Community Linkages

April 2012 marks the beginning of the Partnership’s second five-year mandate and the next phase of implementing Canada’s national cancer strategy. The priorities and initiatives for the next five years are outlined in our 2012-2017 strategic plan, Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision. Our website will soon be updated to reflect the activities supporting the strategic plan. The information below reflects the priorities and accomplishments of our work between 2007 and 2012. 

The Partnership relies on advice and perspectives from hundreds of individuals and organizations to ensure that its collective work builds on innovative programs already underway, addresses new breakthroughs and emerging issues, and — most importantly — has a meaningful impact on Canadians affected by cancer.

Commitments in three major areas encompass the many aspects of the Partnership’s work to facilitate equitable cancer care and services for all groups within Canada’s diverse population.

• In our work to address the unique cultural perspectives and cancer control challenges of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, the communities themselves are central to program planning and delivery, and cultural and people-specific responses are incorporated where required. Current initiatives include programs to address the special challenges posed by remote and rural settings.

• Responding to a population that is vulnerable to being underserved and has experienced fewer recent improvements in five-year survival rates than children and older cancer patients, the Partnership is supporting work to investigate and raise awareness of the issues facing adolescents and young adults, and to steer the system to provide better, more equitable treatment and care for this population.

• Successful development and implementation of a pan-Canadian cancer control strategy depends on hearing the patient voice—ensuring that patients, survivors and families inform every stage of the work. Central to these efforts to promote a patient-centered perspective is the Partnership’s close collaboration with patient advocacy groups and patient support organizations.

The Partnership’s work to identify and resolve the challenges facing underserved and vulnerable communities, as well as to highlight issues that are easily overlooked in cancer control, will result in a more equitable and efficient cancer system in Canada.