REGINA, Sask. — On Sept. 20, thousands of Canadians from 550 communities across the country will participate in the 46th annual Terry Fox Run raising funds to advance cancer research.
When you support the Terry Fox Run, your donation goes directly to cancer research. Research that helped improve the five-year survival rates of cancers including breast, prostate, melanoma, thyroid, testis and Hodgkin lymphoma to over 80 per cent.
Making an impact is Dr. Sachin Katyal, scientific lead and senior scientist at the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute, director of the Manitoba Tumour Bank at Cancer Care Manitoba, associate professor at the University of Manitoba and Manitoba lead of the Terry Fox Research Institute Marathon of Hope Cancer Centre’s Network (MOHCCN).
MOHCCN connects patients, researchers, clinicians and institutions across Canada to advance precision oncology at a scale no single organization could achieve alone. The Network currently includes more than 50 member institutions, over 1,300 individuals and greater than 100 research and funding partners from across Canada.
Dr. Katyal is deeply involved in Prairie-wide MOHCCN effort while also serving on the national MOHCCN steering committee to make this happen. He says he is proud of the contributions the Prairie Consortium and the patients within Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have made. Across the country, 15,000 patients donated their genomic and clinical data to a national data resource aimed at unlocking data-driven discoveries and transform how cancer is studied and treated.
“MOHCCN brings together researchers, clinicians and patients together in a ‘Team Canada’ approach to studying cancer, and more importantly, identifying individualized mutations that become targets to hit with drugs and clinical trials,” Dr. Katyal explains.
“This personalized approach recognizes cancer is not one disease nor should be dealt with in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach but are distinct diseases amongst all Canadians stricken with cancer. It is an exciting time in cancer research and discovery where we now have the modern technology, the advent of AI, innovative know how and passionate engagement of cancer patients and survivors whereby research can now direct care.”
Funds raised through the Terry Fox Run support bold cancer research that is improving early detection, advancing precision medicine and working to improve outcomes for people with cancer.
Join the Terry Fox Run today and help Finish It. Visit terryfox.org for more information.
