What works best to reduce stress for breast cancer patients?

What’s better at relieving stress for breast cancer patients after treatment: talk therapy with other breast cancer survivors, or relaxation programs that include yoga and meditation?

It’s a question the BC Cancer Agency is trying to answer through a three-year study called MINDSET, conducted collaboratively with the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.

The study compares two support programs practiced in North America for breast cancer patients: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Supportive Expressive Therapy (SET). While both MBSR and SET are shown to help improve mood, anxiety and quality of life, this is the first study comparing these therapies to determine if they have different effects on psychological well-being and stress hormone levels.

“Both programs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing stress,” says Dr. Elaine Drysdale, BC Cancer Agency psychiatrist and co-investigator of the study. “We want to find out if one therapy is more effective overall for breast cancer survivors in the short term and in the long term.”

For the full story, please visit: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2008/mindset.htm

Accreditation: new process means greater staff engagement

The Canadian Council on Health Services (CCHSA)  has revised its accreditation program to include new standards of measuring quality; streamlining and making the process more flexible; and a greater focus on providing safe quality care. The new process also provides more opportunity for staff from throughout the organization to participate by completing self-assessment questionnaires relating to the standards. The questionnaires will focus on the following standards:

• cancer population (how well are we serving our diverse communities in the province?)
• cancer care and oncology services
• medication management
• infection prevention and control
• proactive and supportive organization (how well can we access trends and plan accordingly, including working with partners to optimize resources)
• diagnostic imaging (Vancouver Centre specific)
• operating room/surgical procedures (Vancouver Centre specific) Staff will complete questionnaires on-line, which are then tabulated by the CCHSA. Based on the data from questionnaires, a ‘Quality Performance Road Map’ will be prepared. The Agency leadership along with committees that are responsible for reviewing the standards, will develop action plans to address areas needing improvement. Over the next several months, leading up to the surveyors site visit in June 2009, the Agency will be required to demonstrate to the CCHSA that areas of improvement have been addressed. 

Surveyors will visit each regional centre to directly observe and engage with staff from throughout the organization, as they review 20 key priority processes, which are known to have a significant impact on the quality of care and services. Those areas are:

• community assessment
• planning and service design
• population and health wellness
• chronic disease management
• emergency preparedness
• physical environment
• human capital
• principle-based care and decision-making
• client and provider safety
• communication
• patient flow
• episode of care and service
• decision support
• diagnostic services
• blood services
• medical devices, equipment use, and operating supplies
• medication management
• infection control
• integrated quality management
• resource management

Surveyors may randomly pick a priority area, for example patient flow, and observe how a patient goes through each step, or be led through as a patient, in order to better assess the patient experience.

There are also six patient safety goal areas: culture, communication, medication use, work life/workforce, infection control, and falls prevention with 25 required organizational practices which will need to be addressed.

“It is a more involved process than previously, but ultimately more meaningful, because of the detailed assessment that will be provided on what we’re doing well and what needs improvement,” says Rosmin Esmail, director, Quality, Safety and Risk Management, BC Cancer Agency.

“Also, it will provide an opportunity for input from staff throughout the organization, and that’s important to give surveyors an accurate assessment of the care and services we provide.”

For more information on the Agency’s accreditation process, please contact Rosmin at resmail@bccancer.bc.ca  

State-of-the-art facility and Agency’s world-renowned reputation draw for staff

With the opening of the new BC Cancer Agency Abbotsford Centre only a few months away, hiring for unfilled positions will ramp-up this March. The majority of the roughly 127 positions will be filled in time for orientation and training before the centre opens this Summer.

Several key leadership positions will be shared between the Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centres. For instance, Dr. Frances Wong, chief physician for the Fraser Valley Centre, will also take on the role of chief physician for Abbotsford. Over the past several months, the shared leadership team has been responsible for hiring critical positions such as medical and radiation oncologists, physicists, and clinical leaders for the Abbotsford Centre.

Now the focus is shifting to recruitment for radiation therapists, nurses, pharmacy, nutrition, counselling, clerical, and support staff. The positions will be posted internally within the BC Cancer Agency, and then unfilled vacancies will be posted externally.

It’s a strategy that has worked well in the past with the opening of new cancer centres in the Fraser Valley (1995) and in Kelowna (1998). “The ideal situation is to bring in skilled professionals from other centres to maintain the high level of excellence in providing care and for those skilled professionals to orient new employees joining the Agency from other facilities, outside the province, or country,” says Mary Flaherty, Interim Director of Regional Operations at the BC Cancer Agency Fraser Valley and Abbotsford Centres.

If you are interested in a position at the new Abbotsford Centre, positions will be updated regularly at H:\EVERYONE\HumanRes\POSTINGS. If you have any questions, please contact Heather Denusik at 604.877.6117, or hdenusik@phsa.ca

You’re invited to the Centre for the Southern Interior’s Open House

In April of 1998, more than 4,000 people formed a line-up stretching past the front doors and far beyond the parking lot to a single building. The line-up was not for a rock concert, nor was it for the Kelowna Rockets’ quarter finals; it was to celebrate the grand opening of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for the Southern Interior.

