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Cancer Research

Almost 50% of Albertans will develop cancer in their lifetime. Of those people, half will lose the fight. As Alberta’s population grows and gets older, the number of cancer cases is rising, too. Raising money for a cure is a great start, but now it’s time to put that money toward research. We need to focus our efforts on improving survival rates and finding better treatments for cancer.

The Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary is southern Alberta’s own tertiary cancer centre and a leader in innovative cancer research, prevention, treatment, and care initiatives across the province and beyond.

The centre provides advanced medical and supportive cancer care, patient and professional education, and conducts research through the Alberta Cancer Research Institute.

The Cross Cancer Institute is northern Alberta’s leading centre to prevent, research, and treat cancer. The centre provides inpatient and outpatient services, advanced medical care and support, and education for patients and doctors.

The CCI also has a Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), an active clinical trial program with 60 investigators, 56 trial nurses and coordinators, and state-of-the-art care and equipment.

“Patients are living twice as long as they used to.”

Researchers at the Cross Cancer Institute, along with 246 treatment centres around the globe, found that survival rates for multiple myeloma patients improved when two existing drugs were combined. The longer treatment went on, the longer the patients lived.

Dr. John Mackey, director of the CCI’s clinical trials unit, says, “We understand this disease much better than before… Patients are living twice as long as they used to, and their quality of life is also much improved.”

There’s always new cancer research being conducted throughout Alberta. Interested in taking part? Visit the Alberta Cancer Clinical Trials database to see if you’re eligible to participate in any open studies in your area. The database is updated monthly to include the latest cancer studies.