P.E.I. cancer patients and families urged to advise health committees

Health PEI is asking Islanders who have cancer, survived cancer, or have a close family member with cancer to consider serving as advisers on local cancer committees.

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The idea is to hear directly from people who have had a cancer experience in the last ten years, to determine what's working in the PEI treatment and support system and where improvements can be made.

A health system might decide they are doing something but whether that really meets the need is a good question to be asking. Marla Delaney,Provincial Cancer Coordinator

"The benefit of having patients and families and their caregivers at our tables is to help make the decisions with the perspective of a real experience," said Health PEI Provincial Cancer Coordinator Marla Delaney. "It grounds us."

Such committees currently include clinicians, health system leaders and community groups.

The new initiative would see survivors and caregivers volunteer to share their experiences in order to guide future decisions on cancer control and care in P.E.I.

"So you could be a cancer patient currently, or be a survivor, or you could be a close family member who was with a person through their journey or their caregiver who sat at their side and held their hand," explained Delaney.

Health PEI is hoping to have advisors on the Provincial Cancer Coordination Steering Committee, Person-Centered Perspective Committee, Quit Smoking Project Committee and each of the four cancer action groups: lung, breast, colorectal and prostate. The province already has some such representatives on committees for lung cancer and breast cancer, which Delaney said is very helpful in decision-making.

"A health system might decide they are doing something but whether that really meets the need is a good question to be asking."

Commitments range from four to 10 meetings a year. Health PEI is seeking people who have had a "cancer experience" on P.E.I. in the last 10 years.

Information on how to apply can be found on the Health PEI website.