MONTREAL, Dec. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The future of cancer treatment is one step closer to reality thanks to a transformative $2 million donation from BMO Financial Group to the MUHC Foundation. The gift will help cancer experts at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) develop the hospital’s precision oncology program—personalized treatment tailored to each patient.
Precision oncology means providing the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. Using advanced tools and techniques, the MUHC’s oncologists can understand exactly what type of cancer a patient has and they can test treatment options in the laboratory to ensure they have the optimal effect.
“Precision oncology is the future of cancer care. It decreases use of one-size-fits-all treatments in favour of a personalized approach to each patient’s disease. We are incredibly grateful to BMO for supporting the development of the Precision Oncology Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC.”
–Dr. Rhian Touyz, Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer, RI-MUHC
BMO’s gift will support a range of specialized techniques, including creation of organoids, patient tumours and tissue grown in the lab. Organoids allow the MUHC’s oncologists to test treatments externally before administering them to the patient. This helps ensure each patient receives the optimal treatment right away, avoiding excessive or unnecessary therapies.
“At BMO, we believe that the strongest progress can be made through collaborative and innovative approaches to solving complex problems. We’re proud to help grow the good in Montreal – and beyond – with this investment in the MUHC’s Precision Oncology Program that will pioneer new cancer treatments, leading to transformational change in healthcare for all Canadians.”
– Darryl White, Chief Executive Officer, BMO
The gift is part of the MUHC Foundation’s $20 million campaign to End Cancer as a deadly disease. A priority of the $200 million Dream Big Campaign to change the course of lives and medicine, End Cancer is helping pioneer new cancer treatments, improve patient care and ensure more people survive.
“The RI-MUHC is home to some of the top oncologists and cancer researchers in the country, and the MUHC Foundation is committed to supporting ongoing, innovative research that will not only increase survival rates in cancer patients but ultimately help to end cancer for good.”
–Suzanne Legge Orr, Dream Big Campaign Co-chair, MUHC Foundation
Organoids are just one of a suite of new approaches that make up the Precision Oncology Program at the RI-MUHC. The program will help ensure more lives are saved with the help of personalized cancer treatment.
“As an academic health centre, the MUHC aims to give cancer patients the greatest odds of survival and the best quality of life throughout and beyond treatment. The MUHC thanks BMO Financial Group for its leadership gift and appeals to other organizations to help us develop the next generation of precision medicines against cancer. Sustained investment in research will fuel our success and change the lives of countless patients.”
–Dr. Pierre Gfeller, President and Executive Director, MUHC
About the McGill University Health Centre Foundation
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation raises funds to support excellence in patient care, research and teaching at the McGill University Health Centre, one of the top university hospitals in Canada. Our Dream Big Campaign to change the course of lives and medicine is raising millions of dollars to solve humanity’s deadliest puzzles: infectious diseases; end cancer as a life-threatening illness; fix broken hearts through innovative cardiac care; detect the silent killers—ovarian and endometrial cancers—early; create the best skilled health care teams in Canada; and much more. We are rallying our entire community to solve the world’s most complex health care challenges.
About the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC)
The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and healthcare research centre. The institute, which is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, is the research arm of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) – an academic health centre located in Montreal, Canada, that has a mandate to focus on complex care within its community. The RI-MUHC supports over 450 researchers and around 1,200 research trainees devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental, clinical and health outcomes research at the Glen and the Montreal General Hospital sites of the MUHC. Its research facilities offer a dynamic multidisciplinary environment that fosters collaboration and leverages discovery aimed at improving the health of individual patients across their lifespan. The RI-MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). rimuhc.ca
About the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is one of the world’s foremost academic health facilities. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of its founding hospitals, the MUHC provides exceptional multidisciplinary patient-centric care. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, the MUHC continues to shape the course of adult and pediatric medicine by attracting clinical and research expertise from around the world, assessing the latest in medical technology, and training the next generation of medical professionals. In collaboration with our network partners, we are building a better future for our patients and their families; for our employees, professionals, researchers and students; for our community and above all, for life. www.muhc.ca
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $988 billion as of October 31, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.
Tarah Schwartz
Director, Communications & Marketing
McGill University Health Centre Foundation
tarah.schwartz@muhc.mcgill.ca
Marie-Catherine Noël
BMO Financial Group
MarieCatherine.Noel@bmo.com
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