“When we opened our doors back in 1998, we were shocked to see the overwhelming support coming from the community of Kelowna. There were so many people that we began to panic about what to do because the turn out was just unbelievable,” says Sandra Broughton, Regional Administrator for the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for the Southern Interior.

“It was a great way to begin the opening of a new centre,” says Carol Winn, Clinical Trials Data Coordinator. “Everyone was so welcoming and there was an abundance of positive energy in the building that day.”

Ten years later, the centre is throwing open its doors once again to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and staff from the Agency is invited for the CSI Open House on Saturday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 399 Royal Avenue in Kelowna.

For the full story, please visit: http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2008/csitenyear.htm

Agency provides smoke-free environment

As of March 1, 2008 the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Centre, Research Centre and the Vancouver Island Centre (in conjunction with the Vancouver Island Health Authority) buildings and grounds have been designated smoke-free zones.

The Fraser Valley Centre will be going smoke-free at the end of March, and the Centre for the Southern Interior will follow suit by the end of May.

“Prevention is one of the key pillars of our cancer control strategy,” says Dr. Carla Simon, BC Cancer Agency’s Smoke-free Task Force Chair, “And, we know that smoking causes about 6,000 preventable deaths in B.C. each year, so it’s important we take a leadership role in our communities by designating our buildings and grounds smoke-free.”

For staff requiring support in quitting smoking, the PHSA will now cover the cost (up to $300) of nicotine replacement therapy (i.e. nicotine patches, gum, inhalers, and medications such as Zyban and Champix) as part of extended health benefits. To find out how to access your NRT benefits, please call the Human Resources benefit call line at 604.875.7205 or e-mail benefits@phsa.ca.The PHSA portal also lists other resources, including quitnow.ca, a free service which provides expert individualized support.

Clinical Tobacco Intervention programs are also available for staff who wish to help patients stop smoking. For a list of upcoming sessions, go to the PHSA Education On-line Calendar from the course catalogue, click on PHSA corporate and then PHSA Smoke-free Education.

If you have any questions, in Vancouver, please contact smokefree@phsa.ca;  in Surrey, feedback@fraserhealth.ca ; in Kelowna, Dianne.stevenson@viha.ca

BC Cancer Agency counsellors first in country to provide on-line support groups

BC Cancer Agency counsellors Karen Flood, Gregory Huebner, Heather Rennie, Shelly Gordon, and Glenda Christie, are among the first in the country to become trained by the Wellness Community to provide on-line group counselling. Karen was the first counsellor in Canada to go “live” and provide real-time group counselling, for a first of its kind study in Canada, for young women with breast cancer.

Using the Internet to provide “real-time” support to cancer patients is relatively new, but holds great potential to reach those who might not have access to services otherwise.

“It’s not meant to replace face-to-face counselling, but to meet the needs of the people who want counselling, and may not necessarily be able to access it because they’re not close to a cancer centre, or they may prefer anonymity, or as in the case for younger people, it’s a tool they’re more comfortable using” says Karen Flood.

Karen facilitates a 10 week research support group for young women, who have completed treatment, once a week. “It’s not a discussion board, there’s free-flow conversation. The chats are facilitated by an on-line counsellor.” The group is being offered on a continuous intake basis for about the next year and half as part of a study funded by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, which is comparing Internet Support Groups to groups only receiving written information on coping skills.

“Each week we discuss a topic related to cancer. It could be how to better communicate with your spouse or family, or how to cope with the changes that come with a diagnosis,” says Karen. “My role is to enable participants’ sense of wellness and connection, ensure the time spent on-line is being used effectively for maximum therapeutic benefit, and that everyone has a chance to participate.”

Women let Karen know how they’re feeling before and after the on-line meetings by clicking on an "emotional distress thermometer."

A pilot for prostate cancer patients will be launched by Gregory Huebner and another pilot for family caregivers of patients diagnosed with cancer by Heather Rennie this month, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

For more information about these unique on-line groups, please contact Patient and Family Counselling at (604) 930-4000 or (604) 877-6000 extension 2194 or visit http://canada.thewellnesscommunity.org 

Staff Education seminars on culturally sensitive health care practices

Cancer care providers throughout British Columbia identified understanding “cultural issues” as a learning need in a Psychosocial Oncology Survey conducted in 2006. A BC Cancer Agency Planning Committee on Diversity is offering seminars, supported by John Jambor grant funding, to increase cancer care providers’ awareness around the impact of cultural beliefs, attitudes and practices on patient health outcomes.

Dr. Veronica McKinney and Leah May Walker gave the inaugural seminar, “Towards Providing Culturally-Safe Health for Aboriginal Peoples,” in February.

Vicky Smye, who teaches a course at UBC on cultural competency, is the next scheduled speaker on April 11 (videoconferenced to all regional cancer centres). Her talk is about integrating culture and difference into health care.

Four additional seminars will be offered this spring: April 25, May 2, May 23 and May 30. Topics include a seminar on how to work effectively with interpreters; a panel discussion on how the BC Cancer Agency is currently addressing cultural diversity in health care practices; another on health beliefs and practices and how these impact health outcomes; and finally a seminar on culturally appropriate resources available to staff.

