Pfizer launches $9M collaboration to tackle cancer

Pfizer is entering into a three-year, $9-million research collaboration with the BC Cancer Agency and the Vancouver Prostate Centre – a University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) Centre of Excellence – to tackle new treatment avenues for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.

This is the single-largest investment by Pfizer into British Columbia’s public research sector, and it recognizes the strength and world-class cancer expertise that resides in this province. The research collaboration project focuses on identifying new biomarkers and treatment targets for breast and ovarian cancer, and will help Pfizer to more efficiently test new agents to delay the progression and improve survival in prostate cancer patients.

The BC Cancer Agency team, led by Dr. Samuel Aparicio, is investigating the genomic landscape of breast cancer using next-generation sequencing, siRNA screens and the BC Cancer Agency’s unique anonymous breast cancer tumour bank with detailed outcomes data on over 4,000 frozen breast cancers. The collaboration aims to identify new therapeutic targets and new biomarkers of disease and treatment.

In addition, as part of the breast cancer research program, ovarian cancer will also be decoded to identify new and much needed biomarkers and therapeutic targets for more personalized approaches in ovarian cancer treatment. Dr. David Huntsman, director of the Ovarian Cancer Research Program at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute will lead that work.

For the full story, please go to http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/
Pfizer+nine+million.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

Largest-ever BC health research project to benefit future generations

Researchers at the BC Cancer Agency are embarking on an ambitious goal to recruit 40,000 British Columbians to participate in the largest health research project ever conducted in this province. All BC residents aged 40 to 69 are eligible to join.

The BC Generations Project will help researchers learn more about how environmental exposures, lifestyle and genetic makeup contribute to the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. It’s part of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow, a 30-year pan-Canadian study to collect health information and biological samples from 300,000 Canadians.

This massive collection will form a high quality, highly-secure data pool that can be used in cancer research studies for decades. And because many of the risk factors for cancer are also risk factors for other diseases, the project will also benefit approved research into the causes of chronic illnesses such as heart and lung disease or diabetes.

“By studying many people from all walks of life, we’ll have a powerful tool for pinpointing the factors that contribute to cancer and chronic diseases among British Columbians,” said Richard Gallagher, principal investigator of the BC Generations Project and head of the Cancer Control Research Program at the BC Cancer Agency.

“This new knowledge will guide our efforts to protect future generations from these devastating diseases.”

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has committed $6.1 million to the BC Generations Project. The Project is also supported by the BC Cancer Agency and endorsed by the BC Cancer Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society – BC and Yukon Division, the Heart and Stroke Association of BC & Yukon, and the BC Lung Association. The director of the BC Generations Project is Dr. Marilyn Borugian, a senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency.

To learn more or to sign up for the BC Generations Project, please visit www.bcgenerationsproject.ca, or call 604-675-8221 or toll-free 1-877-675-8221.

For the full story, please go to www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/generations.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

Agency to lead $1.3-million program evaluating medical-isotope alternatives

Together with TRIUMF and other partners, the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) has received a $1.3-million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to develop an alternative source of medical isotopes. The BC grant is the largest out of seven nationally funded projects.

In the face of a worldwide supply shortage of the key medical isotope Technetium-99m (Tc-99m), the grant will enable BCCA, TRIUMF and a team of researchers from Edmonton, Sherbrooke, and London, Ontario to collaborate on a two-year research project to determine if medical isotopes produced from cyclotrons can be a viable alternative to isotopes produced using nuclear reactors. The BC led team will develop methods to produce technetium using cyclotrons instead of nuclear reactors.

The grant was announced in November by Health Canada as part of a $5.4-million research program called Alternative Radiopharmaceuticals for Medical Imaging. The project will be led by co-principal investigators Dr. Francois Bénard, scientific director of the Centre of Excellence for Functional Cancer Imaging at the BC Cancer Agency, and Dr. Thomas J. Ruth, senior research scientist at TRIUMF and senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency. Dr. Bénard holds the BC Leadership Chair in Functional Cancer Imaging and is a professor of radiology at the University of British Columbia.

