Leap Magazine Spring 2022

RIDE 101

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE TOUR

SHARING THE JOURNEY PATIENT NAVIGATORS PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SUPPORT

WILD FOR WHEAT

SPRING 2022

ALBERTANS HELPING ALBERTANS

TEAM PLAYERS MEET THE LOCAL SCIENTISTS, RESEARCHERS AND EVERYDAY ALBERTANS IMPROVING TREATMENT, ACCESS AND CARE

PM 40030911

CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY

CONTENTS

30

30 LIVING WITH CANCER

Staring down her 50th birthday, Candace Cook is proud to say, “I’m still here.”

32 RESEARCH ROCKSTARS

The new leaders at Alberta’s university cancer research institutes are excited about working together.

35 MY LEAP

Donna Ebeling and friends start Legacy Walk with the goal of raising $75k over five years.

FEATURES

36 TRUE CALLING

18-29 ALBERTANS HELPING ALBERTANS From large centres to small, discover the people who are helping to improve access to research, treatment and care for cancer patients across Alberta.

COLUMNS/DEPARTMENTS 6 FRONT LINE

The brightest minds in precision medicine unite for the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. Plus, learn how cancer care is improving in rural communities and, yes, it’s good to be BAD.

11 YOUR DONATION MATTERS Your donations to the Calgary Cancer Centre are helping us OWN.CANCER.

12 FOOD FOCUS

Getting a healthy dose of fibre is important for most people’s health, so indulge in Alberta wheat.

39 IMPACT

14 WORKOUT

Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer rebrands and continues to be a major fundraiser for Alberta cancer centres.

16 EXPERT ADVICE

Cancer Patient Navigators aim to improve health and equity for all Albertans with cancer.

Experts reveal how to minimize your taxes and some tips to navigate intimacy issues during cancer treatment.

Donato Bernardo is in remission thanks to his participation in CAR T-cell clinical trial.

40 WHY I DONATE

Denis Gaulin’s ongoing donations are a tribute to family members impacted by cancer.

42 GAME CHANGER

Cask Global Canning Solutions passes the philanthropic torch to the next generation.

THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT): JOHN ULAN; MIGY BLANCO; JARED SYCH; COURTESY MAX CHAN

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 3

MESSAGE

Helping Hands TRUSTEES

Dr. Chris Eagle (Board Chair) Cathy Allard-Roozen Brian Bale Dr. Charles Butts Rajko Dodic John Donald Brenda Hubley Dianne Kipnes Chris Kucharski John Lehners Brian McLean Chief William “Billy” Morin Dr. Don Morris Barb Munroe Dr. Matthew Parliament Gelaine Pearman Sandra Lau Rory J. Tyler Tom Valentine Heather Watt

GET YOUR

FREE

ISSUE! VISIT

a/leap/ albertacancer.c tion ip cr bs leapsu

Albertans helping Albertans is at the core of everything we do. Our very purpose comes from our desire to create more moments for all Albertans facing cancer, no matter where they live or the type of cancer they are facing. From the Canmore mountains to the canola fields in Lloydminster — we support leading edge treatment, care and research that is making a difference for cancer patients across the province.

As the fundraising partner for the 17 Alberta Health Services cancer centres, as well as the new Calgary Cancer Centre (alongside the University of Calgary), our donors make a difference in the lives of patients in every community, big or small.

Patients like Moreylle Resurreccion, who, while living in Banff at just 22 years old, was diagnosed with locally advanced sarcoma (pg. 36). Overwhelmed by the news and unsure of next steps, Moreylle and her family were referred to a patient Navigator who helped navigate a complex cancer diagnosis. Then, there are stories like Donato Bernardo’s (pg. 39), who, despite being told he was out of treatment options and facing terminal cancer, is alive and cancer-free today thanks to groundbreaking clinical research done right here in Alberta. Or there is Candace Cook, who is appreciating each day and every moment she has with her husband and son while living with stage 4 cancer (pg. 31).

These stories, these people, are our family, friends, neighbours and fellow

Albertans. The Alberta Cancer Foundation exists so people can receive the very best cancer treatment, right here in their backyard. And, we can’t do it alone. It takes a village. One that includes the generosity of donors who support innovation in cancer detection, treatment and care, across the province. Programs like Patient Navigation that helped Moreylle and her family, or our Patient Financial Assistance Program that supports patients whose cancer journey has put them in a financial bind. This year, more than any other, we have seen that need increase and are working hard to meet that fundraising demand. Research like Dr. Ing Swie Goping’s work that is identifying new ways to manipulate and stop the spread of breast cancer (pg. 10). Innovative approaches to create individualized cancer treatments that are not only improving outcomes but also ensuring that expertise from large urban cancer centres is available to patients in rural areas, like Dr. Yip’s POET group (pg. 8). The list goes on and on. The impact is immeasurable.

In the very simplest form, it is about Albertans helping Albertans. It’s about ensuring we can provide the very best care, close to home, so that every cancer patient can focus on what matters most: healing.

That is what this issue of Leap is all about.

We hope you enjoy it and can’t thank you enough for the tremendous role you have played in making each one of these stories and breakthroughs possible.

DR. CHRIS EAGLE, BOARD CHAIR ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION WENDY BEAUCHESNE, CEO ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION

4 LEAP SPRING 2022

Spring 2022

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VOL. 12

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NO. 1

ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION EDITORS Phoebe Dey and Breanne Kraus MANAGER OF CUSTOM PUBLISHING Meredith Bailey MANAGING EDITOR Derek Clouthier ART DIRECTOR Veronica Cowan STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jared Sych CONTRIBUTORS Colleen Biondi, Migy Blanco, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Jennifer Friesen, Travis Klemp, Cailynn Klingbeil, Lysandra Nothing, Michaela Ream, Colleen Seto, Keri Sweetman, Sheila Toderian, John Ulan, Debby Waldman, Sean P. Young PUBLISHED FOR Alberta Cancer Foundation Calgary Office Suite 300, 1620 29 St. N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2N 4L7 PROVINCIAL OFFICE 710, 10123 99 St. N.W. Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3H1 Tel: 780-643-4400 Toll free: 1-866-412-4222 acfonline@albertacancer.ca PUBLISHED BY Redpoint Media & Marketing Solutions 1721-29 Ave. S.W., Suite 375 Calgary, Alberta T2T 6T7 (Letter mail only) Phone: 403-240-9055 Toll free: 1-877-963-9333 Fax: 403-240-9059 info@redpointmedia.ca PM 40030911 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to the Edmonton address above.

CEO Pete Graves PRESIDENT Käthe Lemon

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 5

FRONTLINE FRONT THE FUTURE OF TREATMENT | GOOD TO BE BAD | POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS

TEAM MENTALITY

The Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network unites the brightest minds for precision medicine ust as Terry Fox united Canada with his determination to raise money for cancer research, the new Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOH Network) will unite the country by bringing together Canada’s top cancer researchers and clinicians to share knowledge, harness technology and work together toward finding a cure for cancer. Led by The Terry Fox Research Institute with support from dozens of research and funding partners across Canada, the MOH Network aims to accelerate the adoption of precision medicine for cancer.

But, just what is precision medicine, and why is it important to the future of cancer treatment?

“Cancer is very individual,” says Dr. Jennifer Chan, director of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute and the Calgary lead for the Prairies Cancer Research Consortium (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) of the MOH Network, one of four consortiums total. “Precision

DR. JENNIFER CHAN IS THE LEAD FOR THE PRAIRIES CANCER RESEARCH CONSORTIUM OF THE NEW MARATHON OF HOPE CANCER CENTRES NETWORK

PHOTOS BY JARED SYCH

6 LEAP SPRING 2022

FRONT LINE medicine involves trying to know the right therapy for the right patient at the right time.

There are many factors — the patient’s unique genetic makeup, their environment and the tumour itself.

Precision oncology is about understanding the molecular makeup of a tumour that will give information about what the patient will most respond to.”

Precision oncology has been decades in the making. With the advent of genomic sequencing, there’s been “an explosion of knowledge in cancer in the last decade to 15 years,” Chan says. “Traditionally, someone like me would look down a microscope and say that something looks like breast cancer. Now we know things that look the same may have different genetic underpinnings that can be targeted.”

There used to be a debate in the cancer field as to whether targeting one alteration could bring about therapeutic success with all of cancer’s mutations. The debate has now turned into the overarching question of which mutations or combinations of mutations are targetable. As it turns out, particular cancers can be targeted, even at advanced stages. “It was remarkable that you could change one thing to turn a cancer into a chronic condition, for example,” affirms Chan. “The notion that you could do that is what drew me to this field. That was the birth of precision oncology.”

The MOH Network will help hone precision oncology to become more and more precise

at developing targeted therapies and, as a result, better outcomes for cancer patients. A major component will be building a dataset and a collaborative sharing platform for that data.

“It’s a national endeavour where we’re working together to gather data from 15,000 cancer patients,” says Chan, who adds patients will sign a consent form to have their information included in the dataset.

The effort will involve collecting and sharing extremely detailed information such as sequencing of molecular tumours, clinical data and imaging in a standardized way for investigators to determine patterns.

“We need clinical data, not just molecular information,” she explains. “We need as much information about patients as we can get — medications, lifestyle,

demographics, everything.

