An estimated 23,600 people were be diagnosed with blood cancers in Canada in 2024. These cancers affect people of all ages, and survival rates are highly dependent on the type of blood cancer a person is diagnosed with. It is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the country.
There are 137 types of blood cancers and related disorders. These cancers affect blood cells, the bone marrow, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system, and include leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas and other, less common blood cancers, like myelodysplastic syndromes.
Today, high-mortality rates, ineffective treatments and poor quality of life for those who survive for certain types of blood cancers make these diseases a pressing health issue in Canada.
Our research strategy
Given these challenges, the Terry Fox Research Institute has embarked on a multi-pronged strategy to fund the best blood cancer scientific teams and programs in the country.
In 2024/2025, roughly 19 per cent of the money invested by TFRI Research Grants Programs supported blood cancer research. This added up to a total investment of $4.1 million.*
To allocate its resources, TFRI has international experts evaluate the excellence and the potential for impact of all its research projects. This approach distinguishes our research investment strategy from all others in Canada and allows donors to be confident that their investment is supporting the best research in Canada.
*Our scientific discovery projects are interdisciplinary by design and often focus on more than one cancer type. The figures listed above are an estimate and should not be taken as exact figures.