Cancer survivor Jane Werniuk strides across the OneWalk to Conquer Cancer finish line, knowing that the $246,000 she has raised over the past 12 years – ten walks totalling 509 kilometres, plus training – has made a difference in the lives of other cancer patients and survivors.
Jane, a senior geologist at Agnico Eagle’s head office, is a member of the Women in Mining Toronto (WIM) team – a network of 250 women who work across the mining industry – that in 2007 began supporting the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation’s (PMCF) goal to “Conquer cancer in our lifetime”.
On September 9, 2017, the WIM team achieved its own goal, having raised a cumulative total of more than $1 million to advance the detection, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancers at one of the world’s top five cancer centres.
“Achieving our $1 million goal means a lot to me personally,” says Jane. “It’s a long road we’ve travelled year after year, with dozens of team mates and hundreds of donors, but it’s important for everyone to remember: One step, one walk, one person and one team can make a huge difference to patients and their families throughout their cancer journey.”
Agnico Eagle has been the largest sponsor of the WIM team (contributing about $200,000), and over the past 20 years has donated a total of $6.4 million to fund cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.
With Agnico Eagle’s help, the Centre has been able to:
- Start a program in immunotherapy–the capacity to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer
- Build a technology-based research institute Techna that through technology helps the Centre find cancer sooner, analyze it earlier and treat it in real time
- Recruit 100 international fellows per year who learn, adopt and implement Princess Margaret’s standard of care in their home countries
In 2014, Agnico Eagle’s CEO Sean Boyd also spearheaded a gold bar challenge that brought together eight industry peers to donate six gold bars, worth more than $3.28 million, to the PMCF. The funds were used to recruit 26 international cancer experts to further their focus on genetic sequencing, immune therapy, molecular imaging, epigenetics and nanotechnology.
According to Louise Grondin, a member of the WIM team and Agnico Eagle’s Senior Vice-President of Environment, Sustainable Development and People: “What drives our commitment to conquering cancer in this lifetime is simple. No matter how big Agnico Eagle gets, we remain a close-knit team. We truly believe that strong, healthy employees and families contribute to stronger, happier communities. And that ultimately makes us a better company.”