One Vancouver father has come to symbolize the hundreds of Canadians who need a bone marrow donor.

Joe Chernoff is beginning chemotherapy for the second time. The 56-year-old father of three is battling acute myeloid leukemia, a disease that starts in the bone marrow.

First diagnosed after feeling ill while on a business trip in December 2007, he has already had one bout of chemo, but recently found out it had come back after a year of remission.

"This one just sort of came right out of left field. I was in Japan on a business trip and over there was just feeling a little ragged and I just chalked it up to a combination of jet lag and just tired," he said.

His wife, Cathie Grant, says the second time has been hard on the family.

"This time around it was probably more devastating because we were convinced that we'd beaten this, and it wasn't any longer going to be part of our lives," she said.

Now, Chernoff is looking for a bone marrow donor. So far, he hasn't been able to find a perfect match.

"What they're looking for is a 10 out of 10 match -- a perfect match -- and we can't find that for Joe. The best that they could find was an eight," said Grant.

Becoming a potential donor can be done at home, by sending for a cheek swab kit. More than 200,000 Canadians have already signed up. But finding a match isn't as easy.

There are about 700 people in Canada right now looking for bone marrow stem cell donors to be their perfect match

"It's pretty high odds to find your one match and therefore the more people that are on the registry the better likelihood we have of people being able to find a donor," said Angela Poon of Canadian Blood Services.

Chernoff's odds may be better among people in the Russian community, based on his family background, but his search has no limits.

"My intention initially was just to contact friends and family but it just snowballed from there," Grant said of their search.

They've been hearing from complete strangers who want to help, but are still searching for that elusive match.

"It really is sort of like blood donor type donation you can really make a huge change in somebody's life," said Chernoff.

For more information on how to donate please click here.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber.