Advancing research means pushing cancer back

In just a few decades, research has profoundly transformed treatments for pediatric cancers. Through the stories of Dave and Roseline, we can see how far we’ve come, but also look ahead to all that still needs to be accomplished.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, an entire family’s world is turned upside down. That was true 30 years ago. It’s still true today, but what happens after the diagnosis has changed dramatically.

Over the decades, our understanding has deepened, treatments have evolved, and new options have emerged. Medical teams are now better equipped to tailor treatments to each child, while research continues to focus not only on curing more patients but also on curing them more effectively—in particular, by reducing long-term complications.

Behind these scientific advances lie, above all, very real stories.

Dave was diagnosed more than 20 years ago, just as the Charles-Bruneau Cancer Center had opened its doors. Now a father himself, he looks back differently on what he went through as a child and on the progress made since then.

Roseline, meanwhile, was 5 years old when she received her diagnosis. Now 16, she has few memories of her treatments. Her mother, however, remembers the diagnosis, the trips to the hospital, and the upheaval in their family life.

Comparing their two stories brings into focus something that can sometimes seem abstract: how decades of research can truly change the course of a child’s life when they have cancer.

How research is making a difference, in concrete terms

• More targeted treatments;
• More options when an initial treatment doesn’t work;
• A better understanding of cancers. More tailored care;
• A growing focus on long-term effects.

In the video, Dr. Michel Duval, a physician-researcher at Sainte-Justine University Hospital, accompanies the stories of Dave and Roseline and offers a medical perspective on these developments. After more than 30 years of practice, he has witnessed significant changes in how pediatric cancers are treated and in what can be offered to children and their families.

This is perhaps where the full impact of research is best measured: in what a medical team can offer a family today that it could not offer 20 or 30 years ago.

Advances Made Possible Through Collective Effort

These advances did not happen by chance. They are the result of the work of researchers and medical teams who, year after year, strive to better understand pediatric cancers and develop new ways to treat them.

But to move forward, research must be able to count on resources and long-term funding. For 30 years, the Charles-Bruneau Foundation has been helping to advance research in pediatric hematology-oncology in Quebec. This contribution is itself made possible by a vast community of donors, partners, participants, and people who are getting involved across the province.

Every donation, every fundraiser, and every act of engagement is part of an effort that has been building over many years.

Today, Dave and Roseline allow us to see some of the results of this work.

The progress we’ve made drives us to go even further

Advances in recent decades have changed the outlook for many children. But research must continue:

• Because some cancers remain difficult to treat;
• Because not all children respond to treatment in the same way;
• Because a cure must also mean being able to grow up with as few long-term effects as possible.

Dave and Roseline’s stories recount the progress we’ve made, but above all, they remind us why we must keep going.

Thanks to research, what we can offer children has changed. And we want to continue changing the course of their stories.

Watch our video and learn about Dave and Roseline’s stories.

Advancing research means pushing cancer back.