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Health
& Welfare
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Sea Sponge Cancer
Treatment Among 73 New Projects Announced by Canadian
Cancer Society
Society funding more than $47 million in cancer research
across Canada this year
TORONTO, May 4 /CNW/ - Surfacing new life-saving cancer
treatments from the world's oceans is the focus of one of
73 new research grants announced today by the Canadian
Cancer Society.
The $685,000, five-year grant is focused on developing new
anti-cancer drugs inspired by animals that live in the
sea. From Vancouver's coasts to the coral reefs of Papua
New Guinea, the research team will be collecting hundreds
of sea animals, such as sponges, and examining the
powerful chemicals they house inside.
A drug developed by Canadian Cancer Society researcher Dr.
Raymond Andersen during a previous grant from the Society
is already being tested in phase II clinical trials with
lung cancer patients. Another developed to treat blood
cancers such as multiple myeloma is looking promising in
laboratory tests and with the new funding announced today,
Dr. Andersen is optimistic it will move to clinical trials
soon.
"The ocean is a rich and diverse source of inspiration for
cancer treatment," says Dr. Andersen. "Many common
anti-cancer drugs have come nature, such as the Pacific
yew tree and even microorganisms found in soil.
We're building on this successful track record by looking
to the ocean for new ideas."
Dr. Andersen and his team will screen the marine-based
chemicals they find for their cancer fighting abilities.
They will then produce synthetic versions of only the most
promising ones and test their potential as new
treatments on laboratory-grown cancer cells.
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McGuinty Government
Protecting Ontario's Seniors
New Funding Enhances Community Services, Helps Combat
Elder Abuse
TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ - The Ontario government is providing
$459,000 In new funding to combat elder abuse, Minister
Responsible for Seniors Jim Bradley announced today.
"We're on the side of seniors, and we're giving them the
supports they need to live in safety and with dignity,"
said Bradley.
Sixty-one organizations across the province have received
one-time grants of $3,000 or $15,000 which they may choose
to use for public education or other elder abuse
prevention strategies.
According to experts in the field, elder abuse has many
forms, the most common of which is financial abuse, and
can take place in the home, in a residential setting or in
the community. Abusers may be family members, friends,
staff, or other individuals in positions of trust or
authority. The Ontario Seniors' Secretariat, the Ontario
Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and the
Ministry of the Attorney General have joined forces with
communities across the province to implement the
province's $4.3 million, five-year, strategy to combat
elder abuse.
"Elder abuse has no place in Ontario," stated Bradley. "We
will not tolerate the abuse of our seniors who continue to
contribute so much to their families, communities and
province."
Other McGuinty government initiatives for seniors include:
- Enriching property and sales tax credits for seniors by
25 percent, from $500 to $625 per senior
- Investing a record $1.4 billion a year in home care,
while expanding home care to about 45,100 Ontarians.
- Making mandatory retirement illegal as of December 2006
- Building a veterans' memorial at Queen's Park
- Extending the rate freeze on basic accommodations in
long-term care homes.
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