For us -- and millions of Canadians

including school children -- Terry Fox is the face of cancer research. His

Marathon of Hope, now a 30-year legacy, continues to inspire people here at home

and around the world.

Terry's vision and courage have

helped to change and reshape Canada in many ways. Importantly, it transformed

cancer research here -- establishing a new attitude and threshold regarding what

kind of investment was necessary to support cancer research. Through the

National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC), Terry Fox Foundation funds were

allocated to researchers and teams for nearly three decades.

The NCIC was able to provide

individual awards worth up to one million dollars to recognize the needs of

individual investigators and their team members. This helped to ensure that

Canadian investigators would be able to compete on a world stage and came at a

time when funding to individual investigators was substantially less.

Additionally, the funds were used for very specific needs such as the

recruitment and training of medical experts. "These two activities were only

possible through the availability of Terry Fox funds and I believe they had a

major impact on how health research is supported in Canada," reflects former

NCIC head Dr. Peter Scholefield (assistant executive director (1969-1980) and

executive director (1980-1991)).

"The Terry Fox Foundation has

always insisted on funding the best research no matter where it was. By

insisting on extremely high levels of excellence, they ended up focusing on a

limited number of people, but this has led to huge advances in science and some

of those are now on the cusp of being translated," said Dr. Bob Phillips, also

formerly with NCIC.

This transformation continues

today. The research institute that now bears Terry's name will play a key role

in translating these findings into the clinic. Giving hope. Reducing the pain

and suffering. Finding a cure. This is the dream.

Terry's vision for a world free of

cancer is alive in the hearts and minds of the bright, talented researchers,

scientists, clinicians, post-doctoral and graduate students and support staff

who work every day under his name in cancer laboratories, hospitals, clinics and

academic facilities across this country.

More than half a billion dollars --

$553 million -- has been raised for cancer research by Terry's Marathon of Hope

and The Terry Fox Foundation. Three decades later, we know more about cancer

today thanks to biological, molecular and genomic discoveries, and new

technologies, tests and treatments made possible with funding from The Terry Fox

Foundation. We have better ways to detect, diagnose and treat it. This is

helping cancer patients to live, to live longer and with a better quality of

life.

Many challenges still remain, but

we are making a difference. In this issue (and future ones), we highlight some

results:

• The

life expectancy for men with advanced prostate cancer is improving
•

Scientists have discovered a new mutation that may lead to new treatments for

lymphoma
• Today's health-care imaging tools and techniques are built on

Terry Fox-funded research
• Early screening holds great potential for

improving survival from lung cancer, the number one cancer killer worldwide
•

New selective therapies are being explored to provide treatment that is

"personalized"
• Translational research is helping to close the gap between

discovery and application
• Terry Fox funding has helped to build the

nation's research capacity
• Young and promising new investigators will

ensure Canada continues to lead discovery and innovation both nationally and

internationally
• We have built, and continue to build, a critical mass of

talent and expertise through team science to address cancer's many

complexities

There is still much for us to do to

achieve Terry's vision. "Thirty years ago, Terry brought people together,

inspiring them to achieve more than they can imagine. Today we know that cancer

is a huge challenge -- perhaps far greater than anyone had imagined --

representing more than 100 different diseases.
We are making progress and the

future is very promising; much of this is because of Terry Fox," said Dr. Victor

Ling, president and scientific director of The Terry Fox Research Institute,

which oversees the Foundation's research investment portfolio.

"With the continued support of

donors, run organizers and volunteers, and this team of world-class researchers,

we will meet these challenges head on and, like Terry, we will not

quit."

Terry

Fox Research Institute