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“I speak about cancer. I ride my bike. I do these things because I want to change the story. I want a different ending.”
In 2008, Patrick Sullivan lost his young son Finn to an extremely rare form of cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. A few months later, he was approached by two close friends: “They told me about this fundraising bike ride to Seattle, the Ride to Conquer Cancer. They wanted to put a team in it – and do it in honour of Finn. That was the start of Team Finn.”
Every member of Team Finn is inspired by a little boy who lived every moment of his short life to the fullest. Their distinctive pink jerseys read “Run. Jump. Bounce. Dance. Sing. Love. Smile. Ride,” words that celebrate Finn’s approach to every day.
Finn showed how to live life with courage and joy, and his example has helped Team Finn achieve extraordinary success in raising funds for the BC Cancer Foundation. In just three years, they have raised over $1 million to support cancer research. As Finn’s father says, “Doctors couldn’t change Finn’s story. ‘Incurable’ was his ending. If I could change that for somebody else, then every moment of time is worth it.”
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“I speak about cancer. I ride my bike. I do these things because I want to change the story. I want a different ending.”
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Read the latest news and research breakthroughs happening at the BC Cancer Agency
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2011 Research Discoveries
Dec 21, 2011
Drs. David Huntsman and Gregg Morin link rare, unrelated cancers (ovarian, uterine, and testicular tumours) to a single genetic mutation in DICER1. The discovery shows that the mutations change the function of DICER so that it participates directly in the initiation of cancer. This breakthrough is particularly pivotal because it could lead to solutions for treatment of more common cancers. The...
Aug 23, 2011
Dr. Karen Gelmon released promising clinical trial results in treating women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer with PARP inhibitors. Twenty-four per cent of the advanced ovarian cancer patients who do not have the BRCA hereditary cancer mutation responded to the treatment. As well, forty-one per cent of the patients with a BRCA gene mutation had their tumours shrink substantially. The...
Jul 27, 2011
A team of researchers at the BC Cancer Agency, including Dr. Marco Marra and Dr. Ryan Morin, identified a significant number of new genetic mutations involved in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Researchers sequenced the entire genome of lymphoma cancer cells from 14 NHL patient samples and the ‘active’ genes from 117 NHL patients to search for genetic mutations specific to cancer cells. The...
Jul 12, 2011
Dr. Keith Humphries and researchers from the BC Cancer Agency’s Terry Fox Lab pinpoint a previously unknown gene —MEISI— as a susceptible target for combating many forms of leukemia. Dr. Humphries discovered that MEIS1 allows normal cells in the bone marrow to transform into cancerous cells. When the researchers remove MEIS1 from leukemic cells in the lab, they are able to stop very...
Mar 23, 2011
Researchers at the BC Cancer Agency discover a significant connection between the spread of breast cancer and a natural enzyme, called CA9. This discovery proves CA9 is a major target in tumour survival and growth in over 50 per cent of the deadliest forms of breast cancer and 16 per cent of all breast cancers – researchers can now halt the spread of these tumours through the use of novel...
Mar 02, 2011
Researchers at the BC Cancer Agency’s world-renowned Centre for Lymphoid Cancer identified a single gene, CIITA, implicated in two types of lymphoma - mediastinal B-cell lymphomas (a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma) and all Hodgkin lymphoma cases - and described how it defeats the body’s immune system.
Feb 18, 2011
Dr. Sam Aparicio, the Agency’s head of breast cancer research, co-led a UK-based study that discovered a new cancer-causing gene, ZNF703, that when overactive, triggers the development of a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer. Patients could be tested for ZNF703 over activity, so their treatment could be tailored accordingly, and larger studies could pave the way for developing...