An anonymous donor has gifted $100 million to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the largest donation it has ever received. The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation said in an announcement on Tuesday that the donor was compelled by their personal connection to cancer and the charity’s mission to create a world free from the fear of cancer. Miyo Yamashita, the foundation’s CEO, called the largest single gift to cancer research in Canadian history “transformative.” “It’s a huge vote of confidence, a 100-million-dollar gift to the highest priorities of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. We’re very grateful to our anonymous donor, and it definitely inspires others to give,” Yamashita said in an interview with CTV News Toronto. She noted that it’s the “golden age” of cancer research with the rise of artificial intelligence. “The world’s oncologists are saying that a combination of AI advances in cellular therapies, genomics technologies are all converging together to enable us to create a world free from the fear of cancer,” Yamashita said. She would not give a hint as to who made the donation, only saying that the donor believes in the vision of Princess Margaret. Donation will help survivors Beth Johnston believes the donation will see more cancer survivors just like her. “It’s truly unbelievable that amount of money and the generosity. And as a survivor, I just can’t help but think about a survivorship event that I was at, and that amount of money is going to make so many people be able to say that they’re a survivor,” she said in an interview with CTV News. Johnston was diagnosed with an aggressive acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Princess Margaret Care Centre three years ago. “It was a huge shock to our family. I had two little kids at the time,” she said. “I couldn’t help but think that I wasn’t going to see my children grow up. I wasn’t going to spend time with my husband, I was very, very acutely aware of my own mortality.” Johnston shared that she had to start chemotherapy hours after her diagnosis if she wanted to have a chance to beat it. “At first, it was very dark. Now it’s learning to live with it and also trying to find the joy that comes along with being a cancer survivor,” she said. Johnston recounted that Princess Margaret Cancer Centre had a treatment plan from the start, including when the cancer came back. “So, they were able to quickly put me on an immunotherapy that acted basically like a silver bullet. And because of all of the research that went into getting that immunotherapy, I was able to qualify for my stem cell transplant, which saved my life,” she said. Johnston shared that she had the transplant 18 months ago and is doing well. She said a $100-million donation will only elevate the already incredible inpatient experience at the cancer centre as well as survivor support. “Survivorship is very complicated, and I think that people believe that once you’re sort of done chemo or radiation, you’re done, and that’s not necessarily true. And I think a gift like this to the hospital allows the hospital to look at survivorship in a different way,” Johnston said. She shared that she still needs physio appointments for radiation side effects and mental health support. “A lot of patients need rehab, physio, like all the things to rehab your body, especially with the amount of young people that are getting this disease too,” Johnston said. She added that the money will also help with advancing cancer research for treatment, just like the life-saving immunotherapy she had, and payment programs for patients who cannot afford the expensive medications. “I’m thinking about all of the patients that would be able to access more drugs that they might not be able to. Also, just finding more cures for these mutations that continue to happen,” Johnston said. $2.5 billion fundraising campaign The historic donation has prompted the foundation to launch a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign with a goal to accelerate cancer research, treatment, and care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation CEO Miyo Yamashita told CTV News Toronto that she is excited for the launch of the campaign. “We’re excited about it because we know what a difference it will make for cancer patients. It will save more lives. It will change the quality of care,” Yamashita said. She noted that cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada and shared that the World Health Organization predicts a 77 per cent rise in new cancer cases by 2050, especially with millennials. At Princess Margaret Care Centre, Yamashita said it sees 21,000 new patients every year. “So definitely $2.5 billion is an ambitious goal, and we are grateful for every dollar. But we also know how important it is to change the course of history in cancer and what that money will mean for cancer patients and their loved ones,” Yamashita said. Called the “Carry the Fire” campaign, the charity said it will focus on philanthropic investment across three priorities, which are catching cancer at its earliest stages, advancing new approaches to cancer treatment and transforming the cancer experience for patients and loved ones. “Together, these priorities reflect a broader ambition: to ensure Canada is not simply participating in the future of cancer research but defining it,” the foundation said. Keith Stewart, the director of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, echoed Yamashita and said the donation and the campaign will accelerate new therapies for patients. “We’ve made such dramatic progress in the fight against cancer over the past decades. As I said, we’re already in this golden age of research. We’re seeing rapid accelerations every year. New drugs are getting approved by the FDA or by Health Canada, better technologies in surgical robotics, in radiation therapy,” Stewart said, noting that AI is helping with scheduling, radiation planning and drug discovery. “Really, people should be very hopeful about where we are, and remembering that if you do your screening, if we can pick up your cancer early, we’re going to find cures for you as we move forward.”
