When you gave the Gift of Discovery, you helped fund “out of the box” cancer research projects like the kind recently co-led by Dr John Dick that found it’s possible to predict who will develop acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), the leading cause of adult leukemia deaths in Canada.

During this international study, researchers used technologies to compare blood samples from healthy people who later developed AML to those who did not. This enabled them to identify early genetic changes in blood cells years before people were diagnosed. Earlier detection means earlier treatment, which helps save more lives.

“Our discovery that leukemia can be detected more than 10 years before diagnosis, places new attention on possibilities that didn’t previously exist,” says Dr Dick. “This notion of preventing leukemia had not even been conceived of within the field.”

If a simple blood test could identify people at high risk of developing AML, then early detection and intervention are possible. This can lead to fewer Canadians diagnosed with AML and higher survival rates for those who are.

And this life-saving work is a direct result of your support.

As Dr Dick notes: “This work would not have been possible without stable funding from the Canadian Cancer Society and donors like you.”