The Board of Directors of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is pleased to announce the appointment of Shelly Jamieson as CEO effective July 3, 2012.

“Ms. Jamieson’s appointment comes at an exciting time for Canada’s cancer control community. Working together over the past five years we have moved Canada’s cancer strategy forward significantly, engaging the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control as the blueprint for our shared efforts and focusing on priorities and initiatives with the greatest potential for impact,” said Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, Chair of the Partnership’s Board of Directors. “The recent publication of the Partnership’s 2012-17 strategic and business plan, together with today’s announcement of new leadership for the organization, builds on the accomplishments of the first mandate and begins the next phase of Canada’s cancer strategy.”

To the role of CEO, Ms. Jamieson brings strong executive experience in the public and private sectors, primarily in healthcare. Most recently, she held Ontario’s highest-ranking civil servant role as Secretary of Cabinet, Head of the Ontario Public Service and Clerk of the Executive Council. She also served as Deputy Minister of Transportation for the province of Ontario. Roles previously held by Ms. Jamieson include Vice-President of Operations and then President of Extendicare Canada, a provider of long-term care; volunteer commissioner on the Health Services Restructuring Commission; and Executive Director of the Ontario Nursing Home Association (now the Ontario Long-Term Care Association). In all of these roles, Ms. Jamieson has demonstrated a commitment to the importance of effective partnerships in achieving meaningful outcomes.

“Ms. Jamieson’s experience in the public and private sectors and her commitment to partnerships and results will serve us well as we build on achievements to date,” said Chris Clark, incoming Chair of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Chair of the CEO Search Committee. “We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to advance Canada’s cancer strategy and reduce the burden of cancer on Canadians.”

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Canada’s cancer and health communities are continuing to work together towards a common goal – reducing the impact of cancer on Canadians – with the publication of a five-year plan entitled Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision. The plan, which documents shared cancer priorities for 2012 to 2017, was developed over the past 18 months by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer in consultation with a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including people personally affected by cancer.

“Last year, approximately 177,800 Canadians were diagnosed with cancer – a number comparable to the population of Kelowna or Sudbury. A health challenge as complex as cancer requires a coordinated approach to reduce the impact of the disease on individuals, families, and the broader health system,” said Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, MD, Chair of the Partnership’s Board of Directors.  “As one of a handful of countries with a national cancer plan, Canada is demonstrating how cancer and health organizations within our borders can collaborate across provinces and territories and differing mandates.”

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer was created in 2007 to implement Canada’s first national cancer strategy, which was developed over many years by cancer professionals and patients across the country. Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision represents the evolution of that initial strategy and builds on progress already made as well as emerging needs and priorities. The program of work planned for the next five years continues to reflect the national cancer strategy and support the cancer control continuum.

“The Partnership is privileged to continue implementing Canada’s national cancer strategy with our partners,” said Jessica Hill, CEO of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. “With a mandate that continues until 2017, we have an unprecedented opportunity to build on the achievements of the past five years, intensifying and focusing our efforts to ensure Canadians benefit from a coordinated effort to tackle cancer. Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision describes how we plan to do just that.”

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is pleased to announce the unanimous election of Chris Clark as Chair, effective at the end of June 2012.

Chris Clark has served on the Partnership’s Board since the organization’s creation in 2007 and has been a member of the executive committee since that time. Since 2009 he has served as the Chair of the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee and most recently as the chair of the CEO search committee. His interest in the Partnership is the result of a personal connection: he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in May 2006. Since retiring from his position as Chief Executive Officer and Canadian Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a role he held from 2005 to 2011, he has welcomed the opportunity to play a greater leadership role in the Partnership’s governance.

Chris Clark will take over the role of Chair from Dr. Simon Sutcliffe who has served in this position since June 2009 and before that as Vice Chair. Dr. Sutcliffe was extensively involved in the development of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control which led to the creation of the Partnership, and as Chair he led the organization through the successful conclusion of its first mandate. 

The Partnership wishes Dr. Sutcliffe all the best in the future and welcomes Chris Clark as Chair of the Board.

Good news!  Early bird registration for the World Cancer Congress has been extended to April 30.

Registering for the congress by April 30th will allow organizations to take advantage of reduced rates, and save up to 60% on regular registration fees. Additionally, groups of five or more can register now at discounted rates, and provide names of delegates attending anytime before June.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/WCCRegister.

