Cancer is a 'family affair,' says researcher calling for more support
Sevtap Savas, a professor at Memorial University, recently co-authored an article on ways Atlantic Canada's governments can improve cancer care, through her work with Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee. From that study, she said health-care systems can do more to treat cancer patients as individuals by looking at their unique circumstances, which is called precision medicine.
"It's the approach in medicine where we want to prevent diseases, conditions or treat them more precisely so that, you know, the outcomes will be better, treatment success will be better," she told CBC News.
Out of their research, Savas said they heard from family members of cancer patients about the associated costs of a cancer diagnosis.
"Treatment is just one part of [the] cancer journey, and it's just focusing on one person who is patient. But there are people around patients, right," she said. "Cancer is actually a family affair."
She wants people to be able to tap into more resources that can help with financial, emotional, social and other supports. While there are supports available, like peer support services, Savas said many people don't know about them, which is why she wants the provincial government to promote the services.
In December, the Canadian Cancer Society released a report estimating cancer costs an average patient approximately $33,000 across their lifetime — including out-of-pocket expenses and lost income during treatment and recovery.
Savas says that cost is another burden on an already struggling family, "because our health-care system does not cover everything."
She pointed to the cost of hospital parking or child care.
People interviewed as part of their research highlighted the costs not covered by the public health-care system, she added, like how drug coverage can vary by province.
"What we need — to get affordable cancer care drugs," Savas said, adding she thinks it should be an initiative taken on by both the provincial and the federal governments.
Savas said participants in the research want to see affordability measures brought in by government.
"They want everyone to access this, regardless of their geographic location, whether these people are living in urban areas or rural areas or Newfoundland and Labrador or in other provinces," she said.
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Learn more at About Inka Health Inka Health is an AI-driven analytics company revolutionizing oncology research and drug development through advanced causal AI. Its proprietary platform, SynoGraph, leverages AI-powered causal inference to identify which cancer patients are most likely to respond to specific treatments, advancing precision medicine. By integrating diverse multimodal medical data-including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics-SynoGraph uncovers hidden insights that can optimize treatment decisions and clinical trial design. With this cutting-edge technology, Inka Health aims to help pharmaceutical companies accelerate drug development, reduce trial failures, and bring life-saving therapies to market faster. About Onco-Innovations Limited Onco-Innovations is a Canadian-based company dedicated to cancer research and treatment, specializing in oncology. Onco's mission is to pursue the prevention and treatment of cancer through pioneering research and innovative solutions. The company has secured an exclusive worldwide license to patented technology that targets solid tumours. ON BEHALF OF ONCO-INNOVATIONS LIMITED, 'Thomas O'Shaughnessy' Chief Executive Officer For more information, please contact: Thomas O'Shaughnessy Chief Executive Officer Tel: + 1 888 261 8055 [email protected] OneMedNet Contacts: Michael Wong, VP Marketing Email: [email protected] Forward-Looking Statements Caution. This news release contains forward-looking statements, including in relation to the Company's ability to collaborate successfully with OneMedNet, and the prospects of the Company, and the Company's business and plans generally, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as 'will', 'may', 'potential', 'should', 'anticipate', 'expects' and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the inability of Inka or the Company to collaborate successfully with OneMedNet. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law. 1 Real World Evidence Solutions Market - 2 Wang X, Dormont F, Lorenzato C, et al. Current perspectives for external control arms in oncology clinical trials: Analysis of EMA approvals 2016-2021. J Cancer Policy. 2023;35:100403. 3 SOURCE: Onco-Innovations Limited press release