And we need as many people from as many backgrounds as we can get. We can only derive as high quality conclusions as the quality of data we put in.”

From there, researchers will take advantage of artificial intelligence to analyze the data. “We will use machine learning — high-powered computers — to help us sort, analyze and discern relationships,” Chan adds.

Additionally, the work completed through the Prairies Consortium will directly inform cancer care in Alberta. “To improve and apply changes to care for Alberta patients, we need Alberta data,” Chan says.

“Health-service delivery is its own science, and it’s really strong here. To work at a health-systems level where we build infrastructure to help everybody, that’s super exciting. It’s not just for

academic or pharma interests.

There are future real-world outcomes at stake. What’s driving this is the potential of taking complex information and turning it into action or tools that benefit the patient.”

The MOH Network offers an excellent opportunity for Alberta to demonstrate its leadership in health and medicine. All the new technology and research development that will take place also holds great economic potential and avenues for diversification.

In particular, it’s a unique chance for patients to support and be engaged in groundbreaking research.

“For cancer patients now, they can say ‘yes’ to contributing their data or samples,” affirms Chan.

“If they’re in a cohort [for a study], they will get their tumour sequenced.

There might be something actionable we can do — a trial or a therapy that they didn’t know they were eligible for.

We might not find something for everyone, but everything we learn will improve the future of cancer therapy.”

Ultimately, the MOH Network enables all the necessary resources for precision oncology to converge. “This is an era of team science,” says Chan.

“No one person can do it. It takes oncologists, surgeons, molecular biologists, pathologists, data scientists and patients for a precisionmedicine approach to be a success. Everything the MOH Network stands for — patients, research, data, sharing, engagement, genomics — it’s the catalyst for what we need to build to fight cancer.”

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 7

FRONT LINE MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST DR. STEVEN YIP IS HELPING BRING PERSONALIZED CARE TO RURAL CANCER PATIENTS

Precision Oncology Care for patients in rural communities continues to improve BY TRAVIS KLEMP Living outside major Alberta cities like Calgary and Edmonton is becoming less of an obstacle for cancer patients looking for precision diagnosis and care.

Innovative approaches to individualized cancer treatment unique to each patient’s genetic makeup are being born from the sharing of expertise from large clinics in city centres to rural areas.

For example, a patient with prostate cancer interested in novel testing or alternative-care models in Lethbridge, Alta., can now more easily be connected with community liaisons from Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Centre. The patient will travel less and still receive the highest quality of care from their hometowns.

Dr. Steven Yip is a medical oncologist at the Tom Baker. He has had a passion and focus for rural health initiatives

since he began studying medicine at the University of Alberta in 2008.

“When I initially came back to Alberta after my fellowship in B.C., I was supporting communities like Medicine Hat and virtually in Lethbridge,” says Yip. “Calgary is a centre of excellence in regards to cancer care…I have always had a lens to bring that to patients receiving care in [rural] community zones.”

This passion motivated Yip to take on the medical oncology lead of the Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics group (POET), which was established in 2016 at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. The research initiative is designed to examine and decode the genetic and molecular targets of each patient’s cancer, which personalizes and guides their cancer treatments to match PHOTOS BY JARED SYCH

8 LEAP SPRING 2022

FRONT LINE what is occurring with a specific patient at a microscopic level. Partnerships between Alberta expert hubs, such as the Tom Baker, and rural communities through programs like POET are now making it possible for patients to access the same novel care in smaller centres as is offered in larger cities.

Yip adds that the ability to connect with patients in rural communities via virtual infrastructure, which was developed throughout COVID-19, has continued to improve the standard of care for each individual patient.

As the medical oncology lead of POET, Yip’s priority has been to provide exceptional care to all patients throughout southern Alberta, including Calgary. Working alongside Dr. Dean Ruetherat at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Yip has created a cohort of ambassadors who can be tapped for community zones, offering patients expertise and information about research and precision-oncology opportunities that can be accessed locally, virtually and at the Tom Baker.

“If a colleague of mine in Medicine Hat or Lethbridge is interested in getting a patient on a clinical trial or they want to learn about genetic testing or precision oncology, they can contact our team and I can connect them with the appropriate ambassador,” says Yip. Yip himself is the Genitourinary Tumour Group ambassador with the POET program, helping patients connect with treatment and research options that otherwise would be very difficult to access in rural zones.

This process of Albertans helping and serving all Albertans as opposed to only those in areas where the most recent and novel research and treatment is offered has been well received by those living with cancer throughout the province.

“It has very little cost with a great benefit,” says Yip. “Patients recognize we are advocating for that cuttingedge level of therapy and we are trying to think about their disease and the way we treat them with the very best medicine.”

Yip adds that it is not just the

teams in Calgary and Edmonton responsible for this type of care.

Without the collaboration and support of local medical oncologists in smaller communities, programs like POET would not exist. It is the partnership between communities and larger centres that allow for new ways of thinking about cancer treatments.

“Being able to bring a specific precision oncology perspective in urologic cancer and being able to be a lead in these areas allows me to advocate on behalf of the patient,” says Yip. “And, if I don’t have the specific expertise, I am able to put the patient in touch with someone who does.”

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 9

FRONT LINE

Good to be BAD: Stopping the Spread Dr. Ing Swie Goping explores how manipulating the protein BAD could help stop the spread of breast cancer

by MICHAELA REAM

This is not the first time Dr. Ing Swie Goping, professor and Lilian McCullough chair of Breast Cancer Research at the University of Alberta, has turned heads with her research into a protein called BAD. Her new study has found the protein plays a central role in cell motility (a medical term meaning the cell’s capability of movement) and shows promise in understanding and potentially preventing the spread of breast cancer.

BAD, or Bcl-2 agonist of cell death, is a single protein, but one that has multiple roles in the body. “[BAD] is important for its role in scaffolding,” explains Goping of the protein’s role in binding with other proteins. “It’s one of the wheels of the protein-complex machinery, and it also has very different roles in different machines.”

In 2010, Goping found that high levels of BAD in breast cancer tumours resulted in more effective taxane chemotherapy treatment than tumours with less. That first discovery, Goping says, was like finding one piece to a larger puzzle. The next puzzle piece was understanding BAD’s role in healthy cell processes to better understand its function in breast cancer.

In normal cells, BAD plays a role in triggering cell death processes (apoptosis), which are regulated through phosphorylation –– a process in which a phosphoryl group attaches to a protein like BAD. That same process occurs during mammary gland development. When BAD undergoes phosphorylation, the cells grow protrusions that allow them to move and form the mammary gland

structures during puberty. After gland development is finished, BAD becomes unphosphorylated, which stops cell motility and protrusion growth.

In cancerous cells, that motility is regained, which allows for metastasis throughout the body. Goping’s research, however, looks at the idea of genetically manipulating BAD to prevent that spread. “This unphosphorylated form of BAD can block breast cells from moving, so we are currently testing if unphosphorylated BAD can block breast cancer cells from metastasizing,” explains Goping.

Researching cell manipulation is nothing new for Goping. During her initial research more than 10 years ago, when she discovered BAD’s role in cell death, she first considered the idea.

Cell death happens all the time in the

body, but Goping looked at the idea of genetically manipulating the process.

She describes the concept as reactivating a memory of something cells already know but have just forgotten.

Combining cell manipulation within breast cancer cells could lead to a two-part solution in the future of cancer treatment. “If we can manipulate the protein so that it will block cell migration, it also ends up being in the state where it stimulates cell death,” explains Goping.

If her theory and research hold true, Goping says it could provide a new window of opportunity to understanding developmental processes. In turn, it could also mean a clearer pathway in the future of cancer treatment and the potential inhibition of metastasis. It’s an idea so BAD, it’s good.

PRO-APOPTOTIC BCL-2 PROTEIN, BAD

ILLUSTRATION BY JAWAHAR SWAMINATHAN AND MSD STAFF AT THE EUROPEAN BIOINFORMATICS INSTITUTE

10 LEAP SPRING 2022

5 WAYS

Five Ways Your Donation to the Calgary Cancer Centre is Helping us OWN.CANCER The more we OWN.CANCER, the less it owns us The Alberta Cancer Foundation has partnered with the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services to launch the OWN.CANCER campaign with one mission in mind — to raise $250 million in support of improved cancer research, treatment and care at the new Calgary Cancer Centre (set to open in 2023). Here are five ways your donation to the Calgary Cancer Centre is helping Albertans OWN.CANCER:

We can OWN.CANCER by investigating why cancer forms and halting it in its infancy.

By looking for patterns where cancer returns, searching for gaps in screening, treatment and recovery and finding factors that give cancer a better foothold, we will OWN.CANCER.

It’s time to OWN.CANCER by revolutionizing cancer screening and treatment with custom approaches designed specifically for each patient.

This is our chance to OWN.CANCER once and for all. To learn more about how you can help, visit owncancer.ca

By creating a safe and supportive environment, helping patients and their families with supports tailored to their needs, we’re going to OWN.CANCER together.

By investing in our medical teams to be their best, we can OWN.CANCER for our patients.

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 11

Carbs Aren’t the Enemy Despite diet trends saying to stay clear of wheat (gluten) products, getting a healthy dose of fibre is important for most

by DEREK CLOUTHIER

Carbs, bread, pasta — all have gotten a bad rap over the last several years.

