A new federally funded independent nationwide cancer agency aims to save the lives of more than 400,000 Canadians over the next 30 years.
The newly established Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) will be meeting with Federal Health Minister Tony Clement on Monday for the first time. The goal of the organization is to co-ordinate a national strategy to reduce cancer rates and improve the quality of life of those living with cancer. CPAC is a not-for profit organization that will operate at arm's length from the government.
"This is the first time that Canadians are putting together a national cancer strategy and we're doing it from the ground up. This is not just some government agency deciding things and telling everyone how it's going to work," Clement told CTV's Canada AM.
"We've got cancer survivors, we've got medical oncologists, we've got anti- cancer providers.... all different levels, all at the same table, no hierarchy and working together on a series of different things."
With $260 million promised from Ottawa over the next five years, CPAC will aim to address issues such as research, surveillance, prevention and best practices with relation to the subject of cancer in the country's health care system.
Among the initiatives is an effort to implement an interdisciplinary approach to cancer treatment that considers the well-being of the person while treating the medical condition.
Another pivotal CPAC goal is the effort to increase patient knowledge and access to the care that is available to them -- no matter where they are in the country.
"It's not that a lot of information doesn't exist," Canada AM medical correspondent Dr. Marla Shapiro told CTV's Canada AM.
"This is a way of collaborating so nationally we remove any discrepancies. Everybody has the same information from the same place, whether it comes to surveillance and prevention. And it's really thought that if you look at the numbers, we can make a significant dent in preventing primary cancers over the next 30 years, well over a million in cancer deaths."
Clement has said that the implementation of this new agency will likely help to lay the groundwork for future collaborative health initiatives addressing cardiovascular problems and diabetes.
