Published September 22, 2026
Carley Elle Allison faced an extremely rare form of cancer with extraordinary courage and an infectious positivity she called "Always Smile." Because there was no established treatment protocol for her disease, her family searched for every possible way to support her, combining traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery with complementary therapies that cared for her physical and emotional well-being.
These supports made a meaningful difference in Carley's experience. But they were often difficult to find, access, and integrate into her hospital care.
In honour of Carley, her parents, Mark and May Allison, her sisters, Riley and Samantha, and her boyfriend, John, founded Carley's Angels. Their mission is to give more patients and families access to integrative cancer care, an approach that recognizes and supports the whole person throughout their cancer journey.
"Cancer care should address the disease, but also the physical, emotional and practical realities of living through it," the Allisons say. "Integrative cancer care should not be something patients have to discover, fight for or navigate on their own. It should simply be part of excellent cancer care."
That belief inspired them to participate as Carley's Angels in The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Ride. Led by Mark and May, the team has raised more than $950,000 together since their foundation was established in 2015.
It also inspired Carley's Angels to make an inaugural $300,000 investment in the Cancer Experience Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a time when connection and the human side of healthcare had been pushed into the background, the family saw an opportunity to help patients more easily access resources that could support their mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Their support helped give the program early momentum and encouraged more donors to invest, demonstrating how philanthropy can help a promising idea grow into something far-reaching and sustainable.
To launch their second decade of fundraising, Carley's Angels have made a new $300,000 commitment to Care & Connect, an initiative within the Cancer Experience Program that connects patients and caregivers with trained navigators. These navigators help people identify and access supports that are right for them, so they do not have to manage the complexities of cancer alone.
Today, Carley's Angels has cumulatively raised and donated over $1.5 million in support of comprehensive care at The Princess Margaret, an achievement the Allisons are very proud of and a true testament to their belief in the importance of providing cancer patients with the resources to thrive beyond their diagnosis.
Care & Connect is now being implemented and studied with the goal of demonstrating its effectiveness and creating a model that could eventually be adopted by cancer centres across Canada. Early momentum has been encouraging, with the rate of patient self-referrals doubling in 2026 compared with 2025.
Providing comprehensive care for patients and their loved ones is one of the key priorities for Carry The Fire, Canada's largest cancer fundraising campaign, making the Allisons' gift a meaningful investment in holistic mental health, caregiver, and survivorship support.
For Carley's family, this work is both a tribute and a promise: to create the comprehensive care they wish had been easier for Carley to access and to ensure future patients receive support for every dimension of their well-being.
"Every patient who gains access to better support because of something Carley inspired allows a piece of her legacy to continue."