While some believe gluten, the sticky protein found in these products, to be unhealthy, others look to avoid such foods in an effort to lose a few extra pounds. But one thing lost in the conversation is the importance of a balanced diet, one that includes wheat products that are chock full of necessary fibre, vitamins and minerals and, yes, carbohydrates.

Aside from those who suffer from a wheat or gluten allergy, there are countless health benefits from including wheat in your diet.

“With wheat being a high source of

carbohydrates, which provide energy, helping to control your weight and protect you against cardiovascular disease, it should be a critical part of every Canadian’s diet,” says Megan Evans, marketing and events manager for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.

Evans also leads the commission’s Life’s Simple Ingredient campaign, which aims to remind consumers that wheat — Alberta’s largest crop — is one of the oldest, simplest ingredients and serves as the base for a variety of breads, pasta, pastries and more.

As Evans points out, the vitamins and minerals found in wheat — including

Canadian wheat exports (2017): 20.5 million tonnes (valued at $21 billion) Alberta farm area: 50.3 million acres Alberta farm cash receipts (2016): $13.5 billion (22% of Canada’s primary agricultural production) B vitamins, folate, niacin, potassium, vitamin E and magnesium, to name a few — offer several health benefits.

“Eating whole grains, including whole-wheat foods with these nutrients, can lower your risk of stroke, colon cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and more,” she says.

Karyn Sunohara is a Calgary dietician

PHOTOS BY IMAGINEGOLF, COURTESY iSTOCK; (OPPOSITE PAGE) LIBRAKV, COURTESY iSTOCK

12 LEAP SPRING 2022

FOOD FOCUS

who says wheat’s neutral flavour can be a bonus for cancer patients with a sensitive palate or loss of appetite.

“While undergoing treatment, white flour-based products may be a go-to due to their neutral flavour,” she says.

“Wheat works well as a vehicle to add a high-fat or high-calorie food option.

Ideally, once able to tolerate more food, choosing whole-grain fibre options is ideal.”

Janine Paly, a wheat producer and ambassador for the Life’s Simple Ingredient campaign, says the versatility wheat provides is what makes it a necessary ingredient in any family’s kitchen.

“Wheat is such a diverse ingredient, from soup to bread to pasta, the possibilities are endless,” says Paly.

“As a wife, mother and consumer, I purchase our family groceries at a local store like any other consumer. As a consumer, I ensure my family is eating safe, nutritious food, and I feel Canadian wheat is such a product.”

Paly says cooking with wheat is the perfect opportunity for families to gather in the kitchen and together create some of their favourite foods and treats. From cookies, cakes and muffins, to pizza, bread, pasta and soups, wheat makes almost any recipe possible.

Several western Canadian farmers are also participating in a program to grow habitat-friendly winter wheat to support the nesting habitats of prairie wildlife.

Consumers can look for the “ecolabel” on food and drink items showing it is made with western Canadian winter wheat. The program not only supports wildlife, but it also helps consumers make sustainable food choices and support local farmers.

“For our farmers, the value of wheat goes beyond the economy,” says Evans.

“Every decision our farmers make for their fields is based on stewardship and sustainability because what’s best for the land is best for their business and the grains, pulses and oilseeds grown there.”

Easter Bread (Paska) This Easter Paska recipe is inspired by Ukrainian Easter bread. It can also be found in other Eastern European countries that can trace their roots all the way back to the ancient Byzantine Empire. Presentation varies, but can include braided dough crosses baked into the top. However you choose decorations for yours, take time to enjoy your family and loved ones over the Easter holiday.

INGREDIENTS: 3 Tbsp

yeast

5 cups

water

1/2 cup

sugar

4

eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp

salt

3/4 cup

oil, reserve 1/4 cup for kneading

12 cups

flour

1 tsp

vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Combine yeast, ½ cup of warm water and one tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes 2. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, remaining sugar, salt and ½ cup of the oil, beating well 3. Add the yeast mixture to the egg mixture and stir well 4. Add the water and flour, kneading for 10-15 minutes while using the remaining oil to make a soft dough 5. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down every 20 minutes, four times 6. Grease a round pan (10-12 inches wide) 7. Using about 2/3 of the dough, shape into a round loaf and place in the greased round pan 8. Cover loaf with a cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, approximately one hour 9. Use the remaining 1/3 of the dough to shape your decorations. This is a great time to let the little ones get creative, making crosses, swirls, rosettes or whatever comes to them.

10. Once the loaf has risen, attach the decorative dough shapes to the top with a beaten egg white 11. Brush the loaf with a beaten egg yolk diluted with one tablespoon water 12. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then turn down to 350°F and continue baking for 35-40 minutes 13. Remove from oven and loaf pan, allowing it to cool on a wire rack

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 13

WORKOUT

Everything You Need to Know About the Enbridge Tour Alberta For Cancer Tour rebrands, but continues to have a major impact

“A secondary benefit of the event is that it creates a support group for people,” Campbell says. “When cancer is in your life, it’s really easy to feel alone.

Being part of this community allows you to share those emotions and those feelings and talk them out with people.”

by ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH illustration by MIGY BLANCO

For Randy McDonald, any longdistance bike ride is meaningful.

The Calgarian has always loved the physical challenge of long-distance cycling — but there’s one ride that he’s looking forward to more than any other this year.

For the first time since 2019, this summer, McDonald will join friends, both old and new, for the Enbridge Tour Alberta For Cancer, a fundraising ride that has been an important part of his life since the event first started as the Ride to Conquer Cancer 14 years ago. After two years of the Tour operating as a virtual collection of individual rides, the full event is set to return with a ride that will take cyclists through a 200+ km route over two days on the July 23 weekend.

“I first got involved because I love cycling,” McDonald says. “But I had a number of close relatives and friends who had been affected by cancer and it seemed like a wonderful way to give back.”

REBRANDING THE TOUR McDonald and his fellow riders will see some changes in this year’s Tour. The Alberta Cancer Foundation rebranded it as the Enbridge Tour Alberta For Cancer in 2021 in order to distinguish it from the national Ride to Conquer Cancer, which is organized by the Princess Margaret Hospital in Ontario. The new branding has a uniquely Albertan flavour.

14 LEAP SPRING 2022

The change also allows the Alberta Cancer Foundation to tailor some of the specifics, including the ability for participants to choose to do a shorter portion of the course to better suit their riding abilities or to participate virtually, even though the full in-person ride is going forward this year.

“We got a lot of really positive feedback from people in the last couple of years who were able to do it virtually,” says Ryan Campbell, director of corporate relations with the Alberta Cancer Foundation. “They loved that they could do a 10K with their kids, even if they weren’t able to commit to the full two-day event.”

FINDING INSPIRATION For riders like McDonald, one of the biggest perks is the atmosphere of the ride, which carries a vibrant festival feel, with people wearing costumes to cheer on the cyclists and riders developing lifelong friendships as they travel along the road. Even more importantly, the Tour gives participants a chance to think about why they’re riding in the first place. Cancer survivors and riders who are in the midst of treatment are given special flags to put on their bikes so others can cheer them on throughout the ride. The Tour has become about more than a group of cyclists — it’s a community of people testing their physical limitations for a common cause.

RAISING FUNDS Of course, the Tour is also a fundraiser — and a big one at that, raising around $6-7 million in the years where it has been done as a full in-person event. To participate, a rider has to raise a minimum of $2,500, which is typically done through special events ranging from head shaves to hockey tournaments or sponsorships, be they corporate or through individual donors.

All money raised supports patients at one of Alberta Health Services’ 17 cancer care centres across the province. The new format of the Tour allows riders to direct their funds to not only the centre of their choice, but to specific areas such as research, equipment or urgent needs.

McDonald says he’s ridden on behalf of a different friend or family member with a cancer diagnosis every year — sadly, this year, he’s dedicating his ride to his wife, who was diagnosed with cancer last year. While he hopes that one day everyone he cares about will be cancer-free and he can ride for a more generalized cause, he says the Tour is now part of his life, and, as long as he’s in riding shape, he’ll show up to ride alongside his fundraising community.

“I have an obligation to do this every year because I love cycling and because I can approach people to raise money,” he says. “As long as I’m physically able to do this, I will.”

The goal for the 2022 Tour is to raise $5 million. To donate, support a rider or register for the event, visit touralbertaforcancer.ca.

SPRING 2022 LEAP 15

EXPERT ADVICE

We ask the experts about reducing taxes to maximize your legacy and how to navigate intimacy during cancer treatment by MICHAELA REAM gift appreciated securities to a charity.

And the third would be to have your will state you’d like to give cash to charity from your estate.

Q: How do you balance supporting loved ones and charity?

RANDY LIEDTKE

REDUCING TAXES TO PREPARE FOR END OF LIFE

There are only two certainties in life, and one of them is paying taxes.

We talk to Randy Liedtke, financial planner and tax expert about planning, including how to minimize the amount of taxes you pay on your estate so you can maximize giving back.

Q: What are ways to reduce the amount of income tax you owe?

There are three strategies here. First, have clarity as to what your estate tax will be and take steps to avoid it by naming charities as beneficiaries on your RRSP, RRIF and TFSA. Secondly,

It’s a personal answer to each individual donor of how much to leave to their heirs and leaving an appropriate amount to charities. I like to use a 10 per cent rule, but it’s not cast in stone; it could be more than that.

