What is Cancer J`écoute? - Canadian Cancer Society

Canadian Cancer Society
Quebec Division
Annual Report 2003 2004
Together

Our Mission
We are fighting
relentlessly because…
… we believe that together,
we will win the fight.
WE 2
The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based
organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer
and to improve the quality of life of people living with cancer.
The Canadian Cancer Society achieves its mission by:
•funding excellence in research on all types of cancer;
•advocating for healthy public policy and cancer control;
•promoting healthy lifestyles and strategies for reducing
cancer risk;
•providing comprehensive information about cancer care
and treatment;
•supporting people living with cancer.
The Canadian Cancer Society relies on the unwavering commitment
of its volunteers and employees, and on the generosity of its donors
from across every region of Canada.
•One in three persons will develop some form of cancer
in his/her lifetime.
•Cancer is the leading cause of premature death.
•By 2010, cancer will be the leading cause of death.
•As a result of a growing and aging population, the number
of new cancer cases will increase in the near future.
•Research has led to major advances over the last two decades.
•At least 50% of cancers could be prevented through healthy
living and by adopting public health policies.
WHAT WE DO

Message from the President
and the Executive Director
WE 3
A very favorable wind blew across the Quebec
Division of the Canadian Cancer Society last
year. We indeed had a good year in many
respects, thanks to the work of our volunteers
and personnel, in collaboration with our various
partners in the fight against cancer.
It was a year of great orientations. A second
five-year strategic plan was approved by the
Quebec Division Board along with a business
plan covering its first three years. The Division
confirmed its commitment toward national
priorities, namely research, primary preven-
tion, information, advocacy and support
to people living with cancer. The Division
also identified its own three fields of priority,
which are funding of its activities,
development of its human resources
and enhancement of its visibility.
In 2003, divisional revenue reached an
unprecedented high of approximately
$15 million, allowing us to offer more services
and more information as well as to increase
our contribution to research.
Relay For Life is one of the initiatives that proved
to be multifaceted, serving as a means to raise
money as well as a way to significantly raise
awareness as to the suffering caused by this
disease. Emotions were running high as
thousands of participants in 14 different events
experienced the Survivors’ Victory Lap and the
Luminary Ceremony in memory of those who lost
their battle against cancer and in honour of
those who have won. People relayed around
a track during 12 hours of solidarity in the fight
against cancer. What a good example of what
we can accomplish TOGETHER!
The Daffodil Ball astonished us once more,
winning not one but two trophies at the Special
Events International Gala Awards. Selected Best
Fundraising Event for 2003 and winning the
award for Best Decor, the event received well-
deserved honors.
Through the publication of the Canadian Cancer
Statistics*, the Society made its preoccupations
known for the future, clearly outlining the definite
necessity for a better coordination of cancer
control throughout the country. Already the first
cause of premature death, cancer is becoming
the first cause of death, an alarming situation
that calls for immediate measures. The develop-
ment of a Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control,
in which the Society is involved at the national
level, was echoed in the work of the Coalition
Priorité Cancer au Québec in order to bring
governments to action. The Coalition is made
up of 15 organizations and associations, the
Society being a founding member.
As a result of three years of effort by the Coalition,
Dr. Philippe Couillard, Quebec Minister of Health
and Social Services has stated that cancer would
be among the provincial government’s health
priorities.
A very successful conference on community
services took place in the fall of 2003. Two
hundred and fifty volunteers and employees
became more familiar with our services to
the population as a whole, including Cancer
J’écoute, our new emotional support program.
Cancer J’écoute was presented for the very first
time at the conference with representatives from
the Fondation Jean-Marc Paquette, its funding
organization, in attendance.
The Society acknowledges that the fight against
cancer must be led on several fronts and that it
can only be won TOGETHER. Volunteers,
employees, donors, partners, health professionals,
government representatives and people living
with cancer, are TOGETHER strong!
Marc Généreux Nicole Magnan
President Executive Director
* Produced by: Canadian Cancer Society, National Cancer
Institute of Canada, Statistics Canada, provincial and territories’
Cancer Registries and Health Canada.
Photographer: Paul Labelle

Photographer: Owen Egan

Research
Funding research helps us better understand the disease
and enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer.
The Canadian Cancer Society is the largest
charitable funder of cancer research in Canada.
A broad array of
research on all types
of cancer
In 2003–2004, the Canadian Cancer Society
contributed almost $48.8 million to its scientific
partner, the National Cancer Institute of Canada,
to fund a broad array of research projects on all
types of cancer: fundamental lab research, behav-
ioural and cancer prevention research, and
research that has a direct impact on clinical
practice and treatments.
When offering grants to the excellent researchers
working throughout the country, we follow a
strict, carefully-elaborated scientific evaluation
process to ensure that only the most promising
projects receive funding.
Offering hope to people
living with cancer
Cancer is a complex disease. It actually encom-
passes over 200 different diseases. It is therefore
unthinkable that a single cure or treatment could
be found for all types of cancer.
While it is estimated that one out of three persons
will develop some form of cancer in his/her
lifetime, the advances of the past two decades
have literally revolutionized our understanding
of cancer and ushered us in a new era in terms
of diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Thanks
to these scientific breakthroughs, some recent
statistics are truly encouraging:
•Among Canadian men, the cancer death rate
for all cancers combined has declined by
12% since 1988.
•Among women, except for lung cancer, overall
cancer death rates have declined by 21%
since 1974.
•Mortality rates attributed to childhood cancer
have been reduced by half since the fifties.
A wave of optimism is spreading throughout the
scientific community; it gives us reason to hope
that the next twenty, even ten, years will see
giant leaps being made in the fight against
cancer.
WE 5
In Quebec, in 2003–2004:
• Quebec Division contributed $3.5 million
to research.
• Quebec researchers have been allowed
$7.6 million for 18 new research
projects.
• In total, 62 research projects are
underway in Quebec in the following
institutions:
• 6 hospitals:
Montreal General Hospital
Jewish General Hospital
Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital
Notre-Dame Hospital
Royal Victoria Hospital
Ste-Justine Hospital
• 4 universities:
Université Laval
McGill University
Université de Montréal
Université de Sherbrooke
• 3 research institutes:
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier
Clinical Research Institute of
Montreal - IRCM
Lady Davis Institute
Research at a glance
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