WATCH: Part two of our focus on the tenth anniversary of the BC Cancer Agency’s Research Centre focuses on development of more targeted treatments. Aaron McArthur reports.
It had humble beginnings in the basement of an old bakery, but 10 years later theB.C. Cancer Agency Research Centre has become a world-class facility, responsible for saving countless lives.
More than $170 million has been raised by the public to fight cancer at the agency, directly helping people like Jackie Ellis.
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“I can’t express to you how deeply grateful I am for the work the B.C. Cancer Agency and the researchers do together,” said Ellis.
“The research done for my cancer means different dose amounts and different drugs, it has really changed the prognosis and outcomes for myself and so many people.”
Five years ago, Ellis was diagnosed with advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the past, it would mean harsh chemotherapy, with only a 20 per cent chance of improvement.
Today, that number is much higher, in part thanks to specialized drug treatments developed by the BC Cancer Agency. Targeted treatments now attack specific cells, leaving the rest of the body free from medication.
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“There’s not a cancer left that’s untreatable in that same sense. There’s a remedy, or in most cases multiple remedies for every cancer,” says Dr. Joe Connors.
“What cancer doctors are doing five years from now will look fundamentally different from what we were doing five years ago.”
– With files from Aaron McArthur
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