Doctors from across Canada take Top to Bottom challenge to raise funds for colon cancer research

Dr. Zane Cohen, an internationally recognized colorectal surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital, is seen in a press conference in Toronto on Sept. 11, 2014. Photo: Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press

Forty doctors from across the country are pitched in a friendly battle against one another to raise funds to support colon cancer research. Top to Bottom is Colon Cancer Canada’s (CCC) third annual fundraising challenge. Launched Oct. 14, the campaign aims to publicly recognize the work that local physicians do each year and highlight the importance of early colorectal cancer screening.

Awareness is something Dr. Zane Cohen, colorectal surgeon and Rob Ford’s leading physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, is adamant about. He says because colon cancer isn’t a “sexy disease,” it’s not talked about often enough. Indeed, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) — and while the recovery rate is up to 90 per cent if detected early, nearly half of patients are diagnosed too late.

“We want to make people aware of family histories. If you have a relatively young parent, or sibling, with colon cancer you may be at a slightly increased risk as well,” Dr. Cohen says.

Amy Elmaleh and her aunt Bunnie Schwartz co-founded CCC after losing two family members to colon cancer. They wanted to raise awareness about the disease and sought out the help of Dr. Cohen, who had been one of Schwartz’s husband’s doctors. “It’s become abundantly aware that there are so many people in this community that need to be aware there is support,” Elmaleh says.

Dr. Cohen helped the family get in touch with the colon cancer community and kick-start the campaign. With his help, CCC established a partnership with the department of surgery at the University of Toronto. Now, 75 per cent of donations from Toronto Top to Bottom are put towards masters or PhD research on new innovations in colon cancer research and care. The money specifically goes toward a scholarship fund through the University of Toronto’s Bernard and Ryna Langer Chair.

During the first year of the Top to Bottom campaign, Dr. Cohen went head-to-head in an online challenge with Dr. Andy Smith, Sunnybrook’s executive vice-president and chief medical executive, to see who could raise the most money. It’s an innovative challenge that eschews the traditional fundraising methods — gala dinners, silent auctions — in favour of directly contributing to medical communities across the country.

“People are always looking for a way to thank their doctors. They want to do something instead of sending a bottle of wine, or a box of chocolates. (Top to Bottom) is a way people can publicly thank their doctors — they make a donation in their honour,” Elmaleh says.

What started as a two-city challenge has now expanded to six cities across Canada: Calgary, London, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. With little more than two weeks remaining in this year’s campaign, Team Toronto — which includes Dr. Cohen — has already earned more than $116,000.

In total, more than $700,000 has been raised to help fund local research projects.