Happy August everyone!
We hope that you have all been enjoying the summer and that you make the best of what we have left of it!
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is right around the corner and there's a big change at the Foundation. Read on to learn more. |
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PCFC Starts a New Chapter
As We Transition Under New Leadership |
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 | Those of you who know Leah Lariviere, know her as the heart of our Foundation.
25 years ago, she began to help a small group of local prostate cancer support group leaders who started the Foundation. She has since helped it grow from a simple phone support line and a small network of support groups in BC into the thriving national Foundation it is today.
Her modus operandi of operating the Foundation with a "cheap and cheerful" attitude has ensured that the Foundation has always remained grassroots and focused on what mattered the most: “The Cause.”
Under her leadership as Executive Director, and with the support of our volunteer board, small staff, and many incredible volunteers, the Foundation has donated nearly $3 million in grants. Just to name a few, these grants have included funding that helped the Prostate Cancer Supportive Care program get off the ground, the If I Were Tom project completed by Men’s Health Research at UBC, a new PSMA PET scanner in BC, the IncuCyte microscope that supports life-saving research at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and the research of many young scientists who have gone on to accomplish remarkable things.
At the core of this, Leah has lived by the principle that family comes first. Over the years, she opened her arms to countless patients, supporters, and advocates across Canada who would become a part of her prostate cancer family.
It is in the area of support, even more than the aforementioned research grants, where Leah's compassion and passion for serving have especially benefitted the prostate cancer community. It has been under her guidance that PCFC has been able to create a system that aims to ensure no patient or loved one needing support goes unhelped - no matter where in Canada they live, or how unique their journey with prostate cancer may be.
Now, after devoting 25 years to her prostate cancer family, it’s come time for us to share Leah with her three beautiful new grandchildren. We are so happy for her to enjoy this exciting new chapter of her life.
Please join us in wishing Leah the best!
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On that note, we are very proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Abby C. Collier as our incoming Executive Director.
Dr. Collier joins PCFC from the University of British Columbia, where she has been a member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences since 2013. A professor of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Dr. Collier was also the founding director of the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences undergraduate degree program. Her research has been in the fields of human and environmental toxicology, pregnancy and pediatrics, and prostate cancer, with a focus on improving drug/chemical safety and efficacy and on informing drug development in academia and industry. She has more than a decade of strategic leadership experience, including involvement in fundraising and donor relations. Dr. Collier has secured multi-million-dollar investments in equipment, infrastructure, and research grants, and has been involved in policy advisories to governments in Canada and the USA. She has also been an active volunteer with us for more than 10 years.
"One of the things I've enjoyed most over my career is advocating for what I believe in, whether that's with corporate or individual donors, decision makers in the medical community and in government, scientists and medical practitioners, or with patients and their families," says Dr. Collier.
"I now get to do that leading an organization I've been involved with for more than a decade. I'm eager to build upon Leah's rich legacy of support and advocacy for those whose lives are impacted by prostate cancer."
Dr. Collier's appointment comes at a time when we continue to grow as a national organization dedicated to providing awareness, support, education, advocacy, and research to men, their families, carers and wider communities facing prostate cancer.
"The Board owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Leah for all she has done to build PCFC into the organization it is today. We are also delighted to welcome Dr. Collier as our new Executive Director," says Peter Fairey, PCFC Board Chairman. "The Board is confident in Abby's vision for the continued expansion of the Foundation's offerings across Canada - from funding of research, to strengthening provincial partnerships and collaborations, to the delivery of more programs and support for patients and their families at every step on their journeys with this treatable cancer."
"We see 23,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses every year, and that number will not shrink as Canada's population ages," shares outgoing Executive Director, Leah Lariviere. "The work PCFC does is critical, and I am so proud of what we've been able to accomplish so far. What started as a phone helpline in the late 1990s is today funding research, delivering 360-degree support services nationally, and providing hope to thousands of Canadian men and their families. It has been a privilege to lead these efforts and I am excited to see how the organization evolves under Abby's leadership."
Please join us in warmly welcoming Abby to the Foundation! |
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You can help raise awareness about the most common cancer in men simply by visiting our Light Up In Blue Website.
We're lighting Canada up in blue all September long again and we want to give you a free blue lightbulb to proudly light your neighbourhood up in blue too!
Join over 160 landmarks from Niagara Falls to BC Place that will be lighting up, participate in our photo contest, and help us shine a light on prostate cancer this Awareness Month.
💡Learn more and get your free blue bulb at lightupinblue.ca while supplies last💡 |
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