Some people want to give enough to charities to avoid how much tax they pay on their terminal returns by giving a certain amount to charity and the rest to their heirs. Setting up tax-free savings accounts and life insurance policies will also secure money without large taxes.

Q: What is a tax aspect that people don’t think about or forget to ask about at end-of-life preparation that could help reduce taxes?

Gifts to charity are the biggest ways

to reduce taxes on an estate. Available capital losses are another way, so if an estate has available capital losses, they will reduce their capital gains by that amount.

Capital gains or losses result from the sale of property, whether that is real estate, stocks, bonds, etc.

Q: What advice do you have for someone writing or reviewing their estate plan?

Coordinate a team of professional legal, accounting and wealth advisors. A wealth planner can provide documents like a financial plan and estate plan, which gives clarity to the whole team to execute the will and provide tax advice. A financial plan and estate plan are primary documents to make sure you’re looked after in retirement and outlines how to disperse any excess money — the earlier, the better to establish a financial plan to look toward the future.

Q: What advice do you have for donors regarding taxes?

Many donors don’t have a financial plan or state plan in place. That is something to do first before anything else and, from there, we can determine all other life events. Once you have that in place, the plan gives you the confidence to execute your passions, like giving back to charities.

Interested in learning more? Join Randy for a free virtual seminar this fall, brought to you by the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

Email the Foundation’s manager of legacy philanthropy at christy.soholt@ albertacancer.ca to learn more.

The Alberta Cancer Foundation has partnered with Will Power, a national campaign aimed at showing Canadians how their estate can support the causes that are important to them and take care of their families. Visit willpower.ca/charities/alberta-cancerfoundation for information and tools, including a legacy calculator.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHEILA TODERIAN

16 LEAP SPRING 2022

masculinity and pressure to feel that masculine or feminine archetype that many people have for most of their lives. For each individual, it’s not being able to have an erection or not having both breasts can affect confidence and the ability to engage in sexual activity.

Q: How can couples maintain intimacy when intercourse isn’t an option?

J: Change what intimacy means in

JULIE MUNCH AND MANDIE DENING

GETTING IN THE MOOD

Cancer treatment can cause physical and emotional changes that affect how you feel about and approach intimacy in a relationship. Mandie Dening, a sexual health consultant in oncology, and Julie Munch, an occupational therapist and sexual health consultant, both for Alberta Health Services’ Oncology and Sexual, Intimacy and Survivorship (OASIS) program, share positive ways you can navigate intimacy with your partner.

Q: How can you and your partner prepare for potential intimacy changes even before treatment begins?

JULIE: After cancer treatment, nothing

is the same, so knowing how you will approach those changes throughout treatment will be a lot more helpful.

Talk about ways to show each other that you still love each other or how you are going to maintain physical closeness, even without intercourse.

MANDIE: Talk about things like protection if you’re having chemotherapy because the

chemotherapy drugs can pass to your partner [which risks damaging healthy cells and tissues]. Birth control is going to be really important to talk about, and the use of lubricant is also something that’s really important with treatment side effects.

Q: What physical changes can occur during and after treatment?

J: Women can get vaginal dryness, and

it causes issues of painful intercourse, sometimes painful urination, pain with walking and can be impactful to their quality of life. We also see decreased sensation in female and male genitalia, including changes and increased disability to orgasm. Loss of interest in sex is one of the most common things, whether from physical changes or the stress they’re going through.

Q: What emotional changes can occur that may affect intimacy?

M: Some people develop a fear of

having sex, especially if they’ve had cancer related to their genitals. Stress can also cause erectile dysfunction, feeling a loss of femininity and

your relationship. So, what did you do when you first started dating? What made you feel close? Identifying these things can really help you figure out ways to make your partner feel valued or find new ways to be intimate.

Change is always scary, but sometimes it can lead to something even better.

M: It’s totally fine to embrace sex being off the table –– it’s important for couples to talk outside of the bedroom.

Mindful touching can help, like taking time to touch each other intentionally helps to stay connected physically and without that pressure to have sex too soon or too fast.

Q: What resources are available for couples?

J: We have the OASIS program, where

we offer support for intimacy concerns and changes from cancer affecting that.

We are open by referral or even selfreferral if couples aren’t comfortable talking to a medical professional.

M: We’ll also refer to different options depending on the specific needs.

If we’re not able to help or things are more intense, there is pelvic floor physiotherapy, or urologists, gynecologists and other specialists in sexual health issues.

To access the OASIS program, call 403-355-3246 in the Calgary area and 780-432-8260 in Edmonton. myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 17

FROM LARGE CENTRES TO SMALL, DISCOVER THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HELPING IMPROVE ACCESS TO RESEARCH, TREATMENT AND CARE FOR CANCER PATIENTS ACROSS THE PROVINCE

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DECIPHERING DATA How the collection of data helps improve and individualize cancer treatment

BY CAILYNN KLINGBEIL

In Alberta, plentiful and varied information is collected on cancer care. There’s the Alberta Cancer Registry, for example, in which every single case of cancer diagnosed in the province is documented.

Another massive dataset encompasses the experiences and outcomes of cancer patients themselves, an important perspective that has not historically been gathered.

Meanwhile, information on areas such as diagnoses, treatments and health system usage is held in administrative databases.

Data is an untapped resource and, if used responsibly, can yield big insights into how we might be able to tailor treatment and care more appropriately, says Dr. Paula Robson, scientific director for both cancer research and analytics at Cancer Care Alberta and the Cancer Strategic Clinical Network. “When you really get into it,” she says, “it’s a treasure trove.”

In Alberta, researchers and analysts are harnessing vast provincial databases to improve outcomes and experiences for people facing cancer. That work is poised for growth as teams integrate data in new ways to answer complex questions. Privacy remains of utmost importance — personal, identifiable

information isn’t shared, but researchers can still tell an incredible story.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought health data mainstream, with people across the province closely watching systems that track coronavirus cases, deaths and vaccination rates. Across the cancer continuum in Alberta, expansive health data is collected. Organizing and navigating all that data, as well as extracting valuable insights from it and supporting academic partners, falls to the teams within the cancer research and analytics portfolio at Cancer Care Alberta, an investigative hub created in 2018.

“My teams are experts in being able to put all of that information together and provide a picture of what’s happening in terms of cancer care, cancer treatment, cancer outcomes in the province of Alberta,” says Robson. “And then, with a better understanding of what’s going on, we can figure out whether there are better ways of doing things.”

Cancer Care Alberta is embedded within Alberta Health Services (AHS).

In other provinces, data may be spread across different hospitals, organizations and cancer treatment centres.

“We have such a great advantage in that we can pull it all together in one place for access,” says Robson, who is also board chair of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance.

The data collection happens through many channels. Health-care providers recording routine information at clinic

visits, for example, may not realize that just by doing their job, they’re contributing to the massive information mine, Robson says.

But data collection is just one piece of the puzzle. Data must also be sorted and standardized before it can be analyzed by people who have both clinical and statistical knowledge.

Health data can be used to help understand why some patients respond well to a particular treatment, for example, while others do not. Such findings could lead to tailoring cancer treatments to more appropriately meet the needs of individual patients. The “holy grail,” says Robson, is precision oncology: “the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.”

PUTTING PATIENTS FIRST

Within the cancer research and analytics portfolio, one team is focused on documenting the experience and outcomes of cancer patients. “It has not been something historically gathered in routine care,” says Dr. Linda Watson, the scientific director for applied research and patient experience with the AHS cancer program. “Now we are gathering this whole large dataset that represents patients’ experiences and outcomes, and then that can be combined with other pieces of data to answer questions in new ways.”

When cancer patients are seen at a Cancer Care Alberta site, they complete a patient-reported outcomes myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 19

questionnaire called Putting Patients First. This standardized tool asks patients to rate a variety of common symptoms, from pain to lack of appetite to anxiety, and also includes a problem checklist covering concerns in categories including emotional, practical, physical and nutrition.

The primary purpose of the resulting data is to guide patient care. In the future, Watson points out, patients will be able to complete the questionnaire electronically prior to appointments, and health-care providers will be able to access data-visualization dashboards in real time, ultimately ensuring patients receive the right care.

The information also flows into a comprehensive dataset of patientreported outcomes, used to inform broader improvements. So far, that data covers about 80,000 patients and 450,000 different screening points with symptom data, says Watson.

It’s already being used to answer real-world questions.

Watson shares a recent example, in which patient experience information was examined alongside other records, including hospitalization and emergency room data. Researchers found that patient symptoms were a predictor for future hospitalization and emergency room use.

Acting on such findings could lead to improvements for patients, as well as the health-care system, Watson says. By increasing care earlier to help manage symptoms, patients could stay in their homes and avoid expensive emergency room visits and hospitalization.

CANCER DATA SCIENCES HUB

Such findings are aided by the ability to integrate data — an area poised for growth in Alberta.

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“As we move forward, this is the power,” says Watson. “We’ve got pharmacy data coming in, so we know what treatments people were on. We’ve got hospitalization data, emergency room data, symptom burden data, treatment modalities, CT scan diagnostics, all these things that we can now pull together to answer these more complex questions.”

