Vancouver’s favourite big band leader suspects there are several reasons for his longevity.
“I still sing and I’m still blowing my horn, playing the saxophone and clarinet, which is good for the diaphragm,” said the 97-year-old Dal Richards over the phone Tuesday afternoon. “And I lead a pretty healthy lifestyle. I walk a mile every day and I still take singing lessons.”
Richards, who has entertained hundreds of thousands of fans over the years, continues to book gigs, including an appearance at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival June 18. Last year, Richards played the Pacific
National Exhibition for his 75th and final time after deciding to take a break.
So it’s no surprise that when Richards hit the age of 85, he was invited to take part in what’s become known as the Super Seniors Study, a research project created to determine why some people live cancer-free into their 80s, 90s and beyond 100.
The study’s lead investigator, Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson of the B.C. Cancer Agency and Simon Fraser University, said some of these amazingly healthy super seniors could be genetically protected from cancer-causing mutations. Brooks-Wilson also heads up Cancer Genetics at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre.
“There is also lots of evidence from other studies that lifestyle behaviours, such as not smoking, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on alcohol and getting regular exercise, play a huge role in not getting cancer,” said Brooks-Wilson. “Quitting smoking is key. I don’t want seniors to think that because they smoked for a few years when they were younger that everything is doom and gloom. It’s never too late to quit.”
In the first phase of the project, Brooks-Wilson and her team painstakingly gathered detailed information from 500 healthy men and women aged 85 to 109, mainly in the Vancouver area. The seniors provided medical, family and lifestyle information, as well as a blood sample, and were tested for physical and mental function. Brooks-Wilson and co-leader Dr. Denise Daley, of St. Paul’s Hospital and the University of B.C., will compare the genes of these super seniors to those of more than 100,000 men and women, some who have cancer and others who don’t.
Brook-Wilson said it had been assumed for years that seniors who live to an old age, while managing to avoid diseases such as cancer, had fewer genetic markers for the disease than the average person. Turns out that’s not the case.
“We already know that many people who live to an incredibly healthy old age actually do have gene sequences that contribute to cancer in the general population, but for some reason they do not develop the disease. We suspect there is something that protects them from getting sick by overriding the cancer-causing genes,” said Brooks-Wilson.
The ultimate goal of this research is to identify possible genetic “override switches,” which could eventually lead to the development of anti-cancer drugs. It’s possible that such drugs, combined with a healthy lifestyle, could help other people have a lower risk of getting cancer.
“It’s still 70 to 75 per cent lifestyle,” said Brooks-Wilson. “But the rest is genetic and that’s what I’m interested in.”
Phase two of the super senior research project received the first Great Canadian Innovation Grant presented by the Canadian Cancer Society. Funding comes from a group of donors who responded to the society’s appeal to raise $200,000 in one week to fund an innovation grant. Brooks-Wilson said thanks to this funding the study is looking for even more seniors to take part. But the project needs additional funds to continue its research and she’s hoping more donors will step up to help.
The original study, which Richards took part in, was based on research completed with seniors living in B.C. and in particular Greater Vancouver. Phase two is accepting new super seniors from across Canada and beyond.
Volunteer super seniors must be 85 years or older and have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease or stroke, dementia, major lung disease or diabetes. Anyone 100 years or older is invited to take part even if they live with, or have survived, any of those diseases and are able to decide for themselves whether they want to join the study.
Any seniors who meet the criteria and are interested in taking part in the study can call (toll free) 1-888-675-8001, extension 8151. Anyone wishing to donate to the project can contact study coordinator Ruth Thomas at
rthomas@bcgsc.ca. Visit cancer.ca for more information.
sthomas@vancourier.com