For the full story, please go to www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/isotopic+alternatives.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

Chromosomal deletion may lead to bone marrow failure or leukemia

New research at the BC Cancer Agency is helping to explain how specific genetic changes cause the bone marrow disorder - myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) - which causes failure of the bone marrow to produce blood cells and can progress to aggressive leukemia.

Published in the November journal Nature Medicine, researchers at the BC Cancer Agency have identified that a loss of either one of two microRNAs, namely miR-145 and miR-146a on chromosome 5q, can lead to a type of preleukemia called MDS. MicroRNAs are genes that regulate the expression of multiple other genes. MDS is a bone marrow disorder caused by genetic changes in blood stem cells; which results in low blood counts, anemia, and the possibility of bone marrow failure. Thirty to forty percent of patients with MDS may later develop acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer.

“The most common genetic finding in MDS is the loss of part of chromosome 5. However, it has been unclear which genes that reside on this chromosome are responsible for causing the disease,” says principal investigator, Dr. Aly Karsan.

With the new knowledge the loss of the two microRNAs on chromosome 5 play in causing this disorder, researchers can further explain how certain immune modulator drugs can help combat the disease, and potentially be able to treat patients based on their genetics.

For a copy of the full story, please go to:
www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/
leukemiachromosomedeletion.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

BC Cancer Agency President’s Message

I am delighted for my inaugural column in the Link that I have an opportunity to wish you all the best for the holiday season and the New Year. During my first weeks at the Agency, I have travelled to the regional centres and met many staff throughout the province. I have been impressed with your commitment and dedication to cancer care and research in the province and the innovative programs and initiatives being undertaken within the regions and their health authorities.

While I have only been with the Agency a short time, I – along with many others in the global scientific and medical community – have been an admirer of the comprehensive cancer control system in B.C. This year, the BC Cancer Agency has achieved many successes, in both care and research and we will continue to build on this world-class status.

Before I recognize just a few highlights in 2009, I would like to thank interim president Brian Schmidt for his leadership over the past year, and for making my transition to the BC Cancer Agency as seamless as possible.

By all accounts it was a remarkable year. The Agency received accreditation without conditions, a rare accomplishment in healthcare circles. As many of you know, it is an external recognition by Accreditation Canada, of the excellence demonstrated by staff in all facets of cancer control and the exceptional survival outcomes achieved in B.C. The pages of this newsletter, particularly this issue, demonstrate the breadth and depth of research being undertaken by Agency staff. We are moving ahead with our commitment to provide care closer to home with the scheduled opening of the Centre for the North in 2012, and our Abbotsford Centre celebrated its one year anniversary this September.

While I have only been with the Agency a short time, I – along with many others in the global scientific and medical community – have been an admirer of the comprehensive cancer control system in B.C. This year, the BC Cancer Agency has achieved many successes, in both care and research, and we will continue to build on this world-class status. Many of you have asked, what’s next? and where do we go from here? I’m hoping that you will help me define those priorities in the months to come. I will be leading the development of a new strategic plan for the Agency, and I hope that staff from throughout the Agency will contribute in shaping that plan. The plan, which will be aligned with the new PHSA strategic plan, should be ready in the Spring, and it will guide our activities in care and research for the next three years.

But, before we look to the future and to what I have no doubt will be another successful year, I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful and safe holiday season. I will be spending Christmas in Vancouver with my wife and five children, and we are excited to be creating new traditions and memories for our first Christmas in Vancouver. Our eldest, who is attending university in the UK will be coming home for the holidays so it will be a very special time for us. In closing, I wish you and your family the very best of the season, and I look forward to working with you in 2010.


Dr. David Levy
President, BC Cancer Agency

2010 Patient Safety Culture Survey – give us your feedback about patient safety

A culture of patient safety is important because it facilitates shared learning and continuous system improvement in order to provide the best possible care for the people we serve. In order to build upon the safety culture of the BC Cancer Agency and other PHSA agencies, continuous monitoring of performance and commitment is needed so corrective action can be taken when required.

From January 11 to February 5, 2010, the Patient Safety Culture Survey will be available to all BC Cancer Agency employees and medical staff to gather your opinions about how patient safety is approached at the departmental, agency and PHSA-wide level. The online survey will measure perceptions of patient safety and the organizational conditions that can lead to adverse events and patient harm in our organization. Survey results will be used to help identify specific areas of strength and areas for improvement across PHSA and measure how opinions have changed since PHSA’s last Patient Safety Culture Survey conducted in 2007.

