PROFILE
Vancouver Couple Back
Cancer Research and Care
This is a milestone year for Ken and Jenny Yule, retired pro- fessionals and parents of two. It was 30 years ago when Jenny was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer. After discovering a lump in her breast herself, Jenny was sent for a mammogram that later revealed a malignancy and required her to
undergo a mastectomy.
Ken and Jenny Yule’s children were aged four and seven at the
time of Jenny’s diagnosis. “The surgeon said he wanted to see us
in his office at two o’clock on Friday; it was really terrifying,”
Ken recalls vividly. “We were looking down the barrel of a gun,
and I felt helpless.”
Ken started exploring ways to become an active participant in
helping to improve cancer treatments.
“Making a donation to the BC Cancer Foundation through an
insurance policy on my life was something I could do to help
and show a form of support to my wife. It felt wonderful, and it
enabled me to make a bigger contribution than the annual
donation I had been giving,” says Ken.
Many people are unaware of the increased donation they can
make to a charity that is important to them by using more creative methods of giving.
Jenny says, “I was then, and continue to this day, to be grateful for the commitment, care and treatment I received. Today we
see research benefiting many in both diagnosis and treatment.
Yet, others have a form of the disease that requires further
research. We want to support cancer research and help ensure
that it continues in areas where it’s most needed.”
Careful planning can result in larger amounts being available
to help individuals meet their philanthropic goals and support
Ken and Jenny Yule,
Donors
the thousands of patients diagnosed with cancer each year.
“It’s great to pay the premiums each year and see the policy
value grow,” says Ken, who appreciated the range of payment
options available when he donated his life insurance policy.
“Because the insurance amounts vary, you can give something
that suits you and provide the charity with more than what you
may be able to donate at that time,” adds Ken.
The Yules know that their gift will accelerate research breakthroughs and gains in cancer knowledge. As the fundraising
partner of the BC Cancer Agency and the largest charitable
funder of cancer research in the province, the BC Cancer
Foundation enables donors to support leading-edge research
that has a direct impact on improvements to cancer care for
patients in British Columbia and beyond.
Jenny believes that the results of cancer research and medical
breakthroughs are cause for celebration. For her and Ken, their
planned gift is truly about gratitude.
For each person, deciding what gift is best will depend on
individual circumstances and needs. If an individual designates
a charity as a beneficiary, but not the owner of a life insurance
policy, he or she can make a gift and still maintain control of the
policy during his or her lifetime. The donor’s estate will receive
a tax receipt for the proceeds of the policy to use in the final
taxation year.
Says Ken: “If you have cancer, B.C. is the best place in the
world to have it. Great research is being done here, and the
donations are well spent—you’re simply backing a winner.”
Submitted by staff at the BC Cancer Foundation.
