Cancer charity excited to get Daffodil Campaign back on track

The Canadian Cancer Society is excited to get its annual Daffodil Campaign back on track this April.

“We've had a tough few years, obviously with the pandemic,” the charity's Dr. Stuart Edmonds says. “But also difficult for patients, as well, in terms of delayed surgery, delayed screening programs and so on. We're looking forward to getting things back on track.

“We're really excited about going to offline fundraising and getting back to what is more like normal fundraising.”

Each year, the funds raised from the Daffodil Campaign go toward funding the Canadian Cancer Society's advocacy work and support services, where Dr. Edmond describes the latter as “critical” to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the money raised will also go toward the organization's research programs.

“We've been funding research for 75 years and we've had really profound impacts on our research that have changed the way cancer is being managed by a number of cancer patients in Canada,” Dr. Edmond, who's the charity's executive director of research and advocacy, says.

“Some of the work that we're supporting — cancer research we're supporting — is really, really critical.”

For one, he told The Todd Veinotte Show that some of the Canadian Cancer Society's work allows various patients to gain access to new interventions they normally wouldn't have easy access to.

Moreover, the Canadian Cancer Society recently funded numerous projects after asking researchers to identify issues in cancer research.

“They didn't disappoint,” Dr. Edmond says. “We ended up funding well over 40 projects across the country for a total investment of close to $20 million. We're really excited about how these projects are going to pan out. They're looking at new ways to test for cancer … but also new ways of treating cancers, as well.”

According to the Canadian Cancer Statistics report released on Nov. 3, 2021, around two in five people in the country will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

The report, conducted by the Canadian Cancer Society, Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, also indicates one in four will die from cancer.

“That doesn't even begin to explain the number of people that have been affected by cancer through one of their loved ones,” Dr. Edmond says. “It is a critical group of diseases … and that's why we're working hard to support patients going through their journey.”

Anyone interested in making a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society can visit its website.

Donations of any amount can be made as a one-time payment or set up monthly. They can also be made in honour or in memory of someone.