Message from the BC Cancer Foundation
Fundraising Update
Over 10,000 lanterns were sold in 2009. In total over $31,000 was raised for the BC Cancer Foundation through Festival initiatives in conjunction with Fairway Markets.
Thank you all for your generous support!
As a member of the BC Cancer Foundation Advisory Council and as a member of this community, I am excited about the upcoming 2009 Victoria Dragon Boat Festival, and of the role that the BC Cancer Foundation will play as the Festival's benefiting charity.
In recent years, the Festival has grown to become a mainstay of the summertime festivities in Victoria, bringing together all parts of our community, including local businesses, individual volunteers, and dedicated paddlers. Every year, attendance at the festival reflects a rich multicultural backdrop that is Victoria's fabric. Like this city's support for the Festival, cancer also knows no ethnic, cultural, or societal boundaries. For the BC Cancer Foundation, partnering with the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival gives us an opportunity to bring our message of perseverance, courage, and hope to as wide and diverse a group as possible.
For many dragon boat paddlers this Festival means so much more to them than many of us can even comprehend. For some, this event is an opportunity to give thanks for having beaten cancer. For others, this event is an opportunity to say goodbye and pay tribute to friends lost. It is with profound respect and gratitude that the BC Cancer Foundation accepts the donations of these paddlers and all paddlers, with proceeds going to fund the leading edge cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency's Vancouver Island Centre right here in Victoria.
We invite everyone from our caring community to make a difference by pledging a donation to one of the many teams paddling for a cure.
Together we can make this the biggest fund-raising year ever!
Sincerely,
Kyman Chan
BC Cancer Foundation Advisory Council
Dragon boat paddlers are an inspiration to our community with their dedication and commitment to paddling, as well as their support of BC Cancer Foundation and the BC Cancer Agency's Vancouver Island Centre. 4000 new patients are treated at the centre each year, and we are constantly looking at ways to develop new knowledge through basic research and to translate this knowledge into better treatments for cancer patients.
A key focus area for our research is the study of how to harness our own immune system to combat cancer as a new form of therapy. Another area of focus is in clinical research where we study how to improve the accuracy and timing of radiation therapy. These established research areas are making ground breaking progress as recognized by support from national and international agencies. These are now being expanded by adding additional themes and by research that is not just focused on the disease, but also on the patient and how to best provide information and support their needs.
The funds raised by dragon boat paddlers are critical for these important research programs being conducted right here on Vancouver Island, as they create an opportunity for us to develop new ideas, launch innovative research projects and to expand our research teams. We are very grateful to all of the dragon boat paddlers and the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society for this generous support.
Dr. Peter Watson, Chief Physician
BC Cancer Agency's Vancouver Island Centre
The BC Cancer Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises and stewards funds to support break-through research and care at the BC Cancer Agency. The BC Cancer Foundation raises money only in BC and only for the BC Cancer Agency. Our sole mandate is to raise funds that directly support cancer research and enhancements to care at the BC Cancer Agency. There is no regular government funding for cancer research, so donations to BC Cancer Foundation are vital to ensure cancer research in BC happens.
