Statement made on 13 April 2010 by Senator James Cowan
Hon. James S. Cowan (Leader of the Opposition):
Honourable senators, April is Daffodil Month, that annual rite of spring when volunteer canvassers for the Canadian Cancer Society stream out into neighbourhoods across the country to fundraise critically-needed dollars for the fight against cancer.
I suspect that there is not a single person sitting in this chamber — amongst senators, the many excellent people who help us in our work here, or the visitors in the galleries — whose life has not been touched in some way by cancer.
The statistics are sobering. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, some 40 per cent of Canadian women and 45 per cent of Canadian men will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. On average, 3,300 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer every week.
The good news is that a cancer diagnosis is not now what it once was. Today, the five-year survival rate is over 60 per cent. It is becoming increasingly common to hear of cancer patients treating their disease as a chronic illness or, better yet, something that was dealt with and is now over and behind them. For this, we are indebted to the many researchers, doctors, medical technicians and nurses who are dedicated to figuring out how to prevent cancer in the first place, detect it quickly if and when it first appears in the body and, of course, treat it in the best way possible.
Canadian scientists have been at the forefront of cancer research. Last year, researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton were the first in the world to identify the key differences between normal human embryonic stem cells and abnormal cancer stem cells. Honourable senators, this was an important discovery that hopefully will pave the way to treatments that will target and kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells untouched.
Recently, Canadian researchers played a key role in identifying four new genetic markers of colorectal cancer, bringing the total identified up to ten. Just last month we learned that researchers in Alberta had successfully tested a new way to treat prostate cancer in some men using a harmless virus called "reovirus."
Canadian scientists are researching therapies to starve cancer tumours by cutting off blood supply. There is ongoing research to develop a new immunotherapy treatment using the body's own immune system to try to destroy cancer cells. There is research into a new, revolutionary treatment called photodynamic therapy that, unbelievably, tries to use a combination of light and photosensitive drugs to kill cancer cells.
This research is funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society. Last year, thanks to generous donations, the society was able to invest $50 million in cancer research projects across Canada. This is an exceptional level of scientific research support from the voluntary sector.
The April Daffodil campaign is a Canadian tradition that goes back more than 50 years. It began in Toronto in the 1950s, when volunteers used daffodils to decorate tables for fundraising teas to support the Canadian Cancer Society. Today, of course, it relies upon tens of thousands of individuals all across the country, all committed to helping in the battle against cancer.
My congratulations and best wishes to the Canadian Cancer Society for the 2010 campaign and my deep gratitude to the society, the army of canvassers and the generous donors in all corners of our country for their work and dedication to this important cause.