Every year, the Alberta Cancer Foundation invests nearly $20 million across the province in programs and initiatives that have a direct impact on Albertans facing cancer.
Thanks to you, we support patients through every step of their cancer journey, from prevention, to palliative care or survivorship. Every investment we make provides real-life returns by focusing on diagnosing cancer earlier, improving the effectiveness of cancer treatments, improving quality of life for cancer patients and their families, and reducing the risk of developing cancer. Here are some of the ways you are making life better for Albertans facing cancer.
Reduce
Cancer Risk
Alberta’s Tomorrow Project
$5.3 million
over five years
Alberta’s Tomorrow Project is the province’s largest health research project investigating why some people get cancer and others do not. It has now expanded across Canada, and includes more than 300,000 participants. The Foundation has helped recruit 55,000 Albertans to provide biological samples that scientists are now analyzing and studying.
Detect
Cancer Earlier
Lung Cancer Screening
$2.5 million
This year alone, nearly 2,000 Albertans are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer. Sadly, 1,700 will die. A lung cancer diagnosis often comes too late, when doctors can do little to treat it. Thanks to a transformational investment from the Alberta Cancer Foundation, we have committed to launch a pilot project that will serve as the basis for a larger, provincially-led screening program. The goal is to catch cancer early, when curative treatment is still an option, by screening 800 high-risk patients over three years in Calgary, Edmonton, and Fort McMurray. Currently, 785 out of the 800 patients have been found eligible for CT scanning intervention. This project has already confirmed eight lung cancer diagnoses, all detected at an early stage, when it is most important.
Treat
Cancer More
Effectively
Colorectal Cancer
$2.9 million
Nearly 2,500 Albertans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Despite advances in treatment, nearly 33 per cent of these patients will die. Thankfully, the Alberta Cancer Foundation is changing this through an investment towards a colorectal cancer research program. Currently, colorectal cancer patients are often treated with some form of chemotherapy, radiation or both. The effectiveness of these treatments can be diminished by the ability of cancer cells to repair the damage these treatments introduce. To combat this, the Alberta Cancer Foundation is investing in drugs that prevent these repair systems, and sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation. By blocking this repair, chemotherapy and radiation therapy will be more effective.
Clinical Trials
$10 million
Clinical trials are the engine that drives life-saving treatment. By supporting every single clinical trial that takes place in Alberta, the Alberta Cancer Foundation is bringing results to Alberta’s cancer patients years before they are available to the general public. Over the past five years, more than 6,000 Albertans have taken part in 500 trials. This leading-edge research not only provides patients access to the newest treatments, it also alleviates the cost on the health system. For every patient that participates in a trial, pharmaceutical and private companies cover the related health costs of the trial. By also investing in Investigator Initiated Trials, some of the brightest clinical minds in cancer centres are able to answer their important questions, improving treatment and care for Albertans.
Community Oncology Clinical Trials Program
$556 thousand
One third of Alberta’s cancer patients receive care in regional or community cancer centres. The Alberta Cancer Foundation has committed to a two-year pilot project for the Community Oncology Clinical Trials program taking place at the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre in Medicine Hat, the Jack Ady Cancer Centre in Lethbridge, and Red Deer’s Central Alberta Cancer Centre. These rural programs will allow patients to participate in this leading-edge research close to home, and will allow researchers to answer important questions about treatment and care in this unique environment. Supporting this academic and research agenda will also help attract and retain strong clinicians within the regional cancer centres.
Immunotherapy
$5.4 million
Immunotherapy is a way of using a person’s own immune system to fight cancer. This treatment has been shown to be highly effective, however severe side effects due to poor accuracy are preventing widespread usage. Through the use of small molecule drug development, the Alberta Cancer Foundation partnered with the Li Ka Shing Institute to invest in the development of a new orally available immunotherapy that provides a more accurate and lower side effect option to patients.
Improve
Quality of Life
Alberta Cancer Foundation Patient Navigator Program
$6.8 million
Alberta Cancer Foundation Patient Navigators can be found at the 15 regional and community cancer centres across Alberta. Navigators are registered nurses helping to guide patients through the health system, and provide assistance in accessing community supports when needed. This program is 100% donor funded, and is estimated to save the health system at least $1 million every year by alleviating visits to family physicians and emergency rooms for non-emergent issues. This program was accessed nearly 19,061 times in 2016/2017.
Alberta Cancer Foundation Adolescent and Young Adult Patient Navigator Program
$150 thousand
Each year in Alberta, nearly 300 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in adolescent and young adults, aged 15-29 (AYAs). Falling between the dividing line of pediatrics and adults, this group of patients faces unique challenges, and their needs are often unmet. The AYA Patient Navigator program will specialize in supporting this group as they navigate their cancer journey both inside and outside the health-care system, and will work to enhance overall patient care by ensuring that their unique needs are met.
Patient Financial Assistance Program
$1.2 million
per year
The Alberta Cancer Foundation provides financial support to patients in need who are undergoing active treatment. This program covers costs such as housing, food, childcare and transportation, so that patients can focus on what matters most—healing. This program is especially helpful to rural patients who require bone marrow transplants, as they often need to uproot their lives for months at a time to receive this potentially life-saving treatment. In 2016, this program was accessed 5,395 times and the need continues to grow.
Head and Neck: Portable Swallowing Therapy Unit
$1.9 million
The social impacts of surviving head and neck cancer can be devastating. For the majority of head and neck patients, cancer treatment can diminish their ability to swallow. The current therapy is only available at specialized clinics, which limits the ability for head and neck patients to get the help they need. The Alberta Cancer Foundation is investing in a portable device called Mobili-T that provides biofeedback to the patient in real-time. With this development, head and neck patients will be able to regain their quality of life, no matter where they live in Alberta.
Head and Neck Patient Partnership Strategy
$51 thousand
When it comes to understanding the effects of cancer, nobody knows better than patients and their families. Their perspective on diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and quality of life can provide a wealth of insights. The Alberta Cancer Foundation has committed to a bold new Patient Partnership Strategy that is bringing together patients, family members, clinicians and researchers to share their expertise and talk about what’s most important for the future of cancer care. The first project involved collaborating with the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences in Medicine (iRSM) and challenged a team of 12 patients and clinicians to consult with 200 head and neck cancer stakeholders across Alberta. This partnership received more than 800 ideas and reached consensus on the top ten head and neck priorities. This was made possible through the direct and indirect support of provincial, national and international partners including Alberta Innovates. Read more about these additional contributions online at albertacancer.ca.
Enhancing Care at Alberta’s Cancer Centres
$856 thousand
No matter where a patient faces a cancer diagnosis, we want to ensure they receive the best possible treatment and care. Alberta Cancer Foundation donors allow the Alberta Cancer Foundation to invest in facility site funds at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, and the 15 other cancer centres across the province. These investments provide patients and families with enhanced care, and may include comfortable reclining chemo chairs, vital sign machines in clinic rooms, blanket warmers during treatment, or advanced training for staff that help to improve patient care and quality of life.