Her team’s work documenting the experience and outcomes of cancer patients feeds into two major initiatives transforming cancer research and care in Alberta: Oncology Outcomes for Real World Patients and the Cancer Data Sciences Hub. It’s a great example of partnership, as the health system and academics work collaboratively to answer questions important to improve cancer care, outcomes and experiences.

Oncology Outcomes for Real World Patients, known as O2, is a research program that uses advanced analytical methods on health data to bridge the gap between the controlled setting of clinical trials and the real world.

“When a cancer drug is approved for use, it’s generally approved on the basis of how it performed in clinical trials,” Robson explains. A challenge exists in that the people selected for clinical trials may be quite different from the cancer patients who go on to receive the drug.

The latter group, Robson says, may have underlying conditions that impact how the drug works, or maybe they don’t take the drug as consistently as trial participants because of how it makes them feel.

“We can start pulling all of that data together to say, when we look at how this functions, really, what’s the story?

Is the drug as effective as we thought it was when it came out of the clinical trials?” Robson says.

The Cancer Data Sciences Hub, still in the concept phase, is a collaboration between Alberta Health Services and cancer scientists at the University of Calgary. It would create a hub for all the data, so researchers can better handle, integrate and analyze it, connecting dots in ways they haven’t previously been able to.

Linking the University of Calgary’s molecular data work — which reveals the genetic profiles of tumours, for example — with Alberta Health Services’ robust clinical data and patient-reported outcomes, could help researchers understand how to better treat cancers based on their genetic makeup, Robson says.

Similar work is being done in Edmonton as physicians at the Cross Cancer Institute are combining clinical expertise with data to improve care for their patients. For instance, Dr. John Walker, a medical oncologist with the Cross, collects data on the immunobiology of cancer and toxicities associated with immunotherapy.

This database will help oncologists understand the role of the immune system in cancer and understand how immunotherapy is changing cancer treatment.

Also at the Cross, Dr. Naveen Basappa is working with a national registry that collects patient data from consented patients who have been diagnosed and treated for renal cell carcinoma. That data is then used to refine and improve the treatment and management of kidney cancer across Canada.

Dr. Jennifer Chan, director of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the University of Calgary, says there isn’t currently a single superstructure that incorporates both the vast clinical data assets of AHS and the deep experimental- and discovery-oriented

data from University of Calgary-based researchers. The Cancer Data Sciences Hub could be leveraged by investigators across different domains of cancer research to accelerate progress, gain more insights and make a greater impact for a larger number of patients.

The conclusions from such a system, however, are only as good as the available data feeding the system.

“There have been pockets of different areas of society that traditionally aren’t as well represented in research,” Chan says. “So, if we’re going to make this work, we really need as many people from as many diverse backgrounds as possible.”

Through her work, Chan sees firsthand how individual actions — like cancer patients consenting to tumour banking, or people signing on to research projects such as Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (see page 21) — help to build a health-care system that provides the best care for all Albertans.

Chan gets excited talking about the opportunities the Cancer Data Sciences Hub can bring, from accelerating precision oncology to creating more room for researchers to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to sift through vast datasets.

Ultimately, she says, all this work will improve how health-care providers treat cancer patients. “Right now, there’s just too much information for one human, one oncologist, to integrate everything at the same time,” Chan says.

The hub will enable a different future for people facing a cancer diagnosis.

Health data from people similar to the patient, and information previously extracted from that specific type of tumour, will be accessible to healthcare providers in real time, informing a tailored treatment plan that’s truly best for the patient.

LOOKING TO TOMORROW Data offers rich insight into how and why people develop disease BY SEAN P. YOUNG When it comes to unlocking the power of data in the effort to end cancer, Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP) is one of our strongest weapons. Launched in 2000, it’s the province’s largest-ever health study, with almost 55,000 participants. Funded

by Alberta Health, the Alberta Cancer Foundation, Alberta Health Services, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Health Canada, the generational study is expected to last for four more decades and collect many more pieces of data.

Those who are currently delving into the rich swaths of data from the past 22 years suggest the breakthrough stage is now underway.

“The foresight and investment by the funders over time has made a huge difference because we were in the build phase for quite a while,” says Dr. Jennifer Vena, ATP’s scientific director. “But you really need to put in that time and investment to now start really reaping the rewards.”

Vena, a homegrown Alberta scientist, joined ATP in 2015. That same year, ATP stopped taking new participants into the study after overshooting its goal of 50,000 Albertans between the ages of 35 and 69 with no history of malignant cancer.

“People in Alberta are more than willing to take part in these big studies, which have a very broad mandate,” says Dr. Paula Robson, Vena’s predecessor who led ATP from 2006 to 2017. “That, for me, is the big takeaway from my time there, how amazing it is to have 55,000 people across this province trust us to use the information they have provided to help answer some of the many questions we still have about cancer.”

ATP participants complete questionnaires about their health history and lifestyle habits, such as smoking, alcohol use, diet and physical activity, current medications, where they’ve lived in the province and more. In 2008, they were also invited to provide biosamples (urine, blood and/or saliva) and have their physical measurements taken at study centres in Edmonton and Calgary.

The collection of biobank samples launched in 2011, with the 100th mobile study centre on the road in 2012.

Participants who consent to data linkage will have their health information followed for the length of the study, or until age 85, through linkage to AHS databases. Complete and immediate patient data, including Alberta Cancer Registry information, is currently available, and the rollout of Alberta’s Connect Care system will streamline the collection and coding process.

One goal of ATP is to learn how lifestyle, genetics and environmental myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 21

exposure interact and contribute to increased risk of cancer and other chronic diseases like diabetes. By studying information provided over decades, researchers may be able to determine why some people develop certain cancers and chronic diseases while others don’t.

“One of the beautiful things about a prospective study is that you’re reducing your influence on the data,” Vena says.

“In a retrospective study of people with

TOMORROW’S PAST A look back at some of ATP’s milestones 2000

ATP kicks off with baseline surveys going out to participants. Follow-up surveys are sent out in 2004 and 2008.

2008-2015 ATP joins the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project, now called CanPath, linking similar cohort projects across Canada. Participants receive CanPath surveys and attend study centres to collect blood and urine samples and provide physical measurements.

2016

ATP data is linked with Alberta Cancer Registry/ Alberta Health data for the first time. In 2018-2019, data linkages are also made with Alberta Cancer Research Biobank (ACRB) and Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) for the first time.

2017-2018 Follow-up health and lifestyle survey for ATP participants is offered online for the first time.

2019

New online portal launches, making it easier for researchers to apply for ATP data/biosamples.

2020

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health tasks ATP with conducting COVID-19 antibody testing (CAT) study. More than 4,000 ATP participants, who match predetermined criteria, are invited to participate. The immediate goals of the study are to determine how many Albertans have been infected with coronavirus based on testing for antibodies and to understand aspects of the virus and antibodies. The long-term goal is to see if there may be links between infectious diseases and non-infectious chronic disease.

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breast cancer, for example, it can be really hard to remember what you did five, 10 or 15 years ago.”

Vena’s areas of focus for her postdoctoral research and training were nutrition and metabolic disorders. She started in a research associate position at ATP in 2015, focusing on cancer prevention, then moved to the research lead position in 2016. She became scientific director in 2017, overseeing the project’s long-term scientific strategy — a task she admits is equal parts challenging and meaningful.

“I like the complexity. I think there’s fun in that. How do we bring all this data together? To me, that’s a fun problem to have,” she says. “And, where there’s problems, there’s hope.”

The layers of complexity continue to evolve with the study. ATP was the first population health study of its kind in Canada. But similar cohort projects in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic provinces and, more recently, Manitoba and Saskatchewan soon followed.

In 2008, ATP joined a consortium of cohort studies, known as CanPath, which greatly expanded the available data (more than 300,000 participants across Canada) to researchers.

“It’s a lot of information, but I think technology and developments in computer science and big data have really put us in a place where we can start to make sense of that,” says Dr. Jennifer Chan, director of the Cumming School of Medicine’s Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute.

Chan says advancements in machine learning are now giving researchers the power to interrogate large-scale data and search for patterns down to a molecular level, rapidly scraping millions of pieces of patient information and genome sequences from tissue samples.

“We’re getting to the stage of understanding that perhaps certain genotypes are more at risk for developing some diseases, including cancer,” Chan says. “I think that’s where it really starts to go from an academic exercise to something that really influences policy and our health-care systems.”

AT A GLANCE

Between April 2020 and March 2021: 59,852 Albertans visited one of the 17 cancer centres across the province a total of 729,012 times 7,229 monthly donors to the Alberta Cancer Foundation 4,456 times, in their time of urgent need, Albertans accessed Patient Financial Assistance 113 active cancer research projects led by the brightest minds in Alberta 1,022 patients enrolled in a clinical trial and 75 new clinical trials opened 4,992 patients accessed the Alberta Cancer Foundation Patient Navigation Programs, including AYA and Indigenous Programs, with 15,475 interactions with nurse Navigators 278 families have told us the Alberta Cancer Foundation is in their will

MAP BY VERONICA COWAN

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REBUILDING TRUST THROUGH THE CIRCLE Wellspring Calgary takes meaningful steps toward reconciling the relationship between Indigenous people living with cancer and the health-care system

BY TRAVIS KLEMP

For many Indigenous communities, the circle is a sacred symbol representing interconnectedness. The circle holds immense importance from the medicine wheel to the sun, the moon and the lifecycle. For those going through one of the most difficult journeys of their lives, it can be a place where they feel safe to share and feel supported.

