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It’s never too late to say “thank you”— 80th birthday inspires gift to BC Cancer Foundation for first-in-Canada cancer research project
June 7, 2007, Vancouver, B.C -PREDICT project launched by BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre will enable all new patients to participate in research resource for use worldwide.
Any way you look at it, turning 80 is a milestone. A year ago when North Saanich resident Frank Garnett, a retired oil industry executive and father of four, looked back on his 80 years he realized he had led a very good life. Last year he also celebrated 55 years of marriage with his wife Betty. “I have been very happy and financially successful and my family is looked after so I thought it was time to do something for those less fortunate than myself,” he said. “It is never too late to say thank you,” he emphasizes. As he approached 80, he decided to make a significant donation to the BC Cancer Foundation to be used for a new research project called PREDICT, at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre.
Now one year later, as Garnett celebrates his 81st birthday on June 7th, and thanks in part to his generosity, a successful pilot study with 100 patients has been completed and the BC Cancer Agency is announcing the full roll-out of PREDICT. It will be the first project of its kind in Canada to give all newly-diagnosed cancer patients the chance to participate in research.
PREDICT stands for Personal Response Determinants In Cancer Therapy and aims to collect blood samples for research purposes from all newly-diagnosed cancer patients referred to the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre in Victoria. The blood samples will be used to look at what it is about individuals that causes different responses to the same kind of tumour, or the same kind of treatments.
Dr. Peter Watson is the head of the BC Cancer Agency’s Tumour Tissue Repository and the research leader of the PREDICT project. He says, “We want to find out why it is that if two people have exactly the same treatment for exactly the same reason, one person may experience side effects while the other one doesn’t. Or if two people receive the same treatment for the same disease, why does one have a recurrence of the disease, and another doesn’t?”
He further explains, “In the past we have focused a lot of our research on the properties of the tumour, and we have perhaps not looked hard enough at the rest of the patient. If we can identify something in the blood of individuals that would help us ‘PREDICT’ side effects or outcomes, we would have greater success at treating our patients.”
Dr. Ivo Olivotto, chief physician at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre, has long championed the concept of involving more patients and staff in research. He is tremendously excited about PREDICT. “This has been a dream for a long time, and we are grateful to Mr. Garnett for making this project possible with his generosity to the BC Cancer Foundation,” he says. “We know that both patients and our clinical staff really like the idea of participating in research and now we can offer patients the chance to do this by donating a blood sample to be used for future research purposes.” He adds, “This project is a first in Canada and we are pretty excited that we started it here on Vancouver Island!”
The ultimate vision is to create a resource of blood tissue samples that can be used by researchers worldwide. The long-term goal is to collect 20,000 blood samples for research purposes from newly-diagnosed cancer patients in B.C.
Anne Marshall of Brentwood Bay, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, was the first patient who participated in the pilot study of 100 patients. A program like PREDICT gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to cancer research in their own way, Marshall says, which is the reason she chose to volunteer. When she was approached by Dr. Olivotto to donate blood for the program, she didn’t hesitate.
“I feel like I have an obligation to my fellow person,” Marshall says. “Someone before me has taken steps to help cancer research move forward and hopefully the time will come when my contribution will make a difference. Maybe it won’t be in my time but, God willing, it may help in the future.”
For Frank Garnett it is gratifying to see the success of the pilot project only a year after his donation. He cannot think of a better way to celebrate his 81st birthday on June 7th than to see his philanthropy come to fruition in a manner that will impact future generations. He hopes others will be inspired to say “thank-you” and also donate to the PREDICT project through the BC Cancer Foundation. “It sure feels good,” he says.
For information about participating in the PREDICT project as a patient call Kristy Dillon at 250-519-5719 or e-mail kdillon@bccancer.bc.ca
For information on making a financial donation to the BC Cancer Foundation for the PREDICT project, please call Laura Walsh at 250-519-5554 or e-mail lwalsh@bccancer.bc.ca
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For information:
Penny Noble APR, Senior Director Public Affairs,
BC Cancer Foundation: 604 707 5902, cell 604 805 5637
or
Judy Hamill, Communications Officer,
BC Cancer Foundation: 604 707 4905, cell 604 802 6984
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