![]() This is going to be a transformational amount of money. It's about his ability to leave a much greater mark than just his music. "It's not about me, it's about our patients and it's about him. It's just a heart-wrenching revelation for most people," he said. "Everybody's talking about Gord and about the efforts to raise money. In the past, it has been difficult to raise funds for glioblastoma, a relatively unknown and less common type of cancer that desperately needs research funding for new therapies, according to Perry. "The hope and awareness he's bringing and the unprecedented amount of money that will be focused on this type of tumour." 'A greater mark than just his music' "It's going to be the hope that will be provided for my patients and patients across Canada that are going to benefit from his courage," he said. But there are many positive things that stand out. ![]() ![]() Perry said it's too soon to say which memory will be his favourite because the tour is just halfway done. Susan Marshall, president and CEO of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, agrees researchers still have a lot to learn to try to improve survival rates for people who develop a glioblastoma.Tragically Hip's performances throughout their summer tour have been emotional and have left many fans in the audience teary eyed, says Dr. READ MORE: #GordDowniesCanada: Beautiful pictures of Canada trend for Tragically Hip singer “But it’s still pretty daunting and I think the key message that needs to be out there is there’s still a lot of work to be done.” “I’m encouraged by the fact that we can now study the genetics in great detail, there are ways in which we can take patients’ own cancer cells and grow them to test drugs on them, and we’re starting to dissect the complexity better,” says Dirks. TORONTO - More than four years after her husband Gord Downie’s death, singer-songwriter Kaya Usher is in the midst of an artistic awakening. Numerous pre-clinical investigations are underway to develop better treatments _ among them more effective temozolomide-like drugs, gene therapies and immunotherapies that harness the power of the immune system to destroy cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. Researchers are studying the genetics of the tumours, as well as trying to decipher what if any role neural stem cells may play in the development and recurrence of the cancer. “It’s not like there’s really a therapy that we can tell people, ‘Well, this at least will definitely slow it down or put you into remission.'” “But many, many patients don’t respond at all,” he says. ![]() The average period of survival following diagnosis is about 18 months. Canadians learned of Downie's illness on May 24 last year the same day the rest of the rock group, Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay, announced that the Kingston, Ont. READ MORE: Gord Downie, Tragically Hip frontman, receives Order of CanadaĪbout 1,000 Canadians are diagnosed each year with a glioblastoma and only about four per cent of those patients survive five years or longer. The exact cause of glioblastoma multiforme - so called because it contains various cell types - is unknown, but research increasingly suggests that genetic mutations give rise to the highly aggressive tumour. ![]() The death of Canadian singer-songwriter Gord Downie from glioblastoma is a grim reminder of the daunting nature of the invasive brain tumour, which has one of the poorest survival rates of any cancer.Īnd, say scientists and brain tumour patient advocacy groups, his passing also focuses a spotlight on the need for more funding for research into the deadly cancer - a charitable cause the Tragically Hip frontman and his bandmates championed after his diagnosis was publicly disclosed in May 2016. ![]()
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