Terry
I want to tell you about my family's experience with cancer and how the Canadian Cancer Society made our story a positive one.

For a blind guy, I've seen a lot of changes in my lifetime. Take the disease that robbed me of my sight, Retinoblastoma. It's a rare kind of cancer that attacks the retina in babies and young kids.

When I was diagnosed in the 1960s, doctors didn't know much about it—except that it meant losing your sight. The mutated gene that causes it runs in our family, and if affected both of my kids.

In my son Riley's case, thanks to early diagnosis and treatment, doctors were able to save his vision in one eye.

In the 1980s Canadian Cancer Society-funded researchers developed a genetic test that could spot the disease. This was a huge leap forward because it meant that kids could be tested at birth, or even before they were born so that treatment could start right away. And that's what made the difference in my little girl's life.

The doctors were able to test Katie before she was born and they were able to start treating her right away, resulting in perfect vision in both of her eyes!

We're thankful for the support we received from the Canadian Cancer Society and we're thrilled with the advances their research has helped bring about.