The survey URL will be sent by email, and will also be posted for those without email addresses or regular internet access. Even if you don’t have direct contact with patients, you’re encouraged to complete the survey. By taking 10 minutes to respond, you can help improve care for years to come.

If you have questions, contact the Patient Safety Culture Survey team by email at patientsafetyculture@phsa.ca, or by phone at 604.875.2787.

Advancing Strategic Direction #1
Sustain and advance our system of cancer control.

BC scientists first to decode genetic evolution of a breast cancer tumour

BC Cancer Agency scientists have decoded all of the three billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer tumour, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 per cent of all breast cancers, and have found all of the mutations, or “spelling” mistakes that caused the cancer to spread.

The landmark study, published on October 8 as the cover story in the prestigious international science journal Nature, helps unlock the secrets of how cancer begins and spreads, thus pointing the way to the development of new breast cancer treatment targets and therapies.

“I never thought I would see this in my lifetime,” said Dr. Samuel Aparicio, head of the breast cancer research program and research team leader at the BC Cancer Agency. “This is a watershed event in our ability to understand the causes of breast cancer and to develop personalized medicines for our patients. The number of doors that can now be opened to future research is considerable.”

Partnering with the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Aparicio’s team used the latest in next-generation DNA sequencing technology to study the evolution of a single patient’s lobular breast cancer tumour over a nine-year interval. They found 32 mutations in the metastatic cancer tumour and then looked to see how many of those same spelling mistakes were present in the original tumour. The result was surprising - only five of the 32 could have been present in all of the cells of the primary tumour, thus fingering them as the criminals that caused the disease to get started in the first place. These five mutations were previously unknown to researchers as playing a role in cancer.

“This study demonstrates the remarkable capacity of next-generation DNA sequencing technology,” says Dr. Marco Marra, Director, BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre. “The project that decoded the first human genome in 2001 took years and an enormous amount of funding. We were able sequence the breast cancer genome in weeks and at a fraction of the cost.”

For the full story, please go to www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/
breastdnatumourbreakthrough.htm

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot for Powell River

Powell River is the second B.C. community to pilot a colorectal cancer screening program. The $3.8-million Colon Check pilot program was launched in Penticton in January 2009.

Screening test kits are available to the approximately 7,500 eligible individuals between the ages of 50 and 74 living in Powell River. Program participants will be screened using an immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT), which is able to detect blood in the stool that is not visible to the naked eye. The test is easily performed at home and, unlike other colorectal cancer screening tests, does not require any dietary restrictions.

If colorectal cancer is found and treated in the earliest stages, the chance of survival is over 90 per cent. However, people with this type of cancer often exhibit no symptoms and the risk of developing the disease increases with age, particularly after age 50. Screening can detect colorectal cancer before symptoms appear.

The Colon Check pilot will run until December 2010, and the results will then be analyzed to determine the feasibility of expanding the program provincewide.

Colon Check supports B.C.’s overall Cancer Control Strategy and is part of the BC Cancer Agency’s comprehensive cancer-screening program that includes the screening mammography program and cervical cancer screening.

For more information on the Colon Check, please call 1-877-70-COLON (1-877-702-6566) or visit http://coloncheck.bccancer.bc.ca/

For the full story, please go to:
www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/colorectalpowell.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #1
Sustain and advance our system of cancer control.

GPEC receives an unrestricted grant of $250,000 from sanofi-aventis

The Genetic Pathology Ealuation Centre (GPEC), a lab of the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Hospital, is a recognized world leader in cancer research in the area of biomarker technology. This month, with an additional unrestricted grant of $250,000 from sanofi-aventis, GPEC is ready to make even more scientific breakthroughs.

GPEC is responsible for a number of important cancer related discoveries, including a genetic change in a tumour previously thought to be an aggressive form of arthritis, that ovarian cancer is at least five distinct diseases and new methods for diagnosis of breast cancer subtypes in hospital pathology laboratories. The value and the impact of these and other accomplishments has allowed this relatively small but productive centre – which has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in the last five years – to establish itself as a worldwide leader in its field.

