Issue No. 8, October 2012

How to reach us:

Your Health MattersSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

2075 Bayview Avenue, Suite D1 00

Toronto, ON M4N 3M5

P: 416.480.4040

E: news.articles@sunnybrook.ca

Your Health Matters is published monthly by the Communications & Stakeholder Relations Department and Sun-nybrook Foundation. Submissions to Your Health Matters are welcome, however, they are subject to space availability and editorial discretion.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is inventing the future of health care for the one million patients the hospital cares for each year through the dedication of its more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. Internationally recognized leadership in research and education and a full affiliation with the University of Toronto distinguish Sunnybrook as one of Canada’s premier academic health sciences centres. Sunnybrook specializes in caring for Canada’s war veterans, high-risk pregnancies, critically-ill newborns, adults and the elderly, and treating and preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological and psychiatric disorders, orthopaedic and arthritic conditions and traumatic injuries.

Innovative clip improves quality of life for heart patients at SunnybrookA simple clip device to treat mitral regur-gitation, a form of heart valve failure, is providing a new option for patients with severe symptoms who thought they were out of treatment options.

During mitral regurgitation, blood leaks backward from the pumping chamber into the upper chamber of the heart. As a result, the heart has to work harder, leading to fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular pulse and, if left untreated, the condition can lead to irreversible heart failure. Open heart surgery has been the standard treatment, which can be risky for patients who are older or have other medical complications.

MitraClip procedures are performed at Sunnybrook by a team consisting of a car-diac surgeon, cardiologist and cardiac an-aesthetist, supported by a specially trained nurse. The clip is fed through a catheter up to the mitral valve, where it grasps and tightens the valves’ leaflets, preventing blood from leaking. The procedure takes about four hours and is performed under general anesthesia without the use of a heart-lung machine.

“The procedure itself is well tolerated and relatively low-risk, making it an ideal op-

tion for patients who are not suitable for traditional open heart surgery. We’ve seen firsthand the potential this has to improve the quality of life for many sick patients, en-abling them to have a more active lifestyle,” says Dr. Gideon Cohen, a cardiac surgeon at Sunnybrook’s Schulich Heart Centre who has performed the procedure with Dr. Eric Cohen, deputy head of Sunnybrook’s Division of Cardiology.

For André Séguinot, a retired professor, the procedure has meant the difference between spending most of his day in bed to his current lifestyle of cycling, teaching judo and playing guitar in a jazz sextet. “It’s a miracle,” says André, who is 81 years old.

“I went from being exhausted all the time and not able to walk very much to being active and having the energy to have the lifestyle that I want to have. The difference was unbelievable. And I was sent home the following day.”

Funding for the MitraClip procedure comes from Sunnybrook Foundation and each case costs approximately $36,000, with the therapy falling under Health Canada’s Special Access Program.Marie Sanderson

Supper club honours lost member with Let’s Do Dinner cookbookThe premise of this supper club is simple: make time every few months to get together, try new recipes and enjoy each other’s company.

So after years of meals prepared and shared together, it seemed a fitting tribute to make a cookbook in honour of a dear friend lost to breast cancer.

The Let’s Do Dinner cookbook – com-piled by friends and foodies Pam Buckley, Judy Stone, Connie Spark, Shauna Zafer, Danielle Calovic, Iris Benson and Martha Whitehead – has raised $10,000 for triple negative breast cancer clinical trials at Sunnybrook in honour of Cheryl Hrivnak.

Cheryl was a gem of a friend who everyone loved to be around, Pam says. She is dearly missed every day.

The group of women became friends when their children went to grade school together. As the kids got older, the friends saw each other less – so they started a supper club to ensure they’d meet up more regularly.

After each meal, they saved the sauce-stained menus in the hope of one day putting them all together. When Cheryl died in 2010, they decided to work on the cookbook. “We thought we could raise some money so other people wouldn’t have to succumb to the same ill-ness she did,” Connie says.

They were surprised by the response.

Raise a flag for Canada’s heroesThe courage and sacrifices of Canada’s war veterans will be honoured on Remembrance Day during the second annual Operation Raise a Flag at Sunnybrook.

“Last year’s event was a tremendous success, having raised more than 5,000 flags. Seeing the sea of red and white was emotional and a real indication of the community’s gratitude,” says Pamela Ross, executive vice-president of Sunnybrook Foundation. “Thank you to everyone who participated. Please join us again to make this year’s operation even more powerful.”