Created in 2007 with an initial five-year mandate that has since been renewed for a second five-year term, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is an independent organization funded by the federal government to accelerate action on a national cancer control strategy.  The Partnership works with partners across the country to harness the best of what is working well to control cancer and to effectively implement this strategy.  With its partners, the Partnership shares the common goals of reducing the risk of cancer, lessening the likelihood of Canadians dying from cancer and enhancing quality of life for those affected by cancer. These goals drive the national cancer control strategy and are central to the work being advanced from coast to coast to coast.  The successful execution and measurement of the Partnership’s strategic priorities for 2012-17 are critical to the strategy’s impact in reducing the burden of cancer on Canadians.

The Partnership’s Board of Directors is a key mechanism for overseeing the organization’s accountability to Canadians. Reflecting the diversity of stakeholders in the cancer community, it includes federal and provincial appointees as well as elected directors. Elected directors include five regional representatives*; representatives from the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies and Canadian Cancer Society;  individuals providing perspectives and insights from the aboriginal community and through personal experience with cancer as a patient, survivor or family member; and representatives from the fields of health and business. 

General Responsibilities
The successful candidate would be expected to attend Board meetings (at least four meetings per year) in cities across Canada as well as participate on one of the Committees reporting to the Board. Committee meetings are usually held via teleconference, and like the Board meetings, take place at least four times per year. 

Qualifications
Candidates interested in serving as a Director at Large should have knowledge of provision of health services in the Canadian health system.  

Applications are welcome from applicants with broad range of experiences, including finance, human resources and strategic development. 

Past experience on a board and knowledge of the workings of a board from a good governance perspective are an asset. Experience/ knowledge of cancer control is an asset, but is not required. 

Application Process
A completed letter of interest along with a biographical profile should be forwarded to Victoria Faric, Board Liaison, by May 4, 2012. 

Submitted letters of interest for this vacancy will be presented to the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Partnership’s Board for review. The Committee will then make its recommendation to the full Board, which will fill the vacancy.  Only the name of the individual appointed to the Board will be made public. 

If you have any questions, please contact Victoria at 416- 619-5761 or victoria.faric@partnershipagainstcancer.ca.

*The five regions represented on the Partnership’s board are British Columbia/Yukon; Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba/Northwest Territories/Nunavut; Ontario; Quebec; and New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador

The Partnership is pleased to join more than 25 organizations championing April 16 as National Advance Care Planning Day — a day for Canadians to speak with family members and friends about their wishes for end-of-life care. 

Led by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA), National Advance Care Planning Day raises awareness of the need to reflect on and communicate one’s personal care preferences in the event one becomes incapable of consenting to, or refusing, treatment or other care.  Complementary to the awareness campaign is Advance Care Planning in Canada: A National Framework and Implementation, a document released earlier this year to provide guidance for incorporating advance care planning into the health system.  Developed through CHPCA’s Advance Care Planning National Task Group, which includes representatives from a number of legal and health organizations, the document builds on work underway across the county. 

 “Advance care planning is an important part of embedding person-centred care in the cancer journey, which is a key focus of the Partnership’s work,” says Irene Nicoll, director of the Partnership’s Cancer Journey portfolio and member of the Advance Care Planning National Task Group.  “The Partnership is pleased to have collaborated on the development of a national framework for advanced care planning in Canada and will continue to provide guidance to engage the public and health care professionals in advance care planning.” 

In addition to supporting advance care planning, the Partnership is working to improve palliative and end-of-life care for Canadians in many areas including:

• Increasing information and resources available through the Canadian Virtual Hospice, accessible through the Partnership’s portal, cancerview.ca.
• Expanding palliative and end-of-life care education and training for clinicians, such as adapting the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care–Oncology (EPEC™-O) curriculum for use in Canada.
• Developing and implementing tools to better understand the characteristics of terminally ill cancer patients and their resource use in the final year of life, an initiative being led through the Hospice Palliative End-of-Life Care Surveillance Network. 

For more information on Advance Care Planning Day, please visit advancecareplanning.ca.   The site features a number of tools and resources, including information about the Speak Up: Start the Conversation About End-of-Life Care campaign, developed to raise awareness of the need for advance care planning. 

