A fierce fundraising competition is underway in Atlantic Canada.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada’s annual Man and Woman of the Year is a 10-week fundraiser between top leaders in communities across Canada. All funds raised go to blood cancer research and support for people living with blood cancer in Atlantic Canada.
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, blood cancer is the fifth most diagnosed cancer in Canada. Some 128,000 Canadians are diagnosed with blood cancers every year and 180,000 are living with or in remission from the disease. It is also the most common cancer diagnosis among children. In Atlantic Canada, there are 1,800 patients diagnosed with blood cancer every year.
Blood cancers, an umbrella term for cancers that affect blood cells, include lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma.
“There’s nothing we can do to prevent blood cancer,” says Dr. Claude Perreault, a professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal and an investigator at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer. “There’s no behaviour, no life habit that has any impact on blood cancer.”
According to a 2019 report published by the Canadian Cancer Society, Canadians have a better chance of surviving blood cancers than they did 30 years ago, thanks to funds raised for research and better treatments.
READ MORE: Precision medicine helping more people survive blood cancers: report
Participants in Man and Woman of the Year come up with fundraising ideas to try to raise the most money of all 11 candidates in Nova Scotia. Contestants don’t know how much they’ve raised over the course of the 10-week challenge until the grand finale event in June when the Man and Woman of the Year is crowned.
“This year, in Halifax, we’re looking to have a collective impact of over $400,000 which will allow us to invest funds in research,” says Trudy Dyer, national lead at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Last year’s Man and Woman of the Year in Halifax were Troyce Ashe of Steele Hyundai and Amanda Penney of Royer Thompson. Collectively, they raised almost $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
READ MORE: NB toddler inspires 1,400+ Maritimers to sign up as potential bone marrow donors
“Our candidates are always shocked every year about how their community and how their networks really step up to support them,” Dyer says. “Our candidates are really looking at ways that they can inspire their community.”
Global News Morning’s own Alyse Hand will be taking part in the Man and Woman of the Year fundraiser. To support this event and learn more about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, visit the Man and Woman of the Year website.