Show your support by purchasing a Canadian flag and by writing a personal message of thanks. In the early morning hours of November 11, these flags will be placed on the front lawn of Sunnybrook’s Veterans Centre as a symbol of gratitude for their sacrifice and courageous contributions.

Proceeds will benefit our Veterans Comfort Fund and our Veterans Grant a Wish initia-tive. Veterans will benefit from community outings, continued learning opportunities, and the chance to fulfill their wishes, resulting in a higher quality of life for the 500 veterans who call Sunnybrook home.

Order a flag today at raiseaflag.ca or by calling 416-480-4483. Flags are available in two sizes for a $20 or $50 donation. Dan Birch

On the road to more cancer awareness and researchTammy Whelen has been a tireless volunteer in the fight against cancer for more than a decade, raising funds for the hospital that saved her life and raising awareness.

Tammy – diagnosed with Hodgkin lym-phoma in 1999 at the age of 25 – is again organizing the 13th annual Road2Recovery on Oct. 12, a night of great food, music, dancing, and much more.

“When I’m at Sunnybrook I’m treated with respect, and I know the people who work here actually care,” says Tammy, explaining why she still fundraises for Sunnybrook after putting in so many volunteer hours year after year.

There are other reasons, too. Coming to the Odette Cancer Centre for her annual ap-pointments, Tammy sees patients at different stages of treatment. She says this reminds her how fortunate she is to have survived and just how important the centre’s care and research is to patients.

Road2Recovery also raises cancer awareness and recognizes those who have battled the disease. “It’s about acknowledging the peo-ple who have gone through cancer and about celebrating life,” says Tammy, a mother of two.

To that end, this year’s event will feature cancer survivors and family members par-ticipating as models in a fashion show.

“The efforts of Tammy, the event com-mittee, and everyone else who makes Road2Recovery a success are greatly appreci-ated. Community support allows us to de-liver a higher level of care and research,” says Sunnybrook’s Dr. Neil Berinstein, Tammy’s oncologist and founder of the Odette Cancer Centre’s Advanced Therapeutics Program.

The program, which benefits from Road2Recovery, improves outcomes for pa-tients with lymphomas by combining novel therapies and by advancing best practices in

“The sale of our little cookbook raised $11,000,” Judy says, adding $1,000 went to their local hospital. “It’s amazing, with a little bit of imagination, what you can accomplish.”

The women had a lot of support from their community of Unionville, with the local grocer lending a hand, Connie and Cheryl’s hairdresser displaying the book and local fes-tival organizers letting them set up a booth.

It was a labour of love, the group agrees. “It was amazing to go through the recipes and recall the dinner party and reminisce,” Judy says.

Typically seen as the most dangerous breast tumours, triple-negative tumours have tested negative for all three hormone receptors and are therefore hard to treat. “Triple negative doesn’t have a good prognosis, and Cheryl knew the trial was her best hope for recov-ery,” Connie says. “She was very pleased with the care she received at Sunnybrook.” Alexis Dobranowski

Sunnybrook is one of just three centres in Canada offering an advanced, minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedure. Funding for the procedure is made possible by Sunnybrook’s generous donor community.

We’ve seen firsthand the potential this has to improve the quality of life for many sick patients, enabling them to have a more active lifestyle

lymphoma treatment. To learn more about the event or to volunteer, please visit road-2recovery.net or email tammy@road2recov-ery.net.Dan Birch

Tammy Whelen, a mother of two, was diag-nosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 1999. She’s been raising cancer awareness and research funds ever since.

Connie Spark, Judy Stone, Pam Buckley and their supper club members created a fundraising cook-book in honour of their dear friend and fellow foodie Cheryl Hrivnak.

Stroke care gets additional support at Sunnybrook through new initiativePatients at Sunnybrook have always had access to exceptional care after experiencing a stroke. A new initiative now aims to make the patient experience even better.

This fall, Sunnybrook’s stroke program will implement the Transition Improvement for Continuity of Care (TICC) initiative. It will help improve patient experience and out-comes for those living with stroke, and it will improve communication between acute care, rehab facilities and the community.

“Implementing TICC will help us strengthen our relationships with rehab facilities around the Greater Toronto Area and will make for a more streamlined transition process from acute care to rehabilitation,” says Jeff Upshaw, patient care manager at Sunnybrook’s Stroke Unit on C4.