For more information the Partnership’s work toward improving the cancer experience please see the Cancer Journey section of our website.

The Partnership is pleased to release Delivering on Our Commitments: 2012 Targets Status Report, which charts the organization’s progress on performance targets for initiatives across the priority areas of Canada’s cancer control strategy. The document illustrates the achievements made by taking a co-ordinated and national approach to cancer control. 

The Partnership has been privileged to implement, in collaboration with its partners, a national cancer strategy to reduce the impact of the disease on Canadians. The terms of that strategy were defined by the collective vision, and more than a decade of work, of over 700 cancer practitioners and survivors from coast to coast. The strategy targeted pan-Canadian, system-level change with a patient and survivor focus and included initiatives to advance investment in priority areas. When the Partnership began, the organization defined desired outcomes for each initiative and set 55 performance targets to achieve within its first five years. 

Delivering on Our Commitments: 2012 Targets Status Report provides details on the 55 targets. The report indicates that by the end of the Partnership’s initial mandate in March 2012, 51 of the targets will be fully achieved, with some exceeding their 2012 goals and demonstrating early evidence of impact. Other report highlights include the following:

• Significant gains have been made across the Partnership’s six priority initiatives, which received special emphasis in the first mandate because of their potential for concrete results in the short term that would lead to better decisions, care and outcomes for Canadians. These initiatives are Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP), Colorectal Cancer Screening, the National Staging Initiative, System Performance Reporting, cancerview.ca, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis Cancer Control.
• Co-ordinated efforts, facilitated by the Partnership, to improve culturally relevant and people-specific cancer control initiatives are also gaining momentum. A people-specific and culturally responsive First Nations, Inuit and Métis Cancer Control Action Plan, supported by national Aboriginal organizations, is in place to enhance cancer control with and for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
• Work continues on two targets that have been partially achieved for the Partnership’s largest and most complex multi-jurisdictional initiatives — the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project and the National Staging Initiative.
• As implementation of the Cervical Cancer Screening and Health Human Resources initiatives progressed, the implementation evolved for each, which resulted in their initial targets being out of scope.

As the Partnership completes its first five-year mandate in March 2012 and prepares for the sixth year of its term, the report demonstrates the successes that can be achieved through collaboration. 

Click here to read Delivering on Our Commitments: 2012 Targets Status Report.

Canada’s research community will have the opportunity to draw upon and contribute to the country’s largest database of population health research as part of a new collaboration between the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (the Partnership), Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). 

The collaboration is specific to Genome Canada and CIHR’s Genomics and Personalized Health competition. Research teams that are successful in this competition may have the option to access and use data from across Canada through the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP), which is funded by the Partnership. In addition, cardiovascular-oriented research projects applying through the competition may qualify for shared funding from the Partnership.

Results of such research will enrich the breadth of scientific studies that CPTP can support in the future and will also deepen the information available through CPTP as it progressively grows its warehouse of data. Over time, this powerful, publicly funded resource will enable the research community to answer critical questions about the development of heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions. 

The Genomics and Personalized Health competition targets projects that will demonstrate how genomics-based research can contribute to a more evidence-based approach to health and improving the cost-effectiveness of the healthcare system. In addition to the Partnership, the Cancer Stem Sell Consortium is also a funding partner. 

“Our collaboration with Genome Canada and CIHR means that the broader research community can benefit sooner from data collected through the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project by putting it to use within the next several years,” said Dr. Heather Bryant, Vice-President of Cancer Control at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. “We are grateful to the growing number of Canadians who are voluntarily contributing information about their health and habits to CPTP to help researchers better understand why some people develop heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions – while others do not.” 

The largest study of its kind to date in Canada, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project is a prospective cohort study, meaning researchers follow a large group of people from a variety of backgrounds and regions over the long term. Researchers regularly collect and analyze health and other information, along with samples such as blood and urine. This method will help to secure a more complete picture of study participants’ health and habits, including what they eat, how much they exercise and how these factors may change with time. The study also records environmental variables such as where people work and live. The collection of health data from Canadians aged 35 to 69 from many parts of the country will support leading-edge Canadian and international research for decades to come. 

