As we approach the holiday season we naturally think of friends, family and loved ones — those individuals in our lives who have special meaning. It is also a time of giving. A time in which we think of others who may not be as fortunate as we are.

At the Canadian Cancer Society, in our effort to do everything we can to fight cancer, we have created an easy and convenient way for you to share a gift with a friend or loved one, while helping someone who is fighting cancer.

Wish List: Hope Renewed is our new symbolic gift catalogue that allows you to make an impact on someone’s life.

Whether your symbolic gift funds outstanding research, caring support services or helps us provide leading prevention initiatives, you’re suporting someone on their cancer journey.

Two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with some form of cancer this year. Those people and their families need your support!

As someone who has been fighting cancer in every way that I can for over 15 years, I encourage you to give courageously this holiday season and make an impact on someone’s life, while bringing us one step closer to making cancer history!

The Canadian Cancer Society recently launched www.fightback.ca

The site includes personal video diaries from cancer survivors and thrivors as well as from those people who have lost family and friends to the disease. They were asked to tell their story and then asked what would they say to cancer if it was in the room with them right now.

Their answers were extremely moving — and they were a true testimony to why we do what we do at the Canadian Cancer Society. We do it for people. We fight for life.

Think of Fight Back as a battle cry — not just for people who have cancer or for people who have family and friends with the disease — Fight Back is a battle cry for everyone. Because we need everyone to join the fight.

So, if cancer was in the room with me right now — I’d tell it to watch it’s back, it’s going down.

How about you?  What would you say to cancer?

I recently had the joy of contributing to a film tribute to the Barbers — and what a joy it was to thank Ike and his lovely wife, Jean.

The Barbers are well-known for their philanthropy in BC. They support a number of causes, but in the Canadian Cancer Society, our special thanks go out to them because they made the generous gift of one million dollars to provide renovations to our lodge in Vancouver.

The lodge is a “home away from home” for cancer patients who must come from other parts of the province or the Yukon to obtain their cancer treatment.

At the time of the Barber’s donation, this was the largest solicited gift from an individual in the history of the Canadian Cancer Society — anywhere in Canada. So the Barbers truly made cancer history.

The lodge had a particular appeal to Jean, and we are pleased that the lodge bears her name — the Jean C. Barber Lodge.

Thank you, Jean. Thank you, Ike. And thank you to all of our other Canadian Society donors!