The unit is participating in TICC, along with the stroke team from Sunnybrook’s newest program area, St. John’s Rehabilitation.

As part of TICC, several programs will be introduced, including the Stroke Passport,

Personal Health Navigator

Knowing Each Other’s Work and Peers Fostering Hope programs.

Stroke Passport will enable patients to keep a record of their care and rehab plans as they move between hospitals and the community, and Knowing Each Other’s Work will help enhance staff communication throughout the patient’s journey.

The third initiative, Peers Fostering Hope, is a volunteer program that links stroke patients and their caregivers with peer supporters who have experienced a stroke.Sylvia Quant and Sybil Edmonds

Back to school: top 10 healthy lunch picks

The question: My mother is in hospital. We feel she is not well enough to go home as she cannot get up to go to the bathroom or walk but they seem ready to discharge her. She walks with the help of a rol-lator and is medically stable. Our family wants her to stay in hospital because we are nervous about what happens when she goes home. What should we do?

The answer: This question came through our Office of Patient Experience and it is one that doctors hear frequently. There are a couple of things to note right off the bat: doctors only send patients home who are medically stable, and once that decision is made the hospital often ceases to be the best place to convalesce.

“One problem is that because you are in hospital, you may wind up staying in bed more than you would in your own home,” says Dr. Steven Shumak, former head of Sunnybrook’s Division of General Internal Medicine. “Not only does that weaken or decondition you, it also sets you up for com-plications in your lungs as you are less likely to take deep breaths when in bed. In fact, ev-ery moment you spend in hospital increases the chance of a complication or infection.”

In hospital, patients tend to become less ac-tive and they quickly lose their muscle. That deconditioning causes them to stay in bed longer, creating a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break.

This is a significant concern for many hos-pitals, including Sunnybrook, where the average age of patients cared for by internists like Dr. Shumak is 80 and the length of stay for them is around six or seven days.

Patients admitted to medical beds are acutely ill, coming through the Emergency Department. Common diagnoses include pneumonia, stroke, difficulty breathing, heart attack, or internal bleeding. They are some of the sickest and most complex pa-tients doctors will treat, and they are grow-ing in number.

Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of the population; currently about 4.8 million Canadians are aged 65 and older. That fig-ure is expected to more than double to 10.4 million by 2036, and by 2051 one in four will be older than aged 65.

Oftentimes, living a long life means living

Slipping into poor eating habits during the summer can be hard to avoid. Back to school is the perfect time to pack some nutrition back into the lunch box.

Whole grains: Not only are whole grains a fi bre-rich option, they help stabilize blood sugar levels, minimizing those mid-afternoon energy lows. Look for whole grains when choosing breads, crackers, pretzels and pastas.

Fruit: Packed with fi bre and naturally occurring sugar, Health Canada currently recommends kids get between 4-8 servings of fruits and veggies ev-ery day, and adults between 7-10 servings daily. Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and rasp-berries are a great choice because they’re rich in brain-boosting antioxidants.

Veggies: They’re vitamin rich, and experts say the more colorful, the better. So reach for the dark and vibrant varieties. A bonus: veggies also help pro-mote regularity.

Protein power: Lean meats are not the only good source of protein. Look for it in foods like nuts, seeds, oatmeal, eggs and beans. Combine protein-rich choices with fi bre-containing foods to help you feel fuller, longer.

Healthy beverages: Opt for water or low-fat milk. Try adding lemon or lime or fruit slices to water or seltzer to avoid packing on the calories. Many sodas and juices labeled as “no sugar added” can contain high amounts of sugar and calories per serving.

Guilt-free desserts: Dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants and can help improve focus. Fruit is always a good option and can be chilled, grilled or served topped with and cinnamon and protein-rich Greek yogurt.

Smoothies: Blend and freeze ice-cube sized por-tions made with low-fat dairy and a favourite fruit or vegetable. Then just pop the ice cubes into a travel jug to help them stay cool into lunchtime.

Cereal as a snack: Pack a portion-sized baggie for a quick, crunchy energizer. Choose varieties that are low in fat, high in fi bre and optimally made from whole grains.

Go nutty: Varieties like ground fl ax seeds and wal-nuts are not only a rich source of protein, but can help promote mental clarity. Plus, a little crunch in your meal can actually help satisfy your cravings better. Just be wary of any allergy policies in place at schools and workplaces.

Hand sanitizer: Every great meal should be en-joyed with clean hands, especially with classes back in session. Handwashing is actually the best way to protect yourself from illness. So share the love, not the germs.

