Projects

Dementia-Friendly Cancer Care

With age the primary risk factor for both cancer and dementia, there are increasing numbers of people living with both diagnoses as our population ages. These patients have been found to have worse outcomes than those who do not have dementia. Currently a small body of research has highlighted the significant challenges faced by these patients, their caregivers, and the care providers tasked with meeting their unique care needs.

Integrating patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into oncology practice are valuable for enhancing person-centred care. PROMs can bring attention to various struggles patients with cancer experience, including mental health and emotional well-being needs. One challenge with incorporating PROMs into clinical practice has been assisting clinicians to better understand how PROMs responses can be used to focus on patient stories to identify and address the care needs of individual patients.

We want to understand how healthcare providers recognize and respond to people affected by cancer who experience health and social inequities. We are actively recruiting healthcare providers to participate in one in-person or virtual interview lasting 30-60 minutes. If you are (1) a physician, nurse, allied health professional, or other clinical staff member working in British Columbia, and (2) working with people affected by cancer– we want to connect with you!

Does when we eat make a difference to our health? We know that food choices can impact cancer risk but what if the timing plays a role as well? Over several decades, overconsumption of food has contributed to an increase in a number of diseases, including cancer. What if this could be reversed, or slowed down, by fasting? Would that improve how people with cancer respond to chemotherapy? Could simply changing eating patterns to reduce overall intake be a way to prevent and/or manage cancer?

Treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy which may cause side effects (e.g. difficulty chewing, swallowing, talking) that can last a lifetime, impacting quality of life. When provided options, it can be hard for patients to pick a treatment plan if they don’t fully understand the options available and/or possible side effects.

Racialized communities are known to experience health and healthcare inequities in Canada, including unmet needs across the cancer care trajectory. Yet, the experiences of Panjabi-Sikh patients—one of the largest visible minority populations in Canada—remain largely unknown. This study will examine how the Canadian cancer care system can best address unmet needs of Panjabi-Sikh patients and their families during cancer treatment.

KT is the process of translating rapidly evolving scientific knowledge into health care practices and organizational policies to achieve the best possible outcomes for the patients, families, and communities we serve. The KT Challenge is supporting nursing and allied health teams to develop and implement projects that will improve practice, organizational policy, and patient care.

The Research Challenge is an innovative approach to research training that bridges the gap between practice and research by empowering teams of nursing and allied health professionals to identify challenging clinical issues and find evidence-informed answers through research. We are currently funding 10 practice-based research projects lead by nurses, radiation therapists, dietitians, PET/CT Technologists, speech language pathologists, and genetic counsellors.

In 2020/21, BC Cancer collaborated with the BC SUPPORT Unit, patient partners, and academic partners from UBC and UNBC to more intentionally build POR capacity among PBRC trainees. We embedded POR content into (1) an asynchronous, online research methods course, and (2) a synchronous webinar that sought to provide facilitated feedback, improve participant research questions, and to encourage clinician reflection on the benefits of engaging PFPs as research partners. During the webinar, academic partners and PFPs co-facilitated small group discussions in breakout rooms.

There are alarming differences in cancer outcomes for people who experience health and social inequities. Because of racism, discrimination, stigma, and many other barriers, some people experience extreme difficulties accessing cancer care. Integrating equity-oriented healthcare approaches into cancer care could start to address these differences in health outcomes and improve access to cancer care. Together with Dr. Annette Browne from the University of British Columbia, Dr.

Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is a process where patients reflect on their personal values and goals towards future medical care. Components of ACP may include reflecting on personal values and beliefs; naming a substitute decision maker; sharing preferences about goals of care with family, friends, or healthcare workers; and recording personal wishes via documents such as an advanced directive.

Most breast cancer cells (70-75%) have estrogen and/or progesterone receptors, and can be treated with 5-10 years of anti-hormonal therapy to prevent breast cancer from growing. However, many breast cancer patients (40-50%) do not take their recommended daily anti-hormonal therapy, which could potentially increase their risk of dying by 49%. Main reasons women do not take anti-hormonal medications are unpleasant side effects and lack of access to effective follow-up care. To better support women, the After Breast Cancer (ABC) clinic was created by BC Cancer and BC Women’s Hospital.

Together with her team, Dr. Leah Lambert, executive director and senior scientist, Nursing and Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation will be working with Dr. Michael McKenzie and UBC nursing professor Dr. Sally Thorne on the project planning to enhance capacity for equity-oriented cancer care in B.C. This project is about bringing together researchers, health care providers, leaders in health policy and service delivery, knowledge users and patient and family partners to discuss health and health care equity as it relates to cancer care.