Each September the Terry Fox Run for Hope in aid of cancer research is staged at numerous locations around the world. Information about run locations, pledge sheets and the research supported by the Terry Fox Foundation is detailed at the Terry Fox Foundation website.

This is a heated topic (pardon the pun) but since we work in a cancer institute and are funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada to conduct research into the mechanisms of cancer development it would be remiss to ignore the fact that the leading preventable cause of cancer in North America is smoking. This information is from the 1997 Canadian Cancer Statistics report:

An estimated 130,800 new cases of cancer and 60,700 deaths from cancer will occur in Canada in 1997. In 1997, the most frequently diagnosed cancers will continue to be breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men. Lung cancer remains as the leading cause of cancer death.

The debate about smoking and cancer is now more of a socio-political question that scientific (real versus perceived dangers of second-hand smoke, health care costs, advertising, freedom of speech, etc) but we've put together a collection of web-resources that concern this topic if you are interested in learning more. There's also a great Alta-Vista site with all sorts of Tobacco industry information. The movie "The Insider" is also an excellent insight into the lengths big tobacco and corporations will go to keep information from the public domain.

Bill S-20, recently introduced into the Canadian Senate by Senator Colin Kenny, aims to reduce the incidence of youth smoking. More information on this important legislation which will create a tobacco-industry funded anti-smoking endowment for underwriting advertising campaigns to reduce childhood smoking will be forthcoming over the next few months.