For the full story, please go to: www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/
GPEC+grant+genetic+pathology+centre.htm

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

ACU imPROVEs

The Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU), located on the 2nd floor in the Vancouver Cancer Centre, is an extremely busy clinic. Nestled in the ACU are five outpatient areas which serve approximately 35, 000 patients a year. As patients enter and leave the ACU, a multitude of charts need to be processed. These charts sometimes travel through many departments, and orders and notes are often not fully processed before leaving a department. This results in multiple chart handoffs, with tracking memos and orders often not processed in a timely way.

September’s imPROVE Rapid Process Improvement Week (RPIW) focused on a need for a more streamlined process in circulating and processing orders.

“Changes made in imPROVE include eliminating waste in time, steps and resources. Many of the changes taking place in this RPIW were changes in steps – or in other words, handoffs of the unprocessed charts,” says Dr. Susan O’Reilly, RPIW team leader and Vice President of Cancer Care at the BC Cancer Agency.

Some of the main changes regarding chart maintenance and ACU systemic patient orders include:

• Doctors orders for most of the patients receiving chemotherapy are now completed before leaving the ACCU (Chemotherapy) 
• Loose doctor’s orders regarding medical daycare or chemotherapy are now processed by 2nd and 4th floor clerks and delivered straight to the 6th floor Pharmacy 
• ACU Clerical work stations, doctor’s ACU offices and specific supply areas have completed 5S’, making the workspace more visually appealing, enhancing quality and productivity.

Any incomplete orders for return appointments will be processed on the 6th floor in the chemo unit once staff is trained.

“Doctors orders should be completed before they leave chemo,” agrees Sandra Broughton, Regional Administrator at the BC Cancer Agency Centre for the Southern Interior and Sub Team Leader for this RPIW. “Providing training is also very important so that these changes can be properly implemented”.

These changes, along with proper training and maintenance, will allow oncologists and other health care workers in the ACU to focus more on their clinical work as opposed to extra administrative tasks.

These streamlined procedures plan to be shared with the other regional centres. Although the physical layout is different, Broughton plans to bring some of the ideas from the RPIW to the centre for Southern Interior, and hopefully other centres will follow suit

Advancing Strategic Direction #4
Ensure we have the resources to achieve maximal organizational effectiveness.

A holiday message from Douglas Nelson, CEO, BC Cancer Foundation

As we prepare for the holiday season and the New Year, I cannot help but reflect back on 2009. In my first six months with the BC Cancer Foundation, I have been constantly impressed by the talent, skill and experience of the entire Agency team across the province. The Foundation staff and I are inspired to find new ways to support your work.

I am also thankful for the support we receive from you. Despite a difficult year, the BC Cancer Foundation continues to fund more cancer research in B.C. than any other charity.

Our three signature events – The Weekend to End Breast Cancer (now The Weekend to End Women’s Cancers), The Ride to Conquer Cancer and The Underwear Affair – would not have been the successes they were without BC Cancer Agency teams leading the way.

These three events raised a total of $10.6 million for the Agency, with nearly 200 Agency staff participating. Agency teams raised nearly $500,000 in our first Ride to Conquer Cancer event alone. These funds will directly support the research and programs your teams designated. I can’t wait to ride with you in 2010!

We are also thankful for the many other ways that you continue to support us– leading donor tours, speaking at donor events and referring grateful patients to us.

I wish you all the best of the season, and a New Year filled with discovery and accomplishment, supported by the BC Cancer Foundation, so that B.C. can continue to lead Canada in cancer research, care and patient outcomes.

Warmest regards,

Douglas Nelson
President & CEO,
BC Cancer Foundation 


Contact the BC Cancer Foundation



In your mailbox...November 2009 saw the launch of our new Vim & Vigour magazine, which we send to 45,000 B.C.households four times a year. It’s an exciting new way to tell the BC Cancer Agency story, with news and features on cancer screening, prevention and breakthrough research, as well as stories of inspiring people who benefit from the work you do. Read it online or ask for a free subscription or get a copy in your centre.
Provincial Office:
604.877.6040
infobccf@bccancer.bc.ca  