Mental health project getting boost from the theatreA unique theatre event is aimed at reducing the stigma around mental health while raising funds for Sunnybrook at the same time.

A one-time performance of The Long Run, an award-winning one-act play, will be staged at Toronto’s Al Green Theatre. Proceeds will go to Sunnybrook’s Family Navigation Project, which will help youth with mental health is-sues and their families find the right services within a complicated health-care system.

“The mental health system is a bit of a black box,” explains Dr. Anthony Levitt, research director for Sunnybrook’s Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and co-chair of the Family Navigation Project steering committee.

“The point of the Family Navigation Project is to shed light on what’s inside the black box, help parents find the right resources and understand if that resource is providing what they need it to provide, and course-correcting if they’re not going down the right pathway.”

The play is inspired by author Rachel Ganz’s own experiences with bipolar disorder, and

with several chronic medical conditions that require skilled clinicians to manage, espe-cially when it comes to different medications.

For some patients who are older, the mere act of being admitted to hospital, with the changing faces of health providers, unfamiliar routine, bright lights, and sleep disturbances can be enough to precipitate delirium, a medically significant event characterized by sudden, severe confusion. Delirium doubles the length of a patient’s hospital stay for any given diagnosis.

“When it starts, delirium will typically begin at night, perhaps because people no longer have the visual cues they depend on,” says Dr. Shumak, an internist who has practised medicine for more than a quarter century. “It’s very serious, but beyond that delirium can be persistent. It [can be] like a hangover you don’t get over.”

So I do share your concern what happens when a patient goes home – and seemingly is out of the hospital system – which is why I plan to write a future column on what hap-pens after being discharged from hospital.

“No matter which way you slice it,” says Dr. Shumak, “most patients are better off at home than they are in hospital.”

revolves around three teenaged siblings abandoned by their mother during a manic episode of her bipolar disorder. The perfor-mance will be followed by a panel discussion about mental health that will feature Ganz, her mother, and Sunnybrook experts.

“Raising funds for the Family Navigation Project is important, but our main goal is really to raise awareness of youth mental health and educate families as to how to get help when they need it,” says Nadine Zahlan, project manager for the Family Navigation Project. “Equally important is supporting this amazing playwright and her efforts to help us help others.”

The event takes place on Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for the public and $10 for students.

Contact Nadine Zahlan at nadine.zahlan@sunnybrook.ca or 416-480-6100 Ext. 3828 for information and ticket sales.Michael McKinnon

The Long Run will raise funds for Sunnybrook’s Family Navigation Project, an initiative that will con-nect youth to vital mental health services.

Sometimes home sweet home is best place to get well

the long run.a play by rachel ganz

presented by sunnybrook’s family navigation project in association with

al green theatre, newborn theatre and miles nadal jcc

thursday, october 11, 20127:30pm (doors open at 7:00pm)

al green theatre750 spadina avenue

toronto

$25 general admission$10 students

all proceeds in support of the family navigation project at

sunnybrook health sciences centre

NEWBORNTheatre

the long run to be followed by

an expert panel discussion on youth and family mental health

Dr. David Gladstone examines a patient.

Sunnybrook Speaker SeriesThe Latest in Diabetes: What’s Current, New and ComingOct. 30, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.McLaughlin Auditorium,Bayview CampusE Wing Ground Floor,2075 Bayview Avenue

Leading Sunnybrook experts will discuss:• Medication Update: Dr. Jeremy

Gilbert, endocrinologist• Advice That Will Move You: Leigh Caplan,

nurse educator, diabetes, Department of Family & Community Medicine

• Information to Chew On: Jill Zweig, registered dietitian

Moderator: Dr. Ivy Fettes, head of Division of Endocrinology

Please RSVP your attendance by Oct. 29Phone: 416-480-4117, email:speaker.series@sunnybrook.caFree admission and free parking, Garage One

Upcoming events

Lisa Priest, Sunnybrook’s Manager of Community Engagement & Patient Navigation, provides advice and answers ques-tions from patients and their families, relying heavily on medical and health experts.

Let’s face it: being sick with influenza is aw-ful. And if you or a family member has other health issues, is elderly or is pregnant, it can be a serious threat. There are four simple steps you can take to avoid getting sick:• Get the flu shot• Clean your hands*• Keep your distance from coughing/ sneezing people• Don’t go to work ill

You can get the vaccine through your family doctor or at a Toronto Public Health clinic. Remember that the flu is spread by coughing, sneezing or direct contact. Those at higher-risk if they get the flu include people 65 and older, pregnant women, babies and young children, and people with certain health conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease, those with cancer or a weakened immune system.

