We hope that this will be a wonderful Christmas present for you. The investment in a new website was one that we could not delay any longer. More than 50% of the loyal visitors to our website are now visiting our website on a mobile device, and we know that our current platform is not mobile-friendly. We hope that our new website will be easier for you to navigate, easier to find the information you are looking for (with a great search in the top right hand corner), and we will continue to ensure that we provide you with the credible and up-to-date information that you have come to exp ..read more

Interested in learning more about brain tumours? Come to a free event on October 26, 2019, in London, Ontario. Anyone with an interest in brain tumours is welcome! At this event, you will hear from researchers who we have entrusted with funds to find the cause of and a cure for brain tumours. We will also hear from the next generation of researchers, undergraduate students who will be competing for cash prizes. Speakers include: Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada representatives a former Brain Tumour Research Studentship recipient, Alexander Rodzinka: “A Novel Approach to Dissectin ..read more

Since writing the last blog post (Clinical What?), we have been contacted as someone wanted to highlight an additional opportunity for you if you are actively searching for a clinical trial or curious if there is a clinical trial for you. Hand with magnifying glass and puzzle isolated on white backgroundThe Clinical Trials Navigator is a pilot project being run out of Windsor, ON but is available nationally. If anyone in Canada (doctors, patients, family members) calls the clinical trials navigator, he will help look into clinical trials. It’s an option for families who are overwhelmed with ..read more

Clinical trials test health-related “interventions” to see how they work. Clinical trials often answer questions about interventions like: Is it safe? Does it improve or cure disease, or help people live longer with disease than other treatments? Does it help people feel better? If your question is: “How can I find out more about Clinical Trials?” our friends at Clinical Trials Ontario have information for you. Note, that this information is applicable across Canada, not just in Ontario. Read on to find out more… Have you ever had questions about clinical trials? Are you interested ..read more

Can a piece of paper and a smartphone lead to improvements in brain surgery? That’s the hope of a team based at the Western University in London, ON. Read on to find out more… Bringing Augmented Reality to Brain Surgery: Model the structure and function of the brain preoperatively Neurosurgery requires extensive knowledge of each patient’s brain anatomy, as well as advanced visuo-spatial skills to accurately maneuver surgical instruments during operations. Surgeons look at 2D displays of MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) and have to mentally transform the patient’s anatomy from the scree ..read more

It has been wonderful seeing so many people at our 22 Brain Tumour Walk events this year. More than 8,800 people registered online, with many more registered on the day of the event. New this year: We gave everyone a hat instead of a t-shirt. We were thrilled to have Olympian Piper Gilles as our National Spokesperson. We went to Whitehorse where the event smashed through its fundraising goal. We even went International as a DIY Brain Tumour Walk took place in the Netherlands! We certainly felt the love at these events, and even witnessed the first ever marriage proposal at the Brain ..read more

Undergoing research can be like walking through a forest. One minute the path in front of you is clear, then it’s blocked. The blockage may lead to a whole new path being created, it does not necessarily mean that you need to go all the way back to the beginning to start again. This week AbbVie announced that they have halted enrollment in all ongoing Depatux-M studies. This drug was for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) whose tumours have EDFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) amplification. New drugs for those with glioblastoma are much needed and we are grateful to Ab ..read more

Inaccurate data. “Fake news”. Evolving truth. More and more we seem to be living in a world where getting accurate information about things around us is becoming more difficult. Amazingly, this can be the case when it comes to something as apparently simple as counting the number of people diagnosed with a brain tumour – in a town, in a city, in a province, or in a country like Canada. What can having data about the incidence and prevalence of brain tumours in Canada mean to researchers and patients? For researchers it can help them to design studies to better understand why brain tumours occu ..read more

On Saturday, March 30, 2019, a small but dedicated group gathered in Hamilton, Ontario. The majority of the audience was made up of Undergraduate students, brought together by the McMaster University club “Students Advancing Brain Cancer Research” to be judged in a competition. The case for the competition was based around Hayden, who died earlier this year of respiratory failure. We had approached Hayden’s Mom, Candice, in the most cautious way possible. Her response as to whether she’d be involved: “You had me at ‘Advancing Brain Cancer Research’”. Candice shared their story at the ev ..read more

Did you know that over 700 people volunteer each year with us to further the brain tumour cause and help those in the brain tumour community? Without volunteers, events across the country such as brain tumour support groups, Brain Tumour Walk, and BrainWAVE events for children affected by a brain tumour and their families would not be possible. Information packages would not be sent as quickly, calls would not be answered when our team are in meetings, awareness-raising and advocacy would not be as effective, we would not have an effective Board of Directors, and hundreds of other tasks ..read more