Members of the BC Cancer Agency’s Diversity Planning Committee:
Maria Christina Barroetavena, SocioBehavioral Research
Dr Mark Elwood, Vice President Family and Community Oncology
Allison Mitchell, Radiation Therapist, Education, Practice and Development Heather Rennie, Community Education Counsellor
Brenda Ross, Education Resource Nurse
Brigitte Wagner, Counsellor, Patient and Family Counselling

The Diversity Planning Committee envision this educational series to be the first of many BC Cancer Agency initiatives to support both diversity education and culturally sensitive care to patients and family members.

For more information or if you are interested in being part of the planning committee, please contact Maria Christina Barroetavena, (BC Cancer Agency’s SocioBehavioral Research).

BC Cancer Foundation WEBC dollars at work where you work

Since 2004, the Weekend to End Breast Cancer has raised $13 million for the BC Cancer Foundation to invest in breast cancer treatment and research at the BC Cancer Agency. It is now the largest breast cancer fundraising event in the history of BC.

Weekend dollars are at work in:
Clinical research
A $640,000 investment in the four BC Cancer Agency Centres ($160,000 each) will fund clinical research programs being determined by each Centre, in collaboration with the Breast Tumour Group.

Technologies and programs
• $200,000 towards the Agency’s first digital mammography suite
• A live-cell sampling and storage facility
• PET/CT imaging technology
• In vivo imaging system (IVIS)
• High-content, whole-genome genetic screens
• $1 million investment in an animal research facility

Recruitment of experts Weekend to End Breast Cancer funds directed to clinical research at regional centres

Did you know that $640,000 from Weekend to End Breast Cancer proceeds has been designated to the four BC Cancer Agency regional centres to fund clinical or clinically-treated research in breast cancer over the next two years? Look for more details in the March Link.
You can contribute to the vital research being conducted by your Agency colleagues. Join Team BC Cancer in walking 60 km in the fifth annual Weekend to End Breast Cancer on Sept. 5 to 7, 2008, or sign up to crew.

www.endcancer.ca  or phone: 604- 684-9255.

• Dr. Sam Aparicio, recruited from Cambridge University as the Agency’s breast cancer research program leader, supported by a $14 million, seven-year commitment from the Foundation
• Senior scientists Dr. Poul Sorensen in Vancouver and Dr. Peter Watson in Victoria
• Dr. Francois Benard, to head the Agency’s new cancer imaging research program
• $1 million support for the new Patty Clugston Chair in Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Collaborative research
• METABRIC tumour study (Canada and UK )
• PREDICT research initiative, launched in Victoria, expanding to all Centres
• Weekend to End Breast Cancer International Workshop for Canadian, US and UK researchers

Education and patient support
• Drs. Aparicio, Sorensen and Watson mentor 15 students and trainees
• Funding up to $100,000 for info kits for newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients

The success of the Weekend to End Breast Cancer has been driven by the dedication of hundreds of Agency and Foundation staff who have walked, fundraised and crewed. Please join them September 5th to 7th, so we can achieve more! Information and registration is at www.endcancer.ca

Newsmakers

Wieslawa (Visia) Dragowska's image of breast cancer cells prepared by using GE’s InCell Analyzer technology was among the winning entries chosen to be broadcast on the NBC screen in Times Square in March. The entry, Live MCF-7 cells stained for lysosomes and autolysosomes (green) and DNA using cell permeable (blue) and impermeable (red) stains, was one of 14 winning images to be shown.

Visia, who works for the Advanced Therapeutics Laboratory, received support in preparing her entry from Michelle Wong, research technician, researchers Drs. Sharon Gorski and Mohammed Qadir from Genome Sciences Centre and Dr. Marcel Bally, Advanced Therapeutics.

Dr. David Boyes, former director of the BC Cancer Agency, was presented with an honourary BC Transplant Society lab coat to recognize his outstanding contributions to the BC Transplant Society. Dr. Boyes was the second chair of BC Transplant and presided over a period of strong growth and innovation.

Rachel McDonald, student research assistant, Radiation Therapy Research Business Unit and Stuart Jones, student research assistant, Population Outcomes Unit, are the recipients of the third annual Dr. Skaria Alexander Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes the efforts of students supporting care and research at the Vancouver Island Centre. It is named in honour of Vancouver Island Centre's well-respected and exemplary radiation oncologist Dr. Alexander, who served the Island's patients from 1981 to 2001.

Having fun, and raising funds for future radiation therapists. In February, the Vancouver Centre Radiation Therapy Program put the call out for curlers to attend the BC Association for Medical Radiation Technologists (BCAMRT) Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Funspiel. The event raised $1,500 to provide scholarships and bursaries for students.

Debbie Lawrance, nursing, Vancouver Centre, is the 2008 BC Federation of Labour Donna Sheaves Memorial scholarship recipient. As part of her award, Debbie attended a Women in Leadership course. “I really feel so proud that they chose me to receive an award named after such a distinct woman of humanity,” says Debbie.