Newswise — Through the month of November, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (PMHF) and philanthropists Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight are kicking off a fundraising campaign to expand The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre for breast cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital.
The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre was created by Dr. David McCready, The Gattuso Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology, Head of the Breast Cancer Program at Princess Margaret Hospital. Patients who qualify are referred by their family physician to the Centre. They have a physical exam, mammogram, ultrasound and tissue biopsy (if needed) in one day. If tests confirm that the tumour is malignant, a treatment plan is created that day as well. Diagnosis is completed within one day and the patient returns to their referring physician with the plan for treatment. “The main advantage is to be able to plan your life and reduce the anxiety of not knowing,” said Dr. McCready.
The average wait for diagnosis is 37 days. Since initiating the program in 2006, 526 women and men have gone through rapid diagnosis. Once at full capacity (by 2018), The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre will diagnose up to 3,000 breast cancer patients annually. It will also collaborate with other breast centres so that patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer can move rapidly to treatment.
In May 2009, the PMHF received a $12.5 million donation from Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight to support an expansion of the service offered by Dr. McCready and his colleagues. To commemorate the extraordinary gift, the program was renamed The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre. The couple also committed to help raise the additional $12.5 million for the program.
The fundraising campaign, entitled ‘One Day,’ is a multi-tiered approach involving print, electronic and social media. Two commercials featuring breast cancer patients, some of whom experienced rapid diagnosis while others endured longer waits, will be aired during the November campaign. A dedicated website, www.onedaypmh.ca, supports the campaign.
As The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre changes the standard of care in breast cancer, it will serve as a new model in patient treatment that can be duplicated across Canada and around the world for the rapid diagnosis of other cancers.
To donate to The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre, call 1-800-994-5187 or visit www.onedaypmh.ca.
RSS