Funding the FutureWhen Chad started his campaign, it was for the Hematology Research and Clinical Trials Unit that started in 2004. The unit needed about $450,000 a year to operate and Chad wanted to provide stable funding for new research and treatment for blood cancer in B.C.
The HRCTU evolved into the Hematology Research Program which became part of the Vancouver Coastal Health Research institute in 2017. In 2025, The Hematology Research Program expanded with the creation of the Hematology Research Unit. The entirely donor-funded Unit is B.C.'s first dedicated inpatient clinical trials unit for early-phase therapies in blood cancers. Chad's dream has come true. Chad's Thoughts on the Need for ResearchAs Chad prepared his awareness campaign with the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation in 2009, he wrote:
My mother and I have shared this disease for almost the same length of time. I was diagnosed in May of 2001 while she followed one year later in May of 2002. On a side note, my father was diagnosed with Renal Cancer in February of 2002. He had immediate surgery to remove his tumorous kidney and was back hiking the North Shore mountains four weeks later. So the point is: are these incidents related? At this time there is no confirmed scientific proof that any of this is genetic. I would tend to disagree, but without any scientific evidence my family will continue to live in fear. My older sister, Jennifer, is healthy and has two amazing kids. I can’t imagine the fear she must be living with hoping and praying her family will continue to stay healthy while watching the rest of her family battle this mystery.
If multiple myeloma turns out to have genetic links and the only thing stopping researchers and doctors from pinpointing its origin is lack of funding, I can’t accept that. There are thousands of horrible debilitating diseases out there, some receive awareness and funding, some do not. multiple myeloma has no cure and it is my dream/mission to ensure a cure is found so my niece/nephew and maybe someday my own children won’t have to inherit this life.
I’ve heard that the cure for cancer is prevention which I believe to be a true statement. We need to continue funding to discover its origin so one day we can test high risk candidates and catch this disease before it consumes another life.
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Dr. Michael Barnett showing the Warren family around the Hematology Research and Clinical Trials Unit (HRTCU) at the Vancouver General Hospital in August 2013.
Did you know?
Survival rates for L/BMT patients have doubled within the last decade. 
A nurse at the HRCTU Thrombosis Clinic shows Chad's nephew how patients are taught to manage blood clots. Cancer patients, particularly myeloma patients, have a higher risk of stroke than the general population.
A bed set up for apheresis: where blood is temporarily withdrawn, one or more components are removed, and then it is retransfused into the patient. Apheresis can be used to harvest stem cells, or to separate out unhealthy cells for removal or treatment.
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