MONTREAL, Oct. 22, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is proud to announce its official establishment in Quebec. To suffer from a brain tumour is synonymous with coping with the numerous repercussions the condition has on one's daily life, namely owing to certain ideas our society ascribes to serious illnesses in general, and to brain tumours in particular. These negative beliefs often give rise to prejudice in the workplace, but also in one's social circles and family life.
Such is the message given voice to by Simon-Olivier Fecteau, actor and director of the web series En audition avec Simon, special episode no54, recently broadcast through social media.
According to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, some 10,000 people throughout the country are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year, and an estimated 55,000 survive with one. That is to say: every day, 27 Canadians learn they have a brain tumour.
Brain tumours are the main cause of cancer-related mortality in youths under 20 years old, and the third most important cause of death in young adults aged 20 to 39. It is also one of the most steeply increasing causes of mortality for the elderly.
Research: Are scientists in Quebec on the verge of achieving the impossible?
Thanks to groundbreaking new research conducted by teams of researchers and neurologists in Quebec, such as that led by Dr. David Fortin, neurosurgeon and neuro-oncologist at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Sherbrooke (CHUS), brain tumour patients can now hope to join the ranks of millions of cancer survivors.
"Surgery is the first step in treating brain tumour patients. While it obviously has a positive impact on their survival chances, it should also ideally improve their life quality," asserts Dr. David Fortin, "which is why our team has launched an ambitious research programme bringing together innovative imaging technology (fMRI and dMRI + tractography) and surgery in brain tumour patients, enabling us to refine our understanding of anatomically-connected functional regions of the brain in each individual patient, as well as to study these connections and functions in spite of the distortions engendered by the tumours."
Recently established in Quebec, the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada – already an active member of the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec – will now be able to work in even closer partnership with Quebec researchers such as Dr. Fortin so as to help them further their endeavour, hopefully soon making Quebec a world leader in research on brain tumour.
Moreover, according to Mrs. Sophie Blondin, Program Officer in Quebec, for the Brain Tumour Foundation in Canada, the organization wishes to ensure the needs of brain tumour patients here are met. "Following appointments with people from communities in Quebec meant to precisely identify the needs of patients and caregivers. Our organization is proud to announce for the very first time the inauguration, this coming November, of two support groups for patients and caregivers with the collaboration of Hope & Cope and the Fondation québécoise du cancer."
For more information about brain tumours and the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, please visit our website at http://www.braintumour.ca/
About the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
An active member of the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec, the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is a national NPO whose mission is to provide support and information services to anyone in Canada afflicted with a brain tumour, as well as to raise funds for research on brain tumours. Every year, the organization helps thousands of Canadians who struggle with a brain tumour find comfort and emotional support, all the while improving their understanding of their condition.
SOURCE: Fondation canadienne des tumeurs cérébrales
For the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada: Sophie Blondin, Program Officer for Quebec, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, 514- 473-1928, [email protected]; Sylvie Piché, Senior Consultant, Media Relations, Groupe 2000 neuf inc., 514-296-0694, [email protected]
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