At Wellspring Calgary, experts in community-based cancer support recently reached the one-year mark of offering Indigenous sharing circles for Indigenous patients, caregivers, family members and friends living with cancer.

In January 2020, Wellspring chief operating officer Sheena Clifford, alongside her team — including Arrow Big Smoke, Indigenous Patient Navigator with Cancer Care Alberta — started the process of creating this unique and necessary approach to assisting Indigenous people experiencing cancer. After nearly a year of consultation and collaborative efforts between Big Smoke, Wellspring’s teams in Calgary and Edmonton and Indigenous Elders, the circles began.

Clifford says there was immediate interest and support.

Clifford shares how, when Big Smoke 24 LEAP SPRING 2022

came to Wellspring Calgary to offer the sharing circle idea, it was something they knew was needed.

“We knew Indigenous people in Alberta living with cancer have additional challenges to accessing support, including systemic racism,” says Clifford. “When she [Big Smoke] came to us, she shared that people were searching for something like this to connect them with other Indigenous people on similar journeys.”

The Indigenous sharing circle is not only for patients or those diagnosed with cancer, but also for caregivers, family members, friends and others who have a connection to someone impacted by the disease.

On the first Monday of each month, patients and loved ones meet for an hour and a half virtually or over the phone with others ready to share, listen and support their Indigenous brothers and sisters.

While virtual meetings may be a sign of the times, they will likely be here to stay for the Indigenous sharing circle program. Clifford says there are significant barriers for Indigenous people in rural communities and cancer patients in general when it comes to travelling. The current virtual setup allows people to participate from anywhere across the province.

Wellspring works with two Cree Elders and one Blackfoot Elder, who lead the circle and begin each session

”The circle is healing; it always has been and always will be.”

— GILLMAN CARDINAL

with a prayer, a blessing or sometimes a song. It allows participants to connect with their culture and feel supported with teachings they grew up with or feel disconnected from.

“For some patients, they did not have the opportunity to live with their culture or language or connect in this way throughout their life,” says Clifford.

“And now, they are living with cancer, and many people are feeling like they really want to feel that connection to their culture.”

For Bob Phillips, a 69-year-old Métis diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019, the sharing circle has given him a chance to connect with the trio of Elders and other Indigenous people in general.

“I remember clearly noticing that I was the only Indigenous person in the room when I was getting treatment or participating in other support programs, and it was isolating,” says Phillips. “Cancer is something that can be isolating on its own, but when you don’t see any of your own people, it is difficult.”

Phillips says he has certainly experienced racism in and outside of the health-care system, but the sharing circle has created a safe space where, rather than feeling isolated by his indigeneity, he can celebrate it.

“This is the type of atmosphere that is critical to sharing because Creator is involved in the ceremony,” he says.

“I have a lot of respect for the Elders and the other Indigenous people openly sharing their stories because we know not a word will be shared outside of the circle. We are completely safe and supported by each other and Wellspring Calgary.”

The sharing circles also support family members who may be experiencing significant stress.

“We owe it to our families and

ourselves, the people who love us, to look after ourselves,” says Phillips.

Both Phillips and Clifford say programs such as the Indigenous sharing circle are important steps toward building trust between Indigenous communities and the health-care system. The circle is also a step toward meaningful and lasting reconciliation.

Phillips has spent three decades working in Indigenous relations in multiple industries and government and says these are the types of programs that allow Indigenous people to be heard and supported in a meaningful capacity.

Gillman Cardinal is a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta and is one of the three Elders leading the circles alongside Casey Eagle Speaker and Ernie Poundmaker.

Cardinal says it is a unique and sacred experience to share with participants — one that is equally as important to him.

“I’ve worked closely with families struggling with multiple issues, health and otherwise, in the past, but not directly with cancer patients,” says Cardinal. “So, this is a sacred and emotional experience because I have family and friends who have been on that same path.”

Cardinal also echoes Phillips in that patients do not always have many opportunities to share their feelings about recovery or diagnosis with Elders and other Indigenous people.

“When this was created, and I was asked to be a part of it, I was so happy to help because I know a lot of people have never had this opportunity,” says Cardinal. “It is one of the most honourable and respectful circles I have ever been a part of. The circle is healing; it always has been and always will be.” myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 25

MAXIMUM EFFORT Max Chan’s story inspires others to take their health more seriously BY DEBBY WALDMAN

During the years Enbridge executive Max Chan volunteered for lunch duty at the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer, serving meals to the elite cyclists in the event, it never occurred to him to participate as a rider.

“Nobody is going to mistake me for an elite endurance athlete,” he jokes.

But the pandemic and a cancer diagnosis changed all that. In 2021, for the second year in a row, the Tour was no longer a two-day road-bike event featuring 200 cyclists on a designated route. Instead, it was more of a do-it-

yourself tour, with participants cycling when and where they wanted.

Chan, who had been diagnosed with stage 1 renal cell carcinoma in early 2020, was looking for a way to get back into shape following surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumour and part of his right kidney.

He had never been an avid road cyclist — his passion is mountain biking. But, when he learned about the revised event, he began entertaining the possibility that 2021 could be his year to step out from behind the lunch table — and not just because there wouldn’t be a lunch table.

“I thought, well, maybe this is meant to be — in a good way,” Chan said PHOTOS COURTESY MAX CHAN

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before last year’s event. “Enbridge is the longtime title sponsor. I just beat cancer, and this year, for 2021, it’s a sort of virtual ride. That actually works for me, if I could do a big mountain bike ride which is more meaningful to me and the kind of ride I would like to do.”

As it turned out, it worked out very well for the Alberta Cancer Foundation, too: Chan raised a whopping $86,000, all of it from friends, family and colleagues.

Although fundraising is one of Chan’s main jobs as Enbridge’s vice-president of treasury and enterprise risk, he’d never fundraised for something so personal. He sent emails to friends and family and posted on his social media accounts to spread the word. Some people who got his messages knew he’d had cancer, but, because of the pandemic, quite a few were unaware of what he’d been through.

“The messages were pouring in,” he says. “People were like, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea! Good for you! I’m happy to support this. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Within 48 hours of sending out his first emails and posts, Chan had raised $10,000, which is about all he’d expected. But the money kept coming.

“For some people who knew I had gone through it and were maybe scared to ask how I was doing, the fact that I was going to do the ride was a good sign that I was doing well and getting better,” he says, theorizing about his fundraising success.

Chan’s other explanation is that he has a lot of great and generous friends and family, “and clearly this one hits home for a lot of people. I don’t think anyone ever expects to get cancer, and I don’t think people expected it of me, with my age and health — it caught a lot of people by surprise.”

It certainly caught Chan by surprise. He had no idea a tumour was growing in his kidney when he went for a routine physical around the time he turned 40. He hadn’t

seen a doctor regularly in more than 10 years. Like a lot of his male friends in their 30s and 40s, he hadn’t gone for regular checkups because he wasn’t taking his health very seriously.

“Naively I was like, I haven’t had a reason to,” he says. “A typical, overly confident macho attitude.”

Chan’s new doctor was a friend who is a family physician. “There were a few things that didn’t add up for him,” Chan recalls. A full-body scan in February 2020 revealed the tumour, and Chan met with an oncologist less than two weeks later. He was lucky: the cancer was caught early and the treatment was straightforward. But the timing stunk.

“I was booked in for surgery for May, and then the pandemic hit, and for basically three months, every

CHAN WITH HIS SON

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CHAN AND BEN TSUI, ENBRIDGE RIDE FUNDRAISING TEAM LEAD

day, I was like, ‘Is my surgery going to be cancelled?’” he recalls. “And that’s tough, but the doctor said, ‘Don’t worry.

Luckily we’ve caught this early and we have a good plan here.’”

Married with three children under the age of 13, Chan wanted to have the surgery so he could start getting healthy again. Fortunately for him, the 28 LEAP SPRING 2022

operation went ahead as planned in May. He was grateful not to require any further active treatments, but he discovered very quickly that major abdominal surgery is literally nothing to sneeze at.

“The thing that scared me the most after wasn’t even the cancer, it was fear of sneezing and tearing out my staples,” he says, laughing. “It was a slow physical recovery. I was in pretty reasonable shape going into it, but the first week home, I couldn’t even walk around the block. I’d never had surgery before. I didn’t realize how tough it was.”

Training for the tour was also tough. Chan picked a particularly challenging route, up switchback trails to the summit of B.C.’s Panorama Ski Resort, where he and his family ski in the winter and bike in the summer.

When the snow melted in May, Chan began training by riding in the mountains and hills around Calgary and Panorama. He invited a friend and Enbridge colleague, Andrew Harrington, to join him for the actual ride in August.

They chose Aug. 21 for their tour, starting the ascent early in the morning.

They stopped often for breaks and to talk, and, by the time they completed

their round trip nearly six hours later, Chan knew he would do the Tour again in 2022. He hopes he’ll be able to raise as much money again, but, as proud as he is of that accomplishment, he’s more heartened that his cancer scare inspired many of his friends to take their health more seriously by going for annual checkups.

