I know 2010 will be the best year yet! I know 2010 will be the best year yet! 2009 was a challenging year for the economy and the environment. It was a challenging year to be in philanthropy and I am grateful for my colleagues here at The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation because we made the best of it. I often get asked about working at a cancer hospital and the most common question is “Isn’t it depressing?”. I can say some days are very sad indeed but most of the time we are working with remarkable docs and nurses and staff who are passionate about what they do. I also see up close people who are really struggling, are in pain, or are totally stressed out by dealing with this unbelievable and complex disease we call cancer. On the other hand, we also see the best of the human condition every day in the courage, resolve, and quiet determination of so many. We also see and benefit from incredible generosity from our community. We have so many donors and volunteers to be thankful for and I wish I could name every single one of them here and more importantly, give each and every one of them a big hug! The challenge “To Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime” is the single most daunting task that I have ever faced in my career. I know so many brilliant research scientists and clinician scientists are literally working around the clock to in fact, conquer cancer. The disease is enormously complicated and the possibilities for mutation are also endless. The fact that so many talented people are working so hard here and around the world gives me confidence and hope.

So 2010 will be a challenging but wonderful year. It will be a year full of hard work but also a year with promise of new discoveries, new relationships, new science, and new progress in our fight to conquer cancer. If you are on vacation, just coming back from vacation, or didn’t take any vacation, I hope you enjoy every day of this new year. As everyone who hears those three words, “you have cancer” knows, you have to recognize that your health is the most important thing you can have. So here’s to a healthy and happy and productive 2010 and may it be your best year yet!