Discover why we do what we do

On September 2, 2012, Taite Boomer passed away after a short, but courageous battle with a brain tumor. He was only 20 years old. An amazing young man with the wisest of souls, Taite left behind a legend most people will never achieve in their lifetime. His unwavering strength, both physical and mental, allowed him to fight a very aggressive and rare brain tumor for as long as he did.

Taite’s story was not a textbook case. For Taite to have an anaplastic astrocytoma at such a young age was strange. Although the tumor appeared to be of a less aggressive grade on the initial MRI, it behaved more like an extremely aggressive tumor. Due to the limited amount of research on the brain and brain tumors, doctors were unable to anticipate the rapid progress of Taite’s tumor.

We need YOUR help to fight brain cancer. In order to promote and fund further research on brain tumors, in turn helping us to find better treatments, we need to bring more awareness to brain cancer and its many forms. Help us share Taite’s story.

Check out the recent research studentships we funded

Since 2012, we’ve funded 19 research studentships through the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. These studentships accelerate brain tumor research and encourage new, young researchers to join the field. Studentships are entirely funded through donor support and provide a unique opportunity for undergraduate and medical students in Canada to gain experience in brain tumour research. The two-year awards provide a total of $10,000 in funding.

Last year’s recipient, Adam Bakos was driven to cancer research after losing his mom to breast cancer. After spending 3 years studying glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer, this studentship gave Adam the opportunity to lead his own research project. He recently began medical school at the University of Toronto, where he hopes to combine patient care with research to improve the lives of people with brain tumors.