When someone says “blood cancer,” you may immediately think of leukemia, but there are many types of blood cancers that aren’t as well-known. For those living with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), these serious cancers are very real.
MPNs are progressive blood cancers in which the bone marrow typically overproduces one or more types of blood cells. The three most common classical MPNs are polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and myelofibrosis.
With stem cell research and the discovery of key gene markers, there have been significant advances in the diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of MPNs, but there are still no known cures for most of these blood cancers.
The Canadian MPN Research Foundation is on a mission to change that.
Founded in 2018 by Executive Director Cheryl Petruk, the organization has a single goal: to stimulate and fund original and ongoing research in pursuit of new treatments and eventually a cure for MPNs. Petruk became an advocate for the MPN community in 2014 when she began caring for her late husband, who was diagnosed with myelofibrosis.
The members of the Canadian MPN Research Foundation’s board of directors each have a very personal involvement and commitment to the foundation’s mission.
The Canadian MPN Network (CMPNN) Patient Advocacy Group, which was founded in 2014, works symbiotically with the Canadian MPN Research Foundation in providing the MPN patient community with the vitally-needed support system to help navigate their journey with an MPN blood cancer. The CMPNN provides the patient community, with a variety of resources to make the navigation of a rare blood cancer journey more manageable. The CMPNN has a board of directors made up of patients and care partners who work tirelessly in advocating for this patient community.
Together, the Canadian MPN Research Foundation and the CMPNN are a testament of collaboration in providing the entire MPN community of physicians, researchers and patients with hope, inspiration, knowledge and education about MPN blood cancers.
For more information on the Foundation and to fund vital MPN Research, visit cmpnrf.ca. To find out about patient resources and support groups, visit canadianmpnnetwork.ca. Your donation is vitally needed to fund research for this rare blood cancer! To learn more, call 1 866 644 6766.
