“You have cancer.” Three words no one wants to hear, but many, unfortunately, do. Dean Heuman says having family members hear those words was part of the push that got him involved, for the past 22 years, with the Glenn Anderson Day of Golf.
A community-driven golf tournament held in Edmonton, the Glenn Anderson Day of Golf supports the Cross Cancer Institute (Cross) and was spurred by former Edmonton Oiler Glenn Anderson, who began supporting the Cross in 1985. During Anderson’s 1986-87 hockey season, Acklands Grainger and Gasland Oil pledged $1,000 to the Cross for every goal Anderson scored. The companies donated a combined total of $100,000 at the end of that season, leading to the annual golf event that has raised more than $20 million so far.
This year, the tournament celebrated 40 years — a testament to the steadfast support it takes to run and grow a fundraiser of this size for decades. While Heuman’s personal experiences with cancer keep him on the event committee, other driving factors for him are supporting the advancements in cancer care and the unbelievable generosity of Edmontonians.
“In the time frame that I’ve been involved — never mind the 40 years that this tournament has been happening — this tournament has had a measurable effect on how long and how well people live from the time they are told they have cancer. Nothing is more rewarding than that.”
The Glenn Anderson Day of Golf committee’s focus is to help lead and establish revolutionary, innovative solutions in cancer care. It takes a risk mentality, explains Heuman. “The business people and entrepreneurs involved think, ’What big steps can we take? What’s something that would make an enormous difference?’ It can be research, ideas, clinical trials or equipment.”
One example is the game-changing Linac-MR machine, a medical tool that currently provides precision radiotherapy to Albertans facing cancer. The tournament raised over $1 million to help fund the Linac-MR back in 2012, when the technology was still in a research and development stage.
Heuman has watched the progress not only in cancer care but also in the tournament itself. The dollars have increased through the decades, with some ebbs and flows, but the enthusiasm, passion and determination to build a brighter future have been steadily climbing. This year’s tournament has so far raised nearly $1 million towards the $2.5 million goal to equip the CAR T-cell lab at the Cross.
“What an amazing accomplishment to come through 40 years and to see this as not the end but as a foundation to move forward into the future,” affirms Heuman. “I hope that the tournament continues to have this entrepreneurial, reach-for-the-stars attitude. I hope that it continues to have moments where it funds moonshots, if you will, or aspirational research and treatments so that we’re going above and beyond.”