Create a Legacy to Shape Future Cancer Breakthroughs

Despite the challenges, Jane chose to continue working, finding focus and support among her colleagues, who were also some of her closest friends. Gradually her life returned to a semblance of normalcy, although she remained on monthly treatments.

In 2023, Jane started experiencing abnormal headaches, which she initially attributed to stress from dealing with a loss of a loved one.

“I assumed it was stress-related, like I was taking on more than I could handle,” she said.

However, these headaches were caused by six tumours found in her brain – her breast cancer had metastasized. The largest tumour was surgically removed, and the remaining tumours were treated with radiation.

“When it comes down to it, Princess Margaret saved my life,” Jane said.

In gratitude, she has included a gift to The Princess Margaret in her Will, benefiting breast cancer and neuro-oncology research.

The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is profoundly grateful to donors like Jane, whose legacy gift will advance the future of cancer care and research. Click here learn more about legacy gifts.

During her treatment at The Princess Margaret, Leslie met with the team at The Bhalwani Familial Cancer Clinic. Through their investigation, the team identified that Leslie’s cancer contained a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, meaning it was hereditary. This was a surprise to Leslie. “My family did not have a notable history of cancer, except my father who had prostate cancer at 77 years of age, a time when many men develop prostate cancer. He turned out to be the genetic carrier.”

This genetic mutation puts Leslie at risk for six other types of cancer, including breast cancer. The familial tie to her disease highlighted the importance of genetic testing and inspired Leslie to give back to the Early Detection team. “Early detection gives me and many others hope,” said Leslie. “My involvement makes me feel positive about the future.”

Leslie decided to leverage her personal and professional experience to become a member of the Patient Advisory Group for Drs. Trevor Pugh and Raymond Kim’s CHARM clinical trial. This international study aims to develop a new liquid biopsy – a non-invasive blood test – that can detect tumours in patients with hereditary cancer syndromes. These patients are born with a genetic change that places them at a higher risk for developing many cancers in their lifetime.

Leslie donated $50,000 to The Princess Margaret in honour of herself, her husband and her two dogs, Kianga and Momoa, whom she adores. She is also setting up a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) to help ensure funding continues for this critical area. “My diagnosis has driven my financial support for The Princess Margaret as well as my decision to make a planned gift through my estate. I will help advance genetic-based research such as CHARM in any way I can.”

Reevaluating your plans following significant life events like changes in health, finances or family dynamics is a wise approach. This checklist can assist you in organizing your plans and ensuring they align with your current circumstances:

· Make a list of everything you own – such as real estate, bank and investment accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, personal collections, jewelery, cars and boats. Nothing is too trivial!

· Decide who will receive your assets – your family, other loved ones and the causes you care about.

· Choose a qualified guardian for your minor children and name that person in your Will.

· Depending on whether you have a Will or trust, choose your executor or successor trustee, who will be responsible for seeing that the terms of your Will or trust are completed properly.

· Execute a power of attorney for property which names the person who will make financial decisions for you if you become unable to do so.

· Appoint a healthcare agent (called a power of attorney for personal care in Ontario) to make care, healthcare and end of life decisions for you if you become unable to do so.

· Consult with an attorney who specializes in estate planning, who will create or advise you in creating a Will or trust and other necessary estate documents.

Adela’s platform is based on a specialized form of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) technology, known as cfMeDIP-seq. Discovered at UHN, cfMeDIP-seq is an ultra-sensitive methylation pattern detection technology which, combined with AI, is designed to help detect cancer and other high-morbidity, high-mortality conditions through a single blood draw. This enables the potential for earlier disease detection, diagnosis and management.

cfMEDIP-seq is the basis of Adela’s groundbreaking liquid biopsy technology that detects and analyzes the sequences and modifications made to fragments of DNA present in the blood – known as DNA methylation – that are often found in cancer cells. Paired with sophisticated machine learning algorithms, Adela’s genome-wide methylome enrichment platform is designed to efficiently mine millions of DNA methylation changes in the human body to detect cancer and other conditions.

Adela envisions a future where multiple cancers and other diseases could be detected by taking a simple blood sample. 

With UHN’s unique technology de-risking approach and with support from donors through The Princess Margaret, Adela has gained the confidence of five major investor partners and has attracted seasoned entrepreneurs to their leadership team. Together, they will further advance the innovative liquid biopsy technology for use across the entire cancer continuum – for detection, diagnosis and management of cancer.