“I’ve known people with cancer, and you hear a lot more stories from other people going through something like this,” Chan says. “I think people generally react in a couple of ways. One, you deal with it, you recover and you never want to talk about it again. It’s painful and scarring. And I completely understand that. And the other is the

”I’m a believer in everything happens for a reason and, in this case, I’m going to take this tough experience and get something out of it other than a cool scar.” approach I ended up taking: ‘Well, that sucks, but I’m a believer in everything happens for a reason, and, in this case, I’m going to take this tough experience and get something out of it other than a cool scar.’

“For me, it ended up being that I raised a boatload of money and awareness and convinced many of my friends to see a doctor. And, for me, it really made me happy that some positives came from my experience.”

CHAN WITH FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ANDREW HARRINGTON

PHOTOS COURTESY MAX CHAN

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IN OUR ONGOING PHOTO SERIES, WE CAPTURE THE BRAVERY, STRENGTH, HONESTY, HOPE AND RESILIENCE OF ALBERTANS LIVING WITH CANCER

PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

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LIVING WITH CANCER

Meet

CANDACE COOK As told to DEREK CLOUTHIER

On June 23, 2022, Candace Cook will be looking to achieve one of her goals — her 50th birthday.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, where she worked as a communications director for the provincial government, Candace moved to Edmonton in 2008 with her husband, Tim, and son, Nathan. In 2011, life threw them a curveball when Candace was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and a year of targeted therapy, Candace thought she was in the clear. But, in 2014, some discomfort under her arm turned out to be stage 4 cancer, which has since spread to her bones, soft tissue, lungs, liver and, most recently, her brain. Now appreciating each day, Candace lives for the moment, and is proud to say, “I’m still here.”

“In 2011, when I found out I had stage 2 breast cancer, I was shocked. My son was only two, and you start thinking, ‘Oh my God, my son is not going to have a mother.’ But my husband was a great support and was able to help me with my perspective at the time.

“I quickly started to learn that a lot of people who have cancer can often live a long time with metastatic cancer, and I just happen to be one of the fortunate ones. I’ve benefited from a lot of different treatments that have helped shrink my cancer and give me extra time.

“One of the things that surprised me the most was how many treatment options there are for someone like me with metastatic cancer. Other people diagnosed stage 4 can take some comfort in that there are so many great treatments out there right now that don’t have a lot of side effects. We’re getting much better at targeting therapies and there’s so many things on the horizon.

“I’ve always said that hope is one of the best things you can give a cancer patient, and I’ve tried to hold on to hope as best I can. My husband and my son are definitely my rocks through all of this. My husband is a bit of a jokester, but he’s also always good at helping me gain perspective.

There’s always a positive if you look really hard. And, hey, I’m still here.”

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RESEARCH ROCKSTARS Dr. Jennifer Chan and Dr. Hanne Ostergaard Two new leaders at Alberta’s university cancer research institutes excited about more collaboration

by KERI SWEETMAN

lberta’s two university-affiliated cancer research institutes have inspiring new leaders in place. The two have much in common beyond the fact they are both well-respected scientists.

Dr. Jennifer Chan took over as director of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the University of Calgary in January 2021, after seven years as deputy director. Dr. Hanne Ostergaard became director of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA) at the University of Alberta a few months later, on June 1.

Both were born in southern California.

Both are the children of immigrants. As young American researchers, both were recruited to Alberta universities, along with their scientist-husbands. Both have had successful research careers, with support from major funding agencies.

And, most importantly, both are passionate about cancer research.

With their new leadership positions at CRINA and the Arnie Charbonneau, Ostergaard and Chan are excited about the potential for greater collaboration between researchers at both universities and the cancer centres in the two cities — and between the two institutes themselves. CRINA has 137 research members and the Arnie Charbonneau has 152.

“By helping people collaborate more,” says Ostergaard, “it makes it easier to take a basic, fundamental discovery and translate it into better detection, treatment or behavioural changes.”

Ostergaard is an immunologist and professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Medical Microbiology

and Immunology, where she teaches a course in the immunology and infection program. From 2012 to 2020, she was associate dean of research for graduate programs in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. Her CV proudly lists dozens of graduate students she has supervised who have gone on to stellar careers.

Ostergaard joined the University of Alberta in 1991 after completing postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, Calif., and her PhD in immunology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She and her husband, Kevin Kane, also an immunologist, weighed several job offers, including one from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

They chose the University of Alberta

because the immunology department was so strong and funding from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research allowed them to immediately set up their labs.

Growing up in a Los Angeles suburb, Ostergaard was drawn to science because she liked figuring out how things work. Her father, a steamfitter, taught his children how to fix things around the house. Her Danish parents also introduced her to Lego, which she credits for piquing her interest in taking things apart and rebuilding them.

She discovered that same passion in her university’s biology department, which specialized in cell and molecular biology. She loved trying to understand how cells work — and that has been the foundation of her cancer research in the decades since.

“My research is very basic and fundamental but has been connected to cancer my entire career, starting as a graduate student. I feel a personal connection to cancer research,” says Ostergaard, who watched her grandmother, her aunt and a close friend all battle the disease.

Her lab focuses on understanding how T lymphocytes (or T-cells) in the immune system recognize and respond to cancer cells, and why they sometimes

DR. HANNE OSTERGAARD AND HER DOG, DAPPER PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

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suppress tumour growth. Her research looks particularly at CD8 T-cells, how they function and migrate and suppress tumour growth and how they could be manipulated to become better cancer cell-killers.

“The hope is that, if we know how they work, we could eventually interfere with them to either enhance those responses or we could promote better cancer cell-killing activity,” she explains.

Ostergaard’s research has been funded by a number of agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Cancer Society. Her work has become even more vital with advances in checkpoint inhibitor therapy, a drug treatment that releases the natural brakes in the immune system so that T-cells can recognize and attack tumours.

Looking ahead a decade, Ostergaard doesn’t know if she will still be in the lab, but she hopes “the knowledge we’ve gained will contribute to people using new therapies to treat cancer, or at least inform their decisions on how best to treat cancer.”

In Calgary, Chan hopes the research she is doing on brain tumour biology will also someday lead to clinicians and patients being able to make more informed decisions about therapy. Her lab studies two types of brain tumours — glioblastoma and oligodendroglioma — that are aggressive, invasive and hard to treat.

Chan is a clinician-scientist who followed her parents into medicine, but took a different path. Her parents were patient-focused physicians — her dad an OB-GYN and her mom a pediatrician — but Chan was more interested in the mechanisms of disease and unravelling important health problems through science.

After growing up in central California (her parents were immigrants from Singapore), she did her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and got her MD from Montreal’s McGill University.

After graduation, she did clinical training, a research fellowship and neuropathology work at several Harvard-

3 QUESTIONS WITH JENNIFER CHAN Where do you get your best ideas?

They come in the middle of the night. Sometimes I wake up and think, “We need to do this experiment.”

If you weren’t in your current job, what would you be?

My super-secret desire is that I would love to be a trapeze artist. I do trapeze in the summer at a rig in Calgary.

What do you do to recharge?

I exercise, go to the gym and take motorcycle rides in the mountains. I also like to read comics. I’m a very simple person.

affiliated institutions. But, by 2008, when she and her husband, a stroke neurologist, were looking to set up their own labs, the U.S. economic meltdown had begun and academic funding was drying up. They looked north, because her husband — Dr. Eric Smith — is Canadian and they had spotted ads for two good academic jobs — one in neuropathology and one in neurology — at the University of Calgary.

“Lots of things had always resonated with me in terms of social values in Canada,” says Chan. “I value the healthcare system and the education system. I was somewhat privileged in the States, but you see the disparities on a daily basis.” The couple joined the University

of Calgary in 2008.

Chan’s research lab in the Charbonneau uses tools such as genetic engineering to create models of brain tumours to study the interaction between cells. She is currently studying how immune cells in a tumour interact with cancer cells to either drive or sustain tumour growth, especially in tumours that are resistant to treatment.

Chan also describes herself as a “passionate biobanker.” She heads the Clark H. Smith Tumour Biobank, a biorepository that stores patient tumours, tissues and blood samples.

Chan herself benefits from the bank; she uses patient samples from the biorepository to create cell lines or

PHOTO BY JARED SYCH

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3 QUESTIONS WITH HANNE OSTERGAARD Where do you get your best ideas?

In the shower or in discussions with my husband (also an immunologist).

If you weren’t in your current job/profession, what would you be?

A car mechanic.

What do you do to recharge?

Going for a drive (I like cars), working in the garden or doing projects around the house.

DR. JENNIFER CHAN

xenografts to be implanted into mice to create living tumour models for her research. But her ultimate goal is to build the repository so researchers around the world can benefit from patients’ donations of their samples.

“That is my contribution back to the research community,” she says.

Chan’s research is funded by CIHR,

the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Alberta Cancer Foundation, among others.

Between her modelling research, biobanking and clinical practice, Chan works long hours, often starting her first meeting at 6 a.m. and winding up evening meetings at 9 p.m. (after a break to make dinner for her husband

and two teenagers or drive to various extracurriculars). Ostergaard, too, works long hours, between her research, teaching and administrative duties at CRINA. But she tries to get home to relax in the evenings with her husband and their two Belgian shepherds.

