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Stopping Cancer Early – The Best Possible Investment

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Annual Fund

October 24, 2014

We never want cancer to be suspected in a loved one, but when it is, we want to know it will be found before it has spread. Cancer early detection tools have not caught up to the fast-paced technology of our smart phones. Your involvement is at the heart of Canary Foundation’s research progress in early detection. We are pleased to share the latest news below and ask that you make a gift to Canary Foundation in the upcoming giving season.

Our first piece of news is that the FDA has approved clinical trial use of microbubbles – a technology Canary had been early to invest in – for enhanced ultrasound imaging. This monumental milestone opens the door to move this safe, inexpensive and ubiquitous technology forward to improve diagnosis of prostate, ovarian, breast, pancreatic and other cancers.

Our Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS) has enrolled more than 1000 men, producing tens of thousands of critical tissue and fluid samples while offering participants an alternative to immediate surgery after diagnosis. Also, PASS has attracted millions in government dollars, including a recent grant to help PASS work directly with industry partners, exponentially advancing Canary’s strategy to bridge academic research and the marketplace.

Our partnership with Stanford University- the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection – has grown since the move to Stanford’s Technology and Innovation Park. With better space, infrastructure and equipment, the center has attracted top faculty members such as Utkan Demirci, coming from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Demirci has a special background in real-time diagnostics using hand-held and other devices.

Our lung team is participating in M.D. Anderson’s moonshot program (named after the U.S.’s determination to put a man on the moon) with a drive to end to cancer. Dr. Sanjiv Gambhir will lead the Stanford site in a multi-institutional clinical trial to improve lung cancer diagnostics by pairing CT scans with a blood test. Finally, we continue to conduct important biomarker discovery research in our breast and pancreatic cancer programs.

Better tests in the doctor’s office will save lives. With your help, we have been picking up the pace to develop urgently needed tools. Please help us keep this momentum by making the best gift possible.

Click here to take action.