Other useful tips include covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, throwing the tissue in the garbage, and cleaning your hands. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as this is how the influenza virus enters the body.

*Wash hands with soap and water thoroughly and often, and/or keep an alcohol-based hand sanitizer close by that has at least 60 per cent alcohol content.

Protect yourselffrom the fl u

New research by Sunnybrook’s breast cancer team and their international collaborators has been published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the lead-ing medical publications in the world.

For the first time in cancer treatment, Sunnybrook researchers as part of a global trial have demonstrated better overall survival for patients using a new method to combine chemotherapy with targeted therapy through an antibody drug link. The combination is known as T-DM1, which is comprised of trastuzumab (an antibody) and DM1 (a chemotherapy agent). Attached using a stable linker molecule, T-DM1 allows chemo-therapy to be carried with the targeted therapy, trastuzumab, directly to the cancer cells.

“These findings create the framework for a new direction for the treatment of cancers, and potentially for earlier stages of disease, by improving the way chemotherapies can now be combined with targeted therapies,” says Dr. Sunil Verma, the study’s first author and chair of breast medical oncology at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre. Chemotherapy drugs are effective in killing cancer cells, but may also harm healthy cells and cause significant side-effects. Targeted therapies, such as trastuzumab or lapatinib, are used to block cancer cell growth and are traditionally delivered along with standard chemotherapy agents.

The trial, known as EMILIA, was conducted at 213 centres in 26 countries, involving 991 patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer. The latest findings show that median overall survival with T-DM1 is 30.9 months, compared to 25.1 months for lapatinib plus capecitabine. Patients in this trial who have been receiving the latter treatment are now able to switch to T-DM1 treatment.

Study results were also presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress earlier this month.Natalie Chung-Sayers

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Sunnybrook translating breast imaging research into front-line clinical careSunnybrook researchers are using imaging technologies to improve breast cancer detec-tion and diagnosis, better define aggressive disease, enhance treatment, and track treat-ment response early on in order to tailor treatment. Dr. Martin Yaffe, a senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI), and Dr. Roberta Jong, a breast-dedicated radiologist, are researching digital tomosyn-thesis to enhance detection and diagnosis. Tomosynthesis takes up to 15 images of the breast. The resulting three-dimensional composite improves views of abnormalities and potentially reduces false findings.

Medical oncologist Dr. Ellen Warner and SRI senior scientist Dr. Anne Martel are us-ing MRI to enhance detection and diagnosis for women at high risk. Studies led by Dr. Warner show that MRI detects breast can-cer at an earlier stage – over twice as many breast cancers as mammography, ultrasound or clinical breast examination. Dr. Martel is collaborating with radiologists to develop computer-aided detection techniques, as well as patient-motion correction tools, for better imaging quality and accuracy.

DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) is a non-invasive form of breast cancer in about 20 per cent of diagnoses. While highly curable, some women with DCIS will develop an in-vasive form of cancer. Dr. Eileen Rakovitch, head of Sunnybrook’s Breast Cancer Care Team, Dr. Yaffe, and Dr. Belinda Curpen, interim director of Breast Imaging, are using imaging to study post-treatment recurrence risk in DCIS patients with dense breasts.

SRI senior scientist Dr. Peter Burns and Drs. Yaffe and Jong are applying new ul-trasound imaging techniques using micro-bubble contrast and tissue elastography to differentiate DCIS from invasive disease. Microbubbles pass harmlessly through a person’s circulation, allowing ultrasound to detect microscopic blood vessels, the early development of which may be a danger sign in DCIS. Elastography creates wobbles in tissue that enables imaging of subtle changes (growing tumours harden tissue).

Locally advanced breast cancer accounts for 15 per cent of diagnoses. Treatment often involves chemotherapy and/or radia-tion to shrink large tumours before surgery. Radiation oncologist Dr. Gregory Czarnota is using ultrasound-activated microbubbles to sensitize tumours to lower doses of radia-tion. Dr. Jean-Philippe Pignol, a radiation oncologist, is using gold nanoparticles loaded into tumour cells. When exposed to a novel type of X-ray, these particles produce highly damaging Auger electrons.

