When Michael Kosterman was diagnosed with cancer, he and his wife, Deidra, were in the midst of an adventurous period in their lives. They had recently run a Bed and Breakfast in Revelstoke, tried gold mining, and even taught English in Mexico for six months. Tired of the rainy weather in British Columbia, they moved Duchess, Alberta, closer to Deidra’s twin brother. However, Michael was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia just a few weeks after moving. Michael had noticed something worrisome with his teeth and mouth a couple of weeks after their move to Alberta. After consulting multiple D ..read more

Kim Duke is an entrepreneur and writer in St. Albert, Alberta. Her cancer journey began in 2016, after she recently turned 50 years old.  “It’s one of the few things that makes me speechless all these years later,” she confesses. Diagnosed with HER2 breast cancer, Kim’s treatment lasted more than a year; she underwent surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and HER2 IV treatments. The following year was spent recovering from all of these treatments. Still, Kim maintains a positive mindset. “Even in the midst of ugliness, there’s such beauty and kindness and love that shows up,” she says. She ..read more

Beverley Dunn was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2018. This cancer journey has taught Bev many lessons. Most of all, she learned the importance of support throughout difficult times. Today, Bev is the President of the Southern Alberta Myeloma Patient Society (SAMPS), helping to provide guidance and care for those facing this devastating blood cancer. For Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month, Bev shares her story with us…     When were you diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma? What were some of the initial symptoms you faced? May 30, 2018, was the day my life changed forever. In the ..read more

We Cross Cancer campaign celebrates and acknowledges exceptional generosity of community, proving no one crosses cancer alone. We cross cancer, together. February 28, 2023 – Edmonton, AB – In April 2022, the Alberta Cancer Foundation launched its We Cross Cancer campaign to support the Cross Cancer Institute and the vital work researchers and medical professionals are doing to revolutionize treatments for cancer patients in Alberta and beyond. The fundraising goal: an ambitious $30 million. Today, we are delighted to share that together, we not only reached our campaign goal, we surpassed it ..read more

Thank you for ensuring no one crosses cancer alone. We Cross Cancer together. In April of 2022, we launched the We Cross Cancer campaign, bringing together our community, donors, medical teams and patients to ensure no one crosses cancer alone. We had an ambitious goal of raising $30 million in support of world-class discoveries and innovative research at the Cross Cancer Institute. Now, just nine months later, we are thrilled to announce that we not only reached our $30 million goal, we surpassed it. Thanks to you, we will double the capacity for clinical trials at the Cross Cancer Institute ..read more

Barb Laplante’s journey with cancer began in 1998 when she was diagnosed with large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in her tonsil. Despite being told she had a 50% chance of surviving for more than five years, Barb underwent chemotherapy and continued her treatment for five years. Fast forward to 2018, Barb was diagnosed with stage 2+ breast cancer, which led to a lumpectomy to remove two tumours and several rounds of chemotherapy and 35 radiation treatments. Unfortunately, during her post-treatment assessment, nodules in her lungs and a mass on her thyroid were discovered. The following year, a ..read more

Lorne Miller with wife Lindsay, son August and daughter Esmae Calgary Firefighter Lorne Miller was diagnosed with liposarcoma in May of 2021. After months of treatments and working to build his life back, Lorne celebrated one year of being cancer-free in June 2022. But just a few months later, his cancer returned. Lorne was on duty when he got the call from his doctor in November. His last scan confirmed that his cancer had relapsed. “It’s back..” For Lorne, the hardest part was breaking the news to his wife Lindsay again, “In a cancer patient’s world, when you get one of those calls, your min ..read more

The PSMA PET will change how prostate cancer is detected and treated in Alberta. This incredibly accurate scan will uncover details of an individual’s cancer diagnosis that are usually undetectable through other mediums. Having emerged from its clinical trial stage, the PSMA PET scanned its first four patients at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, this week.  Clinical trials are crucial to the progression of medical care, so naturally, it was all smiles in the nuclear medicine lab as everyone knew the importance of this long-awaited feat. PSMA is a radiotracer for imaging prostate-sp ..read more

Born and raised in Australia, Jodie Tilley moved to Canada in 1996 after falling in love with the Rocky Mountains during a ski trip. After living in Halifax for several years, Jodie has been a resident of Calgary since 2005, and has made Canada her home for more than half of her life. It would be at Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Centre, where Jodie would be treated for colon cancer. For the last 13 years, Jodie has been working in the medical field – 8 of those years in breast cancer reconstruction and cosmetic surgery and the last 5 in medical aesthetics. Along with her business partner, she op ..read more

Written by Joel Bray, CFP CLU MFA-P Vice President, Relationship Management, Cardinal Capital Management Canadians are typically a very generous group when it comes to supporting charities. In 2021, more than 968,000 Canadians gave more than $465M to 31,700 charities (source: Canada Helps Giving Report 2022). Beyond helping causes that are important to you and creating an impact, there are also great tax incentives to help your community thanks to donation tax credits.  What is a donation tax credit and how much can I claim?   At the end of a tax year, typically you or your acco ..read more