Dr. Jennifer Jones, Director of Research, Cancer Survivorship Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is co-leading the ‘Canadian Cancer Survivorship Research Consortium’ to better understand the needs of cancer survivors. (Photo: Eric Forget Photography)
There are over one million cancer survivors in Canada – a number expected to double by 2020.
While the growing number of cancer survivors is a great achievement, the long-term impact of cancer and its treatments on the lives of patients and their families is profound and poses complex problems for our health care system.
New consortium aims to better understand needs of cancer survivors
Feb.21 marked the official launch of the Canadian Cancer Survivorship Research Consortium (CCSRC), which follows five years of collaboration and developmental work among Canadian researchers.
The consortium is driven by its Steering Committee, led by Dr. Jennifer Jones, Director of Research, Cancer Survivorship Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dr. Arminee Kazanjian, Co-Director, Centre for Survivorship Research, Provincial Survivorship Program, BC Cancer Agency.
The CCSRC, with participation across Canada, aims to build the infrastructure for national research collaboration to better understand the needs of cancer survivors, and address them in the best way.
Solidifying Canadian partnerships
The activities of the consortium will facilitate strategic and collaborative action, including:
- National meetings among survivorship experts
- Educational rounds
- Collaborative research submissions for competitive funding
- Knowledge translation of existing research for program implementation and evaluation
- Capacity building
- Increased opportunities for mentoring the next generation of researchers
The Consortium has partnered with leading cancer organizations, researchers, and policy makers to achieve its mandate of promoting survivorship research and knowledge
"The CCSRC is an ambitious and timely initiative that will foster rigorous cancer survivorship studies that will inform policy and practice in a timely fashion to make a difference to cancer patients and families" said Jones. "With the official launch of CCSRC and its new website, we hope to continue building new partnerships with survivorship researchers and agencies".
Current partners include: Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Alberta's CancerBridges, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, the University Health Network's Electronic Living Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Cancer Survivorship Research, and the Canadian Urologic Association.
Partnership and membership is open to any organization or researcher that is interested in collaboration to promote and advance cancer survivorship knowledge.
To visit the CCSRC's new website for more information or how to become a partner: click here.
