Donor Spotlight
The extraordinary story of Emmanuelle
Emmanuelle Gattuso knows what it feels like to hear the words ‘You have cancer.’ Fortunately for other people who must also hear those words, she’s made it a personal priority to improve cancer care for Canadians.
Emmanuelle and her husband, broadcast mogul Allan Slaight, began their philanthropic support of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre with a donation of $1.5 million in 2001. Their gift funded the first academic chair for breast surgical oncology in Canada, currently held by Dr. David McCready.
Shortly thereafter, Emmanuelle was diagnosed with breast cancer herself and went from philanthropist to cancer patient overnight. “Your whole word turns upside down,” she says. “And you don’t know how long you’re going to be here.” Both her best friend and her mother had died of ovarian cancer just weeks before her own diagnosis, and her sister had recently survived breast cancer.
Fortunately, Emmanuelle’s breast cancer was caught early, and she underwent successful treatment at The Princess Margaret.
One day, Dr. McCready told her about his vision for a clinic that would complete all tests required for a breast cancer diagnosis in a single day. “The average time between knowing there’s something wrong on a mammogram and diagnosis is 5.3 weeks in Canada, and he was working on a pilot project to reduce that time to one day,” she recalls. “I thought that was the best thing that ever happened in medicine. I was so excited that I came home and told my husband, ‘I’m going to raise $25 million.’ ”
With her usual drive and determination, and a starting gift of $12.5 million from Allan, Emmanuelle did just that. Today, thanks to the Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre (GRDC), women (and men!) with suspicions of breast cancer can avoid weeks of anxious waiting. The GRDC performs all necessary tests and provides a diagnosis in most cases within 24 hours. Lessons learned at the GRDC are currently being put into place for lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers as well.
Emmanuelle and Allan’s next gift to The Princess Margaret’s Billion Dollar Challenge made history as the largest ever private gift for cancer research in Canada. In January 2013, Emmanuelle Gattuso, Allan Slaight and the Slaight Family donated $50 million to create a ‘superfund’ that would allow The Princess Margaret to recruit the world’s brightest minds in cancer care and research.
This unprecedented gift is enabling The Princess Margaret to accelerate groundbreaking research and translate it to the clinic as quickly as possible.
“I have been touched by cancer, as have so many friends and family members. Allan and I are extremely pleased to be able to support The Princess Margaret’s Billion Dollar Challenge for Personalized Cancer Medicine and hope others will join us. We believe in The Princess Margaret’s vision to conquer cancer in our lifetime,” says Emmanuelle.
Before becoming a full-time philanthropist, Emmanuelle had a very successful career in media and public relations. She ran her own communications consultation firm, produced a number of award-winning TV programs, was Press Attaché for the Commissioner of Official Languages in Ottawa, and held senior roles with The Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
Emmanuelle and Allan were named Philanthropists of the Year in 2012 by the Greater Toronto Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and in April 2013, Emmanuelle was named a Woman of Action by the Israel Cancer Research Fund.