At Northwest Tank Lines, safety is our primary driver of everything we do. This goes beyond driving, equipment, training and certification measures and extends into the safety of our communities outside of work life. We are proud to support our partner, the Canadian Cancer Society, in their fight against cancer, especially this month for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The achievements by the Canadian Cancer Society have been remarkable. Last year, they invested $19.07 Million in ground-breaking cancer research that is poised to improve how people are diagnosed and treated. They drove 8,380 people to treatment and home again through 200,313 rides offered by volunteers. They provided community and support to 287,000 people, and that’s just highlighting some of the big numbers!
The Canadian Cancer Society’s mission statement is: Life is bigger than cancer.
To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’d like to share some highlights from the Canadian Cancer Society this month.
1. $8.5 Million raised from CIBC’s Run for the Cure
Every year the Canadian Cancer Society organizes a Run for the Cure fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. For the first time, this year’s event was hybrid – it was organized both virtually and physically. On October 4th, 2020, more than 25,000 people participated nationwide and helped raise over $8.5 Million for breast cancer research. The participants collectively walked a total distance of roughly 115,000 km –that’s the equivalent of walking all around the world three times!
The event kicked off virtually with an opening ceremony on their official Facebook page, which was live-streamed and emceed by platinum-selling recording R&B artist Jully Black (who also gave an incredible performance during the event!). The Canadian Cancer Society had a great line-up of many other talented Canadian artists at the opening ceremony including Carolyn Dawn Johnson, the Barenaked Ladies, Jess Moskaluke, and more. Prior to the event they also released a well-curated Spotify playlist for the run to get everyone fired up. While the event was a bit different this year, the motivation behind the run remained strong and Canadians really showed their support across the country.
2. Development of Vaccines for Triple-negative Breast Cancer
In other promising breast cancer news, Dr. Claude Perreault and his team from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer is hoping to develop life-saving vaccines that could treat triple-negative breast cancer, which is a hard-to-treat cancer with very limited available treatment options. Their strategy is to harness the power of the immune system to target cancer. They’re hopeful that research like this might give people better treatment options and increase their chances of survival.
3. Largest Initiative in Cancer Survivorship Research in Canada Launched
In partnership with the Alberta Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society has received the first-of-its-kind Canadian Cancer Society/Canadian Institutes of Health Research Cancer Survivorship Team Grants. 4 out of 5 survivors of cancer survivors face serious challenges post-treatment, and there is an immediate need to better understand this. Research on cancer survivorship can help prevent, reduce, and manage the emotional and physical effects of cancer treatment to help the survivors live a long healthy life.
4. Diversity and Inclusion in Cancer Research
Apart from spreading breast cancer awareness, one of the key areas in which the Canadian Cancer Society works is cancer research initiatives. To help facilitate more innovation and impact, the Canadian Cancer Society believes in diversity and inclusion in research. They’ve recently enhanced their Canadian Cancer Society Research Inclusive Excellence Action Plan to better integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, as well as accessibility across their cancer research programs.
Canadian Cancer Society released a statement explaining:
“Nearly 1 out of 2 Canadians are expected to face a cancer diagnosis. Cancer can affect us all, so it is crucial that our research process reflects the true strength of Canada’s diversity.”
5. Breast Cancer Treatment is Making Great Progress
Northwest Tank Lines is incredibly proud of the advances the Canadian Cancer Society has made in their research. In 2020, 9 out of 10 women with breast cancer will survive a minimum of 5 years after their diagnosis – of course, there is still a lot more work to be done, but we’re excited to see the continual positive progress being made.
6. Urging the Government to Make Cancer a Priority
The Canadian Cancer Society has outlined recommendations during the 2020 BC elections, asking candidates to support the fight against cancer and improve the overall quality of life for people who’re living with cancer during this pandemic and beyond. They’ve made a written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee. In this submission, they have suggested an extension of the Employment Insurance sickness benefit so that more Canadians suffering from cancer get adequate time off work they need to recover.
Breast cancer is an extremely challenging journey and coping up with it is very stressful – especially during this pandemic. We’re so proud of all the work our partners, the Canadian Cancer Society, has done this year, and especially this October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Northwest Tank Lines will continue to be a proud supporter of the Canadian Cancer Society and our pink ribbon trucks will continue to serve communities across Western Canada. You can learn more about our partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society here.
