News & Updates
Your experience with cancer care in Ontario depends greatly on the type of cancer you have, the kind of treatment you are prescribed, your age and family income – all of which can make or break the timeliness and quality of care you receive. Ontario’s two-tiered cancer drug system includes widely different drug reimbursement models and variable safety standards and support for patients who take their cancer medications at home versus in a hospital or cancer clinic.
Some good news for Canada's deadliest cancer:
The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care now recommends screening using low-dose CT scans in high-risk adults aged 55-74 years who are current or former smokers with a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years, defined as the average number of packs smoked daily multiplied by the number of years of smoking. This is big step in the fight against lung cancer! [Canadian Cancer Statistics, 2015]
In February 2016, 350 cancer specialists from across Canada gathered in Vancouver for the 16th annual Canadian Lung Cancer Conference chaired by Dr. Barb Melosky and Dr. Cheryl Ho. Participants included medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, oncology nurses as well as members of the pharmaceutical industry, who came together with a common interest in improving the care of patients with lung cancer in Canada.
Good news for lung cancer patients, OPDIVO™ (nivolumab), first-ever immunotherapy for advanced or metastatic NSCLC, gets Health Canada approval.
LCC is looking for lung cancer patients and their caregivers, in Canada or the US, who have received either Cyramza (Ramucirumab), Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) or Tagrisso (Osimertinib) who are willing to share their experience (anonymously) with the drug.
At 26 and 5 months pregnant with her first child, non-smoker Elizabeth Dessureault never thought pregnancy would include a diagnosis of late stage lung cancer and chemotherapy. She was told that she had less than 1 year to live. At that point, the glow and hope of motherhood changed to include fear, a fight for her own life and the heavy stigma weight that lung cancer carries.
Lung Cancer Canada is proud to announce that Dr. Frances Shepherd, Honorary Board Member of LCC, has been appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for her leadership in improving treatment options and outcomes for individuals with advanced lung cancer. Dr. Shepherd has always been a tremendous supporter of LCC's efforts, and was the Keynote Speaker at LCC's inaugural Evening of Hope in 2011. More importantly, her research has had global impact in advancing lung cancer care and improving survival rates in this disease. She initiated studies that led to life-prolonging treatments in advanced cancer and to increasing the cure rate of lung cancer surgery through preventive chemotherapy.
First-ever survey shows lung cancer patients and caregivers face an overpowering avalanche of inequities. Lung Cancer Canada Launches the Second Annual Report on Canada’s #1 Killer.
Lung Cancer Canada opens Toronto Stock Exchange
The Mona Zavalkoff Annual Public Lecture Series on ‘Innovations and Advances in Lung Cancer’ Presents: Immunotherapy: Can We Cure Advanced (Lung) Cancer?