Reduced wait time will help ease the anxiety women experience waiting for
    diagnosisTORONTO, Oct. 29 /CNW/ - CIBC (CM: TSX;NYSE) today announced a $500,000
donation to Women's College Hospital (WCH) to introduce the CIBC Breast Cancer
Rapid Diagnosis Program, a new and innovative program designed to reduce the
amount of time it takes for patients to get a diagnosis, once breast cancer is
suspected. The donation will go towards the purchase of specialized equipment
needed to make a rapid diagnosis and also creating a comfortable and private
waiting area at WCH for patients undergoing the day-long process.
    The current reality for many women suspected of having breast cancer is a
diagnostic process that can take weeks - or even months - to complete,
factoring in the mammography, ultrasound, biopsy, perhaps an MRI, and waiting
for results. The emotional and psychological stress on the patient and her
family is significant. In some cases, women become concerned that time spent
waiting for a diagnosis could impact the successful treatment of their breast
cancer.
    "Women's College opened the first Cancer Detection Clinic in Ontario to
screen healthy women for early signs of cancer. We were also the first
hospital in Ontario to use mammography," said Dr. Elaine Todres, Chair,
Women's College Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. "Now, thanks to this
generous donation from CIBC, our patients will benefit from rapid diagnosis by
knowing at the end of a one-day visit whether they will need treatment for
breast cancer."
    "At CIBC, we are passionate about helping to create a future without
breast cancer by actively supporting breast cancer research, education and
treatment," said Sonia Baxendale, CIBC's Senior Executive Vice-President,
Retail Markets. "We are proud to support this innovative breast cancer rapid
diagnosis program and Women's College Hospital, a Canadian leader in women's
health."
    CIBC's history of supporting the breast cancer cause dates back to 1992
with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. The Run has
raised more than $170 million since its inception and CIBC and its employees
have raised more than $15 million to help create a future without breast
cancer. In addition, in the last five years, CIBC has contributed more than
$5.5 million to hospitals and research centres across Canada towards breast
cancer treatment and research.

    About CIBC

    CIBC is committed to supporting causes that matter to our clients, our
employees and our communities. We aim to make a difference in communities
through corporate donations, sponsorships and the volunteer spirit of
employees. With a strategic focus on youth, education and health, and employee
commitment to causes, including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run
for the Cure, United Way and the CIBC World Markets Children's Foundation, we
are investing in the social and economic development of communities across the
country. In 2007, CIBC group of companies contributed more than $36 million
worldwide to charitable organizations and community initiatives. Of this,
$27 million was invested in Canada to support national regional and local
organizations. To learn more, visit www.cibc.com/pas.

    About Women's College Hospital

    For the past 100 years, Women's College Hospital has been dedicated to a
single mission: groundbreaking advances in women's health. Women's College
collaborated in the invention of the Pap test. It opened the first provincial
cancer detection clinic and Ontario's first regional Sexual Assault Care
Centre. It delivered the nation's first test-tube quintuplets and was the
first hospital in Ontario to use mammography.
    Today, Women's College is focusing on the one of the most important and
unrecognized healthcare realities. When it comes to health, women and men are
not the same. Sex and gender differences - that is, differences in physiology
and social roles - mean that women have different healthcare needs. That is
why Women's College Hospital is conducting leading-edge research and providing
state-of-the-art services around women's health. As Ontario's first and only
ambulatory care centre and a teaching hospital affiliated with the University
of Toronto, Women's College is leading the way nationally and globally as its
translates new knowledge into better practice.