Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson proclaims National Cancer Survivors Day

This morning, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson proclaimed National Cancer Survivors Day in recognition of the nearly one million cancer survivors living in Canada today. This annual celebration of life took place at City Hall in the presence of representatives of the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network and Prostate Cancer Canada Network Ottawa.

On National Cancer Survivors Day and the days following, thousands of cancer survivors and their families and supporters gather across the globe to honour cancer survivors and to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be fruitful, rewarding and even inspiring. It is also a time to draw attention to the ongoing challenges of cancer survivorship in order to promote more resources, research, and survivor-friendly legislation to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.

Mayor Watson stated that “a cancer survivor is defined as anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of their life; there are nearly one million cancer survivors living in Canada today.”

While early diagnosis and improvements in treatment have resulted in cancer patients living longer, much remains to be done to ameliorate the physical, emotional, and financial effects of cancer on survivors as well as including cancer survivors in decision-making on issues which affect them within Canada’s cancer care and healthcare system.

The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) works to connect patients, survivors and other stakeholder groups with decision makers and the wider community to engage in discussion and to act on evidence-based best practices to alleviate the medical, emotional, financial and social costs of cancer and encourage research on ways to overcome barriers to optimal cancer care and follow-up for survivors in Canada.

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For information or an interview please contact:

Jackie Manthorne
President & CEO
Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
613-898-1871
613-710-3636 (cell)
jmanthorne@survivornet.ca

Photos attached.

 

New Canadian Cancer Survivor Network Chair wants patients to have more say

September 12, 2014, Ottawa, Ontario - Former breast cancer patient Elaine Dean was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) at their recent Annual General Meeting.

Says CCSN President and CEO, Jackie Manthorne: “We are pleased to welcome Elaine as our incoming Board Chair. Her appointment will  help CCSN continue to grow as an organization to achieve our mission, which is to empower collaborative action by cancer patients, families and communities to identify and work to remove barriers to optimal patient care.”

Elaine has been a volunteer member of CCSN Board of Directors since shortly after its incorporation in November 2011. Since 1990, she has participated as a trained consumer reviewer in peer review panels here in Canada as well as in the U.S. and overseas. Elaine has also served as spokesperson on breast cancer issues for CCSN, a role she will continue as Chair.

Says Elaine: “What is unique about CCSN is its ability to represent the voice of Canadians as cancer patients and cancer survivors, with Canada’s healthcare professionals, the public and with policy makers. As an organization, we are deeply committed to sharing the latest information available to Canadians about cancer. What we would like to see, is more active engagement of patients and former patients within Canada’s healthcare community.”

More than 2 in 5 of Canadians experience a cancer diagnosis over the course of their lifetime. While improvements continue to be made in the early diagnosis and treatment of the different forms of cancer, with research ongoing to find cures, more needs to be done.

Elaine’s election by CCSN members is an indication of the growing opinion within the organization that breast cancer patient and survivor concerns need more universal understanding and attention, and a seat at the table.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers both facing and feared by women in Canada today. Treatment is still not as effective or as coordinated as it should be, and unnecessary errors continue to be made in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Awareness continues to be a challenge, and more attention needs to be paid to the ongoing financial, emotional, family and workplace needs of Canadians and their families, who are experiencing or have experienced this disease.

To learn more about CCSN, please visit www.survivornet.ca or get engaged through social media:

Twitter: @survivornetca

Blog: http://jackiemanthornescancerblog.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanadianSurvivorNet

Poverty the Greatest Barrier to Good Health, Canadians tell CMA Consultation

OTTAWA, July 30, 2013 /CNW/ - Poverty kills. That's the key message in What Makes us Sick, a report released today by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) based on what Canadians said during a series of town hall meetings and an online consultation held earlier this year. The national dialogue with Canadians asked them about their experiences with the social determinants of health - the factors that cause people to suffer poor health in the first place.

"Many factors outside the health care system affect a person's health, from inadequate housing to a lack of healthy food to sub-optimal early childhood experiences," said Dr. Anna Reid, CMA president. "What Canadians told us is that poverty is the recurring theme that underpins most of these social determinants of health."

The CMA report included recommendations for action, again, based on what Canadians said. However, Dr. Reid stressed that the report does not lay blame.

"We aren't pointing fingers," she said. "We listened to Canadians and what we heard was that they want sincere, legitimate and real action. As a country we can do better in tackling issues around poverty, housing, early childhood development, food security and culture that can hinder a person's chances to be healthy. There is no one sector responsible for making this happen. It has to be a joint effort, involving health care providers, governments, patients and Canadians from all backgrounds."

The Winnipeg town hall, and many comments across the country, focused on Aboriginal health. Dr. Reid noted that poverty and education for Aboriginal peoples, whose health outcomes fall far short compared to the rest of the Canadian population, were among the issues discussed by Canada's premiers at their summer meeting last week in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

"As one of the panelists said, we talk about success in life in terms of working hard and going up the ladder. With Aboriginal children, many won't even reach the bottom rung."

Dr. Reid also said physicians have a responsibility to be proactive. "Some people have asked me what poverty, housing and so on have to do with physicians. While we certainly are not the experts on these areas, we are experts in caring for our patients and we see every day how the social determinants of health affect them."

The national dialogue was part of the CMA's ongoing efforts in advocating for Health Care Transformation, a broad-ranging initiative to modernize and improve Canada's health care system. The town halls took place in Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Montreal, Charlottetown and St. John's. Maclean's, CPAC and L'actualité were partners with the CMA in the undertaking.

An electronic copy of What Makes us Sick can be found at http://www.cma.ca/advocacy/cma-media-centre.

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is the national voice of Canadian physicians. Founded in 1867, the CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing more than 77,000 of Canada's physicians and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 51 national medical organizations. CMA's mission is to serve and unite the physicians of Canada and be the national advocate, in partnership with the people of Canada, for the highest standards of health and health care.

SOURCE Canadian Medical Association