Canada's battle against the Big C has gotten a boost with the allocation of $60 million to the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. The money will be spent on five main programs such as cancer stem cell research and new cancer detection methods.

Of the amount, $8.7 million will go to the Cancer Research Fund Program and another $9.8 million will be used to purchase high-tech medical equipment for use in 11 research institutions across Ontario.

The $60 million is a portion of the $347 million the provincial government promised the OICR in 2005, spread over five years. Dr. Tom Hudson, scientific director and president of the institute, said with more funds the OICR would be able to bring new research findings to cancer patients.

Hudson told the Toronto Star, "The gap between the research lab and the clinic is so big. We have got to do something about it, and that's what translational research is about, moving research forward to patients."

The institute unveiled on Thursday the One Millimeter Cancer Challenge at a press conference in Toronto. The $12.5 million program seeks to detect tumors as thin as one millimeter in an attempt to introduce early treatment and prevent the thin lump from developing into a cancer.