The World Health Organization proposes that a third of all cancer cases could be prevented, another third cured, and the rest effectively managed if care consistently complied with existing evidence-based strategies.^1,2

This bold vision for standardized care is centred on the systematic development of cancer control guidelines and their effective implementation throughout clinical practice. Now, thanks to a comprehensive set of guideline development resources at www.cancerview.ca/guidelines, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is supporting this effort on a national scale.

Guidelines are documents that help the cancer community make sound decisions regarding the prevention, screening, diagnosis, management, and treatment of cancer. Based on the most up-to-date and rigorous scientific and medical evidence, guidelines help busy physicians and other health professionals navigate through a sea of drug discoveries, ever-evolving practices and conflicting research results. While they don’t take the place of professional judgment, guidelines offer a solid base of evidence for decision-making by doctors and their patients.

The rigorous, systematic process by which high quality guidelines are developed takes extensive knowledge, clinical resources and time. A single guideline document can take a year or more to develop, involving clinical experts, program staff and external reviewers. This has posed a significant barrier for many Canadian provinces and territories, which are each responsible for developing guidelines that reflect their local context and capacity.

Jill Petrella at Cancer Care Nova Scotia (CCNS) has first-hand experience with this issue. As the manager responsible for coordinating guideline development for CCNS, she has spent more than a decade working with others across Canada to advance the support for guideline development that she herself needs.

“In Nova Scotia, we don’t have the resources to be doing brand new systematic reviews for every cancer guideline,” she explains. “What we need is better access to existing information and resources, training to improve our knowledge and capacity, and support to help us develop our guidelines the best way we can.”

As part of its mandate to support a national cancer strategy, the Partnership committed to addressing this need early on. “The guideline development community is rather small and it’s a bit of a patchwork across the country,” acknowledges Dr. George Browman, Chair of the Guidelines Advisory Group at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. “We saw that the Partnership could really contribute by creating centralized resources that everyone could access – not only guidelines professionals but also the much larger community of professionals who deliver cancer care – to improve the quality and uniformity of practice for patients across the country.”

In 2007, the Partnership began funding the Capacity Enhancement Program (CEP), which is based at McMaster University. Today, the CEP offers a variety of key resources developed by and for Canada’s guideline development community.

At the centre of the program is www.cancerview.ca/guidelines, where visitors will find a one-stop shop of tools to help cancer guideline developers across the country, including access to two main resources: The SAGE Directory of Cancer Guidelines and the Guidelines Resource Centre.

The SAGE Directory of Cancer Guidelines is a searchable database of almost 1,900 cancer guidelines – a quarter of which have been developed in Canada – that have already been assessed for quality. The inventory also houses listings of guidelines in development, and guidelines in need of an update, to facilitate collaboration between developers.

The Guidelines Resource Centre houses reference materials and tools to support practice guideline development, including how-to manuals, templates, checklists and key publications. Visitors can also access presentations, webinar recordings and popular YouTube videos that target specific issues in guideline development and implementation.

A third area of focus for the CEP is the development of sustainable communities of stakeholders through in-person and online training initiatives centred on the use and appraisal of scientific evidence and guideline development methodologies. Since its inception, the CEP has hosted a total of 18 training events reaching 427 people. A consistent theme of participant feedback is the ability to access information and educational opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available.

Back in Nova Scotia, Jill Petrella is taking full advantage of these resources. “We’ve seized every single opportunity they’ve provided,” she recounts. She recently submitted CCNS’s newly-developed thyroid cancer guideline to the program’s Inter-Provincial External Review service, which coordinates expert review of the document on behalf of the organization.

She’s also enthusiastically sharing CEP’s educational opportunities with colleagues outside the cancer field. “When the program offers its webinars, I invite other guideline developers in the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness,” she says. “We’ve got people working in diabetes, cardiovascular health and renal care all in the conference room together learning from the methodology used in cancer. Without a doubt, it’s improving our knowledge and capacity – and our potential to develop guidelines that improve practice.”

^1. World Health Organization. National Cancer Control Programmes: Policies and Managerial Guidelines, 2002. http://www.who.int/cancer/media/en/414.pdf, accessed February 2012.
^2. World Health Organization. Cancer Control: Knowledge into Action. WHO Guide for Effective Programmes, Diagnosis and Treatment, 2008. http://www.who.int/cancer/modules/FINAL_Module_4.pdf, accessed February 2012.