Earlier tumour response tracking facilitates tailored treatment and reduces toxicity. Dr. Czarnota and SRI senior scientist Dr. Greg Stanisz are using ultrasound and MRI to show tumour metabolic response to chemotherapy. Trials with ultrasound show tumour response one week into che-motherapy compared to PET or CT that typically show response only after several months.Natalie Chung-Sayers

Sunnybrook breast team helps lead landmark clinical trial

“These findings create the framework for a new direction for the treatment of cancers,” says Dr. Sunil Verma.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

$10-million gift will open Canada’slargest breast cancer centre sooner

Patient thriving after cancer battle

You need answers fast. We can give them to you – in 24 hours.

Learn more. Visit sunnybrook.ca/breast today

Sunnybrook has opened a new breast cancer Rapid Diagnosis Unit. Now, within 24 hours, our team will provide you with a diagnosis and plan for follow-up care.

S u n n y b r o o k will be home to Canada’s largest breast cancer centre in April 2013, thanks to a transforma-tional $10-mil-lion gift from Jim and Louise Temerty.

The gift establishes the Louise Temerty Breast Cancer Centre, which will house Sunnybrook’s leading Breast Program. The centre’s Rapid Diagnosis Unit – currently operating out of a temporary location – will offer potential breast cancer patients a diagno-sis and treatment plan within just 24 hours of assessment, eliminating current wait times of up to six weeks for such life-saving answers.

“Breast cancer patients have traditionally been put through a terrible waiting period for re-sults. That wait can wear a person down – but not anymore,” says Jim. “The Rapid Diagnosis Unit will diagnose women quickly so they can get started on treatment early. This centre is going to save lives, and I’m proud to play a role in its creation.”

Aurora resident Dinah Ryeland-Brown knows what Sunnybrook’s comprehensive breast cancer care is all about. The mother of two ex-perienced it first-hand in 2009 when she began her fight with two types of breast cancer, one in each breast.

Dinah, 50, is thrilled to know Sunnybrook’s leading Breast Program will have a new, state-of-the-art home with the opening of the Louise Temerty Breast Cancer Centre in April 2013.

“The centre’s Rapid Diagnosis Unit, compas-sionate care and advanced research will make a huge difference for breast cancer patients at Sunnybrook and across Canada,” she says.

Following a double mastectomy at North York General Hospital, Dinah received post-surgical care at the Odette Cancer Centre, including chemotherapy and radiation treatments. “I was really scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. My oncologist Dr. Ellen Warner just sat down and talked to me, and calmed me down,” Dinah says, recalling her initial care at Sunnybrook.

“I didn’t need to worry, because Dr. Warner was worrying for me. She had the plan and I just had to show up on the day and I was going to be taken care of,” Dinah says. “Mentally, it changes your whole outlook. You’re no longer just the poor person who’s got cancer. You’re now the person who’s fighting cancer and the person who’s going to survive cancer.”

Months of chemotherapy and radiation were by no means easy, but Dinah appreciated the personal touch of Sunnybrook staff. “Everyone was wonderful,” she says, noting lighthearted staff members, volunteers who would offer tea, and radiation staff who asked her to pick the music during treatment. “You feel surrounded by people who want the best for you.”

Dinah, who continues to receive follow-up cancer care at Sunnybrook, is also participating in genetic research that she hopes will help shed light on the disease, possibly helping her family and the community.Dan Birch

Dinah Ryeland-Brown stands with her sons Max and Alex and her husband Steve at the recent Olympic Games in London. They walked across the top of the O2 Olympic venue.

The need for top-notch – and fast – breast cancer care in Ontario resonates strongly with the Temerty family. Louise had accompanied a close friend to her many breast cancer treat-ments, often spending the day with her at Sunnybrook, and says that waiting for answers was often the hardest part.

The Louise Temerty Breast Cancer Centre will revolutionize breast cancer care, imaging and research in Canada. The centre’s Breast Program – the largest in the country – will provide tailored programming to a diverse patient population.

Dr. Barry McLellan, Sunnybrook’s president and CEO, says this centre will further build upon Sunnybrook’s world-renowned breast cancer program.

“This gift provides our experts with a world-class facility that matches their skills,” Dr. McLellan says. “The Louise Temerty Breast Cancer Centre’s scientists will push the bound-aries of imaging technology to detect the disease earlier and with greater accuracy. Our patients count on us for the best care possible, and this gift will allow us to meet those needs.”Michael McKinnon