Abbotsford:
Liz Harris
604.851.4736
lharris3@bccancer.bc.ca  

Fraser Valley:
Kate Ludlam
604.930.4083
kludlam@bccancer.bc.ca  

Southern Interior:
Cynthia Waldek-Peters
250.712.3910
cwaldekpeters@bccancer.bc.ca  

Vancouver Island:
Carla Funk
250.519.5554
cfunk@bccancer.bc.ca  

Vancouver:
Sharon Kennedy
604.877.6040
skennedy@bccancer.bc.ca  

Newsmakers

Dr. Marianne Sadar, senior scientist and prostate cancer research leader, at the BC Cancer Agency, received an outstanding alumni award from Simon Fraser University. Nominations are made by alumni, faculty, staff, students and the community. In 2007, after eight years of work, Marianne’s laboratory team found a way to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors by using an androgen receptor decoy molecule that interrupts a key step in cancer growth. This major breakthrough could result in improved treatment for prostate cancer within the next five years. Her research team is now focusing on finding a drug that will do the job of the decoy molecule, with potential applications to earlier stage prostate cancer and other endocrine cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer. Marianne has made seminal contributions towards understanding prostate cancer progression and was the first in the world to develop a novel therapeutic strategy to combat currently incurable advanced prostate cancer.

Patient and Family Counselling was awarded a 2009 Applied Arts Interactive Award for its Cancer in my Family website (www.cancerinmyfamily.ca) in the educational category. Developed by the BC Cancer Agency, this site offers resources and supports to children aged eight to 12 who have a loved one with cancer. It provides a fun interactive environment where children can feel safe, play games, create friendly characters – as well as explore their thoughts, feelings and questions about cancer.

Applied Arts contests are judged by panels of highly regarded industry professionals and experts, in a rigorous process developed over our more than 18 years of Awards experience. Every entry is scored independently by each judge based on creative merit, technical excellence and suitability for end use.

In October, the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (CAPhO) bestowed their Distinguished Service Award on Jeff Barnett.

This award is given to a member who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the organization and to the practice of oncology pharmacy. Consideration is given to activities that enhance professional networking, education and communication, contributions to the development of standards of practice for oncology pharmacy, promotion of occupational health and safety issues for pharmacy personnel working with hazardous cytotoxic agents, recognition of oncology as a specialty area of pharmacy practice and leadership in the field of pharmacy-based research.

Jeff’s history of service goes back to his role as a founder and subsequently president of the Association. His accomplishments include co-chairing a successful meeting of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practice (ISOPP) that was held in Vancouver in 2002 and developing the first CAPhO website. After his many years of acting as an ambassador for the profession his academic pursuits have led him to take on the new role of mentor and collaborator to those involved in oncology pharmacy research. .

Dr. Joanne Stephen, Sociobehavioural Research, received a $582,995 grant from the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance/Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Special Research Competition on Psychosocial Aspects of Breast Cancer. Her study - A randomized controlled trial testing efficacy of professionally-led online support groups for young Canadian breast cancer survivors - will evaluate two online support group options (professionally-led and peer-led) to determine whether they help to improve the women's mood, feelings of loneliness, confidence and overall life satisfaction. It is hoped that these support groups will also help women re-engage in valued activities and commitments.

The Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre achieved LEED® Gold certification for its design and construction. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) is a building rating system used to construct sustainable or high performance “green” building. Green buildings are designed and operate in a way to conserve natural resources, create a healthier environment for occupants and reduce both landfill waste and greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted to the atmosphere. The Canada Green Building Councils verifies and provides the LEED® standards for environmentally sustainable construction in Canada.

Canadian Green Building Council members, representing every sector of the building industry, award points that addresses six major areas in new construction:

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Innovation and design process

For more information, please visit http://www.cagbc.org/leed/systems/index.htm  

Gillian Fyles and Ann Syme from the BC Cancer Agency’s Pain and Symptom Management/Palliative Care Program spent two weeks in Hyderabad, India, this September. They travelled to the MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre to work with the Pain Relief and Palliative Care Team. The BCCA PSMPC Program provides this support in collaboration with the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research.

