Daffodil Ball celebrates 25 years of funding cancer research

Cancer Society's "Daffodil Ball" turns 25 The annual fundraiser benefiting the Canadian Cancer Society will be celebrating its longevity in style.

Canada’s largest fundraising ball will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary in style on Thursday night and all proceeds are going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The annual Daffodil Ball, which will be held at Windsor Station, features dinner and dancing with those attending dressed in their best clothes. But for some in attendance, it’s not just a good time, but a chance to celebrate a life almost cut too short.

Mei-Lin Yee, a mother and lawyer, thought she had a minor illness when she went to see a doctor in 2009. It turned out she was suffering from something much more serious.

“I ended up hearing I had stage four cancer of unknown origin,” she said. “It was out of the blue. Besides the weight loss and the tingling under the arm, I felt great. I was 45, I had a great career.”

Yee was told she had two years to live as the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, both lungs, spleen, bones, bone marrow and pericardial sac.

“To me, this was a project and I was going to manage it,” she said.

Helping to find a cure for those like Yee is what drives Alison Silcoff, the producer of the Daffodil Ball.

“I think it’s such a compelling cause. I really, really care about it,” she said.

Silcoff remembered trying to convince companies to sponsor the original ball in 1994 and marveled at how far the event has come. This year’s edition will be silver themed, fitting for the ball’s silver anniversary.

“It’s a huge thrill, that moment when you see the room is packed,” she said.

With the goal of ensuring as much money as possible goes to charity as possible, much of the décor and services are donated. Over 25 years, the Daffodil Ball has raised more than $31.8 million, with this year’s event expected to bring in another $1.8 million.

“Really, it’s amazing and that amount is very important because we do invest it in research, but also in prevention initiatives and support,” said Canadian Cancer Society spokesperson Andre Beaulieu.

For Yee, who endured five rounds of chemo and radiation, as well as multiple surgeries, funding for more research is a personal mission.

“Anything that we can do to help motivate and to help collect that money and get it into the pipeline as quickly as possible can really have an impact,” she said. “It had an impact on my life. I’m here nine years later.”