartbreaking. Being able to provide people with that support financially so that they can focus on their treatment, that is a whole new chapter in their life. 

[A picture of Taaha in a hospital bed with him sleeping appears. There are tubes attached to Taaha’s right arm.] 

Taaha Ijaz: And being able to support them through it so that they can give all their attention to their treatment really is what we can do for each other as humans. 

[A picture of Taaha smiling at the camera appears on the screen. Taaha is outside with green lush trees in the background.] 

[The screen cuts back to Taaha speaking to the camera with a white backdrop and plant to the left side.] 

[The screen turns yellow.] 

Words on screen]: Too many people in Canada are paying out-of-pocket to access the cancer care they need. 

Words on screen: Join us in calling for change. Visit cancer.ca/costofcancer 

[The text fades out and dissolves.] 

[The Canadian Cancer Society logo appears on screen.]: 

Words on screen: It takes a society] 

A special thank you for Cindy, cancer survivor 

[Words appear on screen: Your support during the holiday season was a gift for people facing cancer. You helped people like Cindy, who found the support she needed when she stayed at a CCS lodge.] 

[Cindy is standing in front of a brick wall. Words on screen: Cindy Goguen, cancer survivor.] 

Cindy: Everything revolves around donations. Without those donations, we wouldn't have any resources. We wouldn’t have the resources we had at the Lodge that Gives. We wouldn’t have the resources for strength to keep going, the positivity, getting to meet other people going through the same thing, knowing that you’re not alone.  

Cindy: Somebody else has been there. Somebody else can help you. And it may sound small, it may sound petty, it may sound like not a big deal, but for somebody that goes through cancer, it’s a very big deal. It’s really important and without that, we wouldn’t have availabilities to be able to get the treatment. 

Cindy: So it’s truly, truly amazing. For me, it was absolutely amazing. For the other people that were in the Lodge, it was absolutely amazing. And from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everybody that donated prior for me to stay there. For my daughter to be able to come see that I was okay. It was truly amazing and I really appreciate you. 

[Words appear on screen: Your generosity helps people like Cindy during the holidays and beyond. Thank you.] 

[Words appear on screen along with the Canadian Cancer Society logo: Learn more at cancer.ca.]