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Get Involved as a Patient or Family Partner


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A patient or family partner is someone who has experience with cancer care as a patient, caregiver, family member or supporter. Our patient and family partners contribute to people-centred care by sharing their experiences in projects and on committees. 

Helpful Handouts

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Background & Purpose

A team of Registered Dietitians is leading a research study to better understand and improve the experiences of patients with head and neck cancer who require tube feeding at BC Cancer. As part of the study, the team is conducting interviews with survivors of head and neck cancer to learn what information about feeding tubes they would have wanted to learn from their oncologist.

To help ensure that the recruitment approach, interview questions, and knowledge translation tools are clear, accessible, and reflect what matters most to patients and families, the team is looking to partner with 2 patient and/or family members.

Partners are invited to:
  • Review and fine-tune the interview questions that will be used in a small group session exploring patient experiences with tube feeding.
  • Help select an engaging and appropriate icebreaker activity to support comfort and connection during the group interview.
  • Attend the group interview in a supportive role, acting as a bridge between the research team and participants.
  • Provide input on knowledge translation materials to ensure the study findings are easy to understand and relevant to a broad audience.
Note: Knowledge translation refers to the process of sharing research findings in ways that are clear, accessible, and useful to the people who need them most. The audience may include patients, families, and healthcare providers. Examples of knowledge translation materials might include infographics, plain language summaries, or presentations designed for a general audience.

Level of Influence:
Involve: Engaging in dialogue with patients & families to understand and consider their insights and perspectives.

Eligibility:
  • You are a patient or a family partner.
  • You or someone you have supported has received treatment for head or neck cancer (in any of the following areas: lip, oral cavity, larynx, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx and salivary glands).
  • You or someone you have supported has had a feeding tube placed.
Location: Virtual meetings via MS Teams

Timeline: October - December 2025 

Time Commitment: 2 hours per month; 6 hours total

Honorarium: $30/hour

Closing Date: 2nd September, 2025 


Background & Purpose

The team, including Radiation Therapy Educators, is looking for 2–3 patient and/or family members to join a focus group to review two educational documents about Total Body Irradiation (TBI). One document is for adult patients, and the other is for children. The goal is to ensure the information is clear, easy to understand, and helpful for patients and families.

Total Body Irradiation is a type of radiation treatment that delivers radiation to the entire body. It is often used before a stem cell or bone marrow transplant to help destroy cancer cells, suppress the immune system, and prepare the body to receive new stem cells.

During the focus group, partners will be invited to share feedback on:
  • How the documents can be improved from the perspective of someone receiving care.
  • Clarity of the format and content.
  • Appeal and design, including language and tone.
  • Cultural sensitivity and appropriateness, including whether the documents could be easily translated and if there are other cultural supports to suggest

Level of Influence:

Involve: Engaging in dialogue with patients and families to understand and consider their insights and perspectives.

Eligibility:
  • You are a patient or a family partner.
  • You have experience with radiation therapy.
  • Optional but preferred: You are a parent, as one of the documents is intended for children and their parents.
Location:
Virtual meetings via MS Teams

Tentative Timeline: Early to mid September; date will be determined based on partner's availability

Time Commitment:
3 hours total  

Honorarium:
$30/hour

Closing Date: 2nd September, 2025

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Background & Purpose: 

In British Columbia, there is currently no formal process to help patients receiving palliative radiation therapy get connected to the right clinic or know what to expect before their first appointment. In other places, a trained radiation therapist contacts patients ahead of time to understand their needs, guide them to the right care, and answer questions early on. This type of early contact—called a triage call—has been shown to improve the overall experience for patients. 


A radiation therapist at BC Cancer is exploring how a similar triage process could support people who are receiving radiation to help relieve pain from cancer that has spread to the bones. The goal is to improve communication, reduce confusion, and better meet patient expectations before treatment begins.


They are looking for two patient or family partners to learn more about what information would have been helpful before their first radiation department appointment, what was surprising, and how a triage call might have improved their experience if it had been available.

Level of influence:

Involve: Partners are involved throughout the engagement to provide feedback.

Eligibility:
  • You are a patient or a family partner, 
  • You have received radiation therapy treatment for bone metastasis.
    • A bone metastasis is when cancer has spread to a person’s bones.  
  • Optional: You have received treatment at the Vancouver Rapid Access Clinic (VARA).
Location: Virtual meetings

Date: July 21, 2025

Time Commitment: 1-2 hours total 

Honorarium: $30/hour

Closing date: July 16, 2025
















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SOURCE: Get Involved as a Patient or Family Partner ( )
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