MNJ is a 250 bed cancer hospital which began in 1955 with donations from several philanthropists. This hospital is named after a major donor, Mehdi Nawaz Jung bahadur, a Noble in the Nizam government and later a politician in independent India. MNJ is the only government-funded cancer hospital in the state of Andhra Pradesh (population of about 80 million). The palliative care team there provides six-day a week clinical service caring for outpatients, inpatients and children receiving cancer treatment at the nearby state children's hospital. The team also conducts frequent certificate courses in palliative care for MDs, RNs and social workers, which are attended by health care professionals from many regions in India and also from Nepal. In addition the team has developed community outreach programs supporting rural villages and academic linkages with local institutions.

The BCCA PSMPC Program supports this work in a number of ways including guest teaching training courses, and providing books and other educational resources as possible.

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (Informs) awarded the BC Cancer Agency’s Dr. Scott Tyldesley and Dr. James Morris and Dr. Martin Puterman and Mariel Lavieri with the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia with the William Pierskalla award for their paper When to Treat Prostate Cancer Patients Based on their PSA Dynamics. Scott, James Martin and Mariel are part of the CIHR team in Operations Research for Improved Cancer Care

The Pierskalla Award, recognizes research excellence in the field of health care management science. The award is named after Dr. William Pierskalla to recognize his contribution and dedication to improving health services delivery through operations research. Dr. Pierskalla is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Anderson School at UCLA and the Ronald A. Rosenfeld Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Long Service Recognition
This November, the BC Cancer Agency recognized employees who completed 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of continuous service at the annual Long Service Recognition Awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony included those employees who reached their milestone in 2008 and 2009. The BC Cancer Agency also launched a recognition program for employees with 5, 10, and 15 years of service this year, recognizing, in total, 522 employees across all the centres.

 

Pilot program streamlines care for breast cancer patients

Often waiting can be one of the most difficult parts of the cancer journey – waiting for diagnostic tests results, to meet with specialists, and to learn about the treatment plan.

The BC Cancer Agency is offering a pilot program at its Fraser Valley Centre in Surrey to help streamline the diagnosis and treatment for locally advanced breast cancer patients.

The Integrated Breast Health Service will enable family physicians to refer patients with locally advanced breast cancer living in the Fraser Health region to meet with all necessary specialists – a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and surgeon who may perform the biopsy – at one time. Previously, patients needed separate appointments with specialists in different locations before a diagnosis was confirmed and a treatment plan organized.

“The program came to fruition thanks to the vision and drive of our colleague, the late Dr. Brian Norris,” says Dr. Lee Ann Martin, medical oncologist, BC Cancer Agency. “The program is currently available to locally advanced breast cancer patients, who account for approximately 10 per cent of breast cancer patients, but we will look into the possibility of expanding the program in the future.”

The new program is made possible by the generosity of close to 350 BC Cancer Foundation donors as well as funds raised from the Foundation’s signature fundraising walk, The Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
For the full story, please go to: www.bccancer.bc.ca/ABCCA/NewsCentre/2009/breasthealthservice.htm  

Advancing Strategic Direction #2
Establish the knowledge generation and application model within the provincial cancer control platform.

Do you have what it takes to be a Green+Leader?

A Green+Leaders role is to foster sustainable behaviours throughout the organization and provide information and tools to co-workers to make their daily tasks more environmentally friendly.

Ruth Abramson, PHSA’s Sustainability Coordinator, is looking for volunteers from a variety of sites, departments and levels throughout the organization. The pilot program is designed to inspire staff and build community, reduce materials and energy use and encourage alternative transportation in order to save the BC Cancer Agency money and resources.

"The program capitalizes on the enthusiasm and ideas of staff by offering
opportunities to those who want to act on their sustainability values in the workplace," said Ruth, noting the goal is to recruit 40 volunteers from the Agency by the end of year
two of the program. Ruth designed the program after extensive consultation at all levels of the organization.

"I've spoken to hundreds of PHSA's doctors, nurses, researchers, support staff, administrators and executives about their sustainability priorities," she said. "A behaviour change program topped the list."

The program is currently recruiting volunteers for the second round of Green+Leaders training taking place Jan. 11 and 12, 2010. For more information or to get involved, contact Ruth at Rabramson2@phsa.ca or 604.877.6240, or Andrew Merrill at amerrill@phsa.ca  or 604.877.6000, local 6357.