The Kossowan family’s journey with cancer inspired decades of donations for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
By Nathan Iles
Few families understand as well as the Kossowans that, when it comes to progress in cancer research, it takes decades of support. This family’s ongoing donations for the Alberta Cancer Foundation stemmed from grief, and now, two generations of the Kossowan family are helping shape cancer care in Alberta through generous giving.
Peter and Millie Kossowan got married in 1959. Five years later, the Edmonton couple welcomed their first son, Bradley John. When he was just 18 months old, the Kossowans noticed strange symptoms in their toddler: Bradley was persistently fatigued and bruised at the slightest touch. The young parents took Bradley to their pediatrician, and a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia shattered their world. In 1965, there were no dedicated cancer facilities like the Cross Cancer Institute, which opened three years later. As such, treatment options for children with cancer were limited.
When Millie became pregnant again, the Kossowans consulted a geneticist. The odds of having another child with leukemia, they were told, were “about as likely as winning the lottery.” In 1966, they welcomed their second son, Peter Cameron. Yet when he was just 18 months old, the same signs of leukemia appeared. Once again, the Kossowan family received another leukemia diagnosis. They had two young sons with cancer.
Bradley passed away in August 1967. In 1968, the family adopted a daughter, Carmelle. It was a decision shaped by the desire to escape a “relentless cloud of worry.” Peter Cameron lived with cancer for a few years, but died in May 1971.
Peter and Millie worked through their grief by helping others. They joined parent advocacy groups to support other parents whose children had diseases with poor outcomes, worked to improve the pediatric care system in Edmonton and brought a sense of kinship to families walking the same road of cancer treatment.
“We had already been through loss,” Peter says. “To provide hope for others and bring community to these families was our personal mission.”
Yet the Kossowan family’s experience with cancer wasn’t over. In 2003, Millie was diagnosed with an aggressive, metastasized colon tumour. She passed away in 2005, leaving Peter determined to turn loss into legacy. Peter’s employer, Great-West Life (now Canada Life), spearheaded a memorial golf tournament in Millie’s honour. Over three years, the tournaments raised more than $140,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
“My mother taught me that helping a neighbour was more important than helping yourself.”
—Peter kossowan
That commitment to give back continues with Carmelle, who worked in the Foundation from 2012 to 2017 as vice president of communications and marketing. “This wasn’t [just] a job,” says Carmelle, who has been a monthly donor since 2017. “It was an opportunity to ensure that progress continues to be made and that, someday, we will have a future that is cancer-free.”
In the ‘60s, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was less than 10 per cent. By 2019, that number had climbed to over 90 per cent. That drastic leap in prognosis was not accidental — it’s the result of decades of research, supported by generous, sustained financial contributions from families like the Kossowans.
Now 95 years old, Peter Kossowan has watched cancer research transform and outcomes have greatly improved.
“I’m not a doctor or a researcher,” he says. “I can’t discover the cure for cancer. But I’m ever hopeful that I will see [cures], so no family ever has to endure the heartbreak we did.”
