Recap: Cancer is Personal: Humanizing Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada public conference

By Georgia Skardasi and Sevtap Savas, PhD

We are pleased to provide a summary of the public conference titled “Cancer is Personal: Humanizing Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada” for those who missed it.

This Conference was a free and virtual public event focusing on cancer and Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada. It was held on March 15, 2025. Conference talks can be freely accessed here: https://shorturl.at/ZvxHD.

This conference was organized by the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC).

The conference started with the opening keynote session featuring four patients and family members from each of the Atlantic provinces (Cara MacInnis, Marcelo Martinez, Gilles LeBlanc, Tracy Slaney). They spoke about their perspectives regarding precision medicine, patient and family priorities and needs in the region, and the emotional, psychological, and financial impact of cancer. This session was eye opening in many ways and showcased the lived cancer experiences in Atlantic Canada, not only from the patients’, but also from the family members’ point of view.

Dr. Sevtap Savas provided a snapshot of the team that organized the conference and the goals they hoped to achieve by doing so. This public event was organized by the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC), which includes cancer patients, family members, a clinician and cancer researchers from Atlantic Canada. This team worked for over a year organizing and identifying the topics of this conference, in hopes of benefiting members of the general public, and patients and families going through cancer.

The last session prior to lunch break was about precision medicine. Two clinicians from New Brunswick talked about this treatment strategy in oncology; Dr. Tony Reiman and Dr. Rodney Ouellette. Dr. Ouellette’s talk was one of the three sessions delivered in French for the Francophone population in Atlantic Canada. Both talks were informative and ignited engagement about this important cancer prevention and treatment strategy. Dr. Reiman also talked about the Atlantic Cancer Consortium, its activities, and its achievements to date.

The afternoon sessions focused on various clinical programs and support services available to Atlantic Canadians, as well as on advocacy.

Kathleen Buckley and Derrick Bishop talked about hereditary cancers and genetic counselling services in the Maritimes, and about having hereditary cancer and its impact on the individual, respectively. Around 5-10% of cancer cases are estimated to be hereditary in nature, meaning we inherit some genetic risk factors from our parents. In families affected by hereditary cancer, oftentimes the age of onset is earlier and there may be multiple cancers in the same individual, or multiple family members may be diagnosed with the same or related cancers. In hereditary cancers, genetic testing and counselling may inform individuals and help create personalized cancer prevention plans.

Dr. Angela Hyde, an oncologist and clinician-scientist, talked about cancer statistics in Canada, common cancer risk factors, and cancer screening programs available to the population. We also had Dr. Ravi Ramjeesingh delivering a talk on clinical oncology trials and the Atlantic Clinical Trials Network in a concurrent session. These two sessions improved our understanding on how to prevent or early detect cancer, and what clinical trials mean.

The conference highlighted the patient navigator programs in the region. We had 5 patient navigators from all four Atlantic provinces (Jocelyn Farrell, Nicole Cardoulis, Chantal Boudreau, Olivier Savoie (delivered his session in French), and Michelle Barton) who spoke about this service and how they help patients and families going through cancer navigate the medical system and appointments, or newcomers who are looking for cancer screening programs.

Following these talks, we had conversations by representatives of underserved communities – Lianne Mantla-Look (an Indigenous person from Northwest Territories) who talked about her experience with stomach cancer and the importance of self-advocacy in the clinic for receiving the best care possible. Dr. Amanda Bolderston, on the other hand, talked about the cancer experiences of queer persons in Canada and the national organization that supports them (Queering Cancer). These sessions were important reminders of the extra barriers that many may experience, and how we can make things better for all.

One other important topic that the conference focused on was the psychological and social needs of cancer-affected individuals and the available psychological support services. Marianne Arab and Kimberley Thibodeau talked about these critical services and emphasized their importance on post-diagnosis well-being. Many participants agreed that psychological/emotional support should be offered to all patients/families affected.

The last two talks of the conference, delivered by local advocates Jennifer Coish and Tracy Slaney, were truly inspirational as they focused on individual advocacy. Jennifer and Tracy talked about the reasons behind their advocacy and the ways they practice it for their own and other families affected by cancer. In the same session, Heather Mulligan from Canadian Cancer Society presented the organization’s work and how their systemic advocacy changed things for the better (for example, in terms of paid job protection, by reducing the age of screening for breast cancer, and in many other ways). This session left us feeling very optimistic about the future.

Finally, the closing keynote was delivered by Darrell Fox, the younger brother of Terry Fox. Darrell talked about Terry, the Marathon of Hope (and how he started it in St. John’s on April 12, 1980), and Terry’s overall legacy. Terry’s story, vision and legacy is profoundly touching to all Canadians. We are all team Terry.

To wrap up, it was a day of hope, sharing, connection, and empowerment. We are grateful for all speakers and participants, the ACC PAC team that worked over a year to organize and deliver this wonderful public event, and our funders.

From left to right: Jennifer Coish (organizing committee), Tracy Slaney (caregiver speaker), Sevtap Savas (organizing committee), and Georgia Skardasi (organizing committee).

*Georgia Skardasi, MSc. Conference organizing committee; ACC PAC; Memorial University of Newfoundland
**Sevtap Savas, PhD. Conference organizing committee; ACC PAC; Memorial University of Newfoundland