º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø

And yet, we are also in a moment of unparalleled potential, with scientists calling this a golden age in cancer research.

Through collaborative research, clinical innovation, comprehensive care and engaged philanthropy, there is also hope.

Most people don’t realize that cancer survival rates in Canada have dramatically improved in the last several decades, from 50 per cent in the 1980s to 63 per cent in recent years for all kinds of cancers, at five years out. For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate is 89 per cent. For men diagnosed at one of the first three stages of prostate cancer, the five-year survival rate is an unbelievable 100 per cent.

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, part of University Health Network, is Canada’s only multidisciplinary treatment centre dedicated solely to cancer and is where many of the advancements in cancer research and innovation and care have taken place over the years.

Reflecting the dual reality of cancer being a growing challenge but also a more survivable disease, is focused on three key pillars: early detection, innovative treatments and comprehensive care.

Up to 90 per cent of common cancer diagnoses are curable if detected early, but cure rates drop significantly if caught at later stages. Today, close to 50 per cent of cancers are still detected at later stages when the chances of survival are much lower.

Fortunately, key advancements have been made in diagnostics, from setting new mammography standards based on the link between breast density and cancer risk and performing liquid biopsies to catch different kinds of cancer before they appear in imaging, to large-scale genetic sequencing to detect hereditary cancers.

, and other centres globally, are also pioneering new targeted treatments including advanced immunotherapies, next-generation surgical robotics, more precise medicines and theranostics, which uses one radioactive drug to diagnose cancer and a second radioactive drug to treat the cancer, without many of the side effects of traditional radiation therapy.

All of these advances have the potential to replace traditional chemotherapy and ease the physical, emotional and mental challenges often associated with cancer care.

Finally, researchers now know that cancer care is not just about medicine and surgery. Cancer patients are three to four times more likely to experience anxiety and depression than the general population. Sixty per cent of patients find the mental health challenges of cancer harder to cope with than the physical side effects of the illness or treatment. Caregivers also struggle — often experiencing greater psychological distress than their loved ones with cancer.

Therapeutic programs for patients with advanced cancer now exist and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and other cancer centres have programs dedicated to young people, as well as ones for seniors with cancer and caregivers of cancer patients.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by a cancer diagnosis and certainly, we’re still losing too many people to cancer. But it’s also important to remember that advances and breakthroughs over the last 30 years have dramatically improved prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.

We are in an unprecedented moment for cancer research and clinical innovation. The depth of scientific understanding and the breadth of highly effective therapeutic options — combined with the promise of rapidly advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence and genetic sequencing — should give people hope that while they may get cancer, they are also more likely to survive it.