The two directors are looking forward to getting to know each other better (beyond Zoom meetings) and working collaboratively to forge new relationships with the province’s cancer centres. It’s an especially exciting time for Chan, who will have a front-row seat when the new Calgary Cancer Centre opens in 2023.

“There aren’t many times in anyone’s lifetime that you get to be part of something new, ambitious, meaningful and lasting,” says Chan. “Even aside from the building, we’re forging new relationships between the university and Alberta Health Services. If we do it correctly now, this is going to set the stage for success for decades to come.”

PHOTOS BY (TOP TO BOTTOM) JOHN ULAN; JARED SYCH

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MY LEAP CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PARTICIPANTS OF THE LEGACY WALK FOR CANCER RAISE FUNDS FOR PATIENTS FACING CANCER

Taking Steps Toward a Cure

by JENNIFER FRIESEN

In the summer of 2017, Donna Ebeling and her friends were having coffee after completing the OneWalk to Conquer Cancer fundraising event.

Ebeling had been taking part in charity walking events for cancer since 2008. This was the final year of OneWalk Alberta, which helped raise funds for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. As she sat with her friends and fellow walkers, Lorie Sachs and Cindy White, each felt like they were “on hold” without having another walk to look forward to.

“We just said to each other, ‘Wait, we can do this ourselves,’” Ebeling says.

“We wanted to keep raising money, and we wanted to keep going, so we just decided to keep walking.”

They got to work straight away and, within months, created the Legacy Walk for Cancer.

Over the past four years, the trio, and a growing number of participants, have completed the 27-kilometre trek between Canmore and Banff on the Banff Legacy Trail every September.

Participants can choose to do a one-day or a two-day walk and make the journey between the towns twice.

Walkers are asked to raise a minimum of $1,000 before the event and, to date, the Legacy Walk has raised more than $55,000 for the Alberta Cancer

Foundation, with proceeds supporting clinical trials.

On the inaugural walk in 2018, the three women were joined by Sachs’ then eight-year-old daughter, Ellie, and five other participants. Together, they spent eight hours on the trail sharing stories about the loved ones they lost or who were facing cancer.

“Every year is extremely emotional,” says Ebeling. “You’re surrounded by people who all have the same cause and the same goal, so you have this connection.”

Ebeling was first inspired to start walking in 2008 for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer after her grandmother told her about her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1971.

“Hearing her story and hearing how much things have changed really

prompted me to do something,” she says. “It opened up my eyes to how few options there were for her then. I asked her once about what medication she was on and she laughed because removal was the only option she was given. So, to see how far we’ve come in all those years because of our research is astounding. Any advances we can make to battling cancer benefits everybody.”

Legacy Walk grew over the years, and it expanded participation during COVID-19 to include a virtual component. Walkers can log their 27-km walk from anywhere and share their journeys online.

Ebeling and her team are planning the 2022 event, which might be their final one under the Legacy Walk name.

Ebeling says she wants to end on a high note, with a goal to raise $75,000 total for the five-year project.

Michelle Pitt, development officer, community relations for the Alberta Cancer Foundation, says the foundation is grateful for the support the Legacy Walk has provided patients facing cancer in Alberta.

“By hosting this important fundraiser year after year,” says Pitt, “Legacy Walk for Cancer has made an incredible impact for Albertans undergoing a cancer diagnosis.”

For Ebeling, the Legacy Walk is “just one small event made by a group of friends. But we were able to come together and contribute funds that wouldn’t otherwise be there. I was always taught that one person can make a difference — especially when one person becomes two, and two people build a collective.”

PHOTOS COURTESY THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF THE LEGACY WALK TEAM

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TRUE CALLING

NAVIGATING CANCER Improving health and equity through Cancer Patient Navigators

N

by ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

one of us know what to do in the moments or days after receiving a cancer diagnosis. Moreylle Resurreccion was diagnosed with locally advanced sarcoma this past September, and she could barely process the news. Only 22 years old, the biochemistry student went to the doctor complaining of pain in her leg and the last thing she expected was to be told she would need to start a course of cancer treatment.

The diagnosis affected Resurreccion — originally from the Philippines and currently living in Banff with

her parents — differently as someone who was just entering adulthood and beginning a career.

“I was devastated when I got the news,” Resurreccion says. “My family and I were really glad when we met April and she started to guide us on where to go and who to talk to.”

The “April” in question is April Boychuk, a Cancer Patient Navigator from the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary where Resurreccion is receiving her treatment. Boychuk met with the young woman and her

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KIYANOCHKA, KOMUNITESTOCK AND DIMITRIS66, COURTESY iSTOCK

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parents a few days after her diagnosis and helped them figure out how to manage appointments, set her up with a counsellor to address her emotional needs and now continues to work with her to provide other necessary supports.

Boychuk’s role is part of a provincewide navigation program designed to help patients who may have trouble accessing cancer care.

Cancer Patient Navigators weren’t always available to patients like Resurreccion — the current program was launched in 2012, first as a service to rural Albertans with cancer who needed help with transportation, housing and financial support to travel to Calgary or Edmonton for treatment. Cancer Care Alberta (CCA) recruited experienced oncology nurses to take on the Cancer Patient Navigator roles at the province’s 15 regional and community cancer centres, where they provide a personcentred approach to care, supporting the unique needs of the patient after a diagnosis of cancer is received. The Cancer Patient Navigators work to remove unique barriers experienced by rural cancer patients so they can get the same level of care as those who live close to the province’s major cancer centres.

“Navigation is really a health-equity tool,” says Debora Allatt, manager of education and patient experience for CCA. “The whole idea of Cancer Patient Navigation is to support people who may have a number of barriers in terms of accessing care and having a reasonable quality of life.”

After introducing Navigators to

the community and regional centres, CCA looked at other populations that were facing different, but equally challenging barriers that may benefit from specialized navigation supports.

In 2014, through funding provided by the Alberta Cancer Foundation, CCA extended specialized Cancer Patient Navigation services to patients who are between 18-39, referred to as adolescent and young adults (AYA). Evidence shows this group of patients are more likely to face complications because of employment or family obligations and face more complex emotional distress than older adults undergoing cancer

treatment. In 2016, the Navigation program was further expanded to support Indigenous cancer patients who feel the cancer-care system doesn’t address their unique cultural needs or has created barriers from systemic racism and historical events. Today, the program continues to receive support from donors, including a recent donation of $2 million from Calgary-based oil producer Crescent Point Energy.

While those specialized Cancer Patient Navigators who work with these two unique groups may be helping

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KOMUNITESTOCK AND DIMITRIS66, COURTESY iSTOCK

myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 37

TRUE CALLING

cancer patients in different ways, the intent to support more vulnerable patients to access equitable care is the same as the rural Navigators.

“I think the most important aspect of navigation is the introduction to cancer care,” says Keith Siemens, a rural Cancer Patient Navigator at the Grande Prairie Cancer Centre. “We have the opportunity to flavour the journey with a positive first experience. We strive to be welcoming, as this is a place that no one wants to be. We want people to understand that we will walk with them and support them as much or little as they need. We invite them to hold us accountable for ensuring plans are followed up and come to fruition.”

Most importantly, Cancer Patient Navigation seems to be making a real impact on patient care. Allatt says that, in 2022, approximately 7,000 Albertans will access the help of a Cancer Patient Navigator. Anecdotally, both Allatt and Dr. Linda Watson, who was the lead of person-centred care integration for CCA when the Cancer Patient Navigation program was implemented, say patients have been grateful for the guidance, but there’s also evidence the program is providing better outcomes and even saving lives.

“We know that cancer patients who live in rural Alberta, and in the north zone in particular, have had some of the poorest outcomes because it’s often too complicated to get the care they need, so they are more likely to decline or withdraw from treatment or miss appointments,” Watson

says. “The data shows that, since we started implementing the rural Cancer Patient Navigation program, rural cancer patients’ satisfaction with the coordination and integration of their cancer care has improved by about 20 per cent.”

Resurreccion is relieved she doesn’t feel alone during such an unexpected and stressful experience. She may not have known Cancer Patient Navigation existed before she needed a Navigator, but taking tasks like playing phone tag with her oncologist’s office or searching for emotional support off her to-do list has allowed Resurreccion to focus on her treatment and mental well-being.

“April is a really bubbly and cheerful kind of nurse, which makes talking to her easier,” she says. “If I tell her about how my chemo went, she helps lighten things up for me. It’s helpful knowing that someone is on my side and knows my story.”

ILLUSTRATION BY KOMUNITESTOCK AND DIMITRIS66, COURTESY iSTOCK

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IMPACT

Donato Bernardo

by JENNIFER FRIESEN

In January of 2017, Donato Bernardo thought he was coming down with the flu. As an automotive mechanic, he was in the shop finishing his last few days of rotations. He was determined to keep working, but his foreman convinced him to go to the doctor. Donato, who was 27 at the time, was diagnosed with leukemia within the month, and he spent the next four years in and out of the Cross Cancer Institute. It was soon discovered that Donato also had spinal cancer and he began a series of chemotherapy treatments and spinal taps.

He walked through the stages of remission and relapse, and, in early 2020, Donato was told he was out of options. However, that same year, he was given new hope when he learned he was eligible to enter a clinical trial. The Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy, known as CAR T-cell therapy, uses a patient’s immune system to battle cancer cells.

Today, Donato is in remission. He shares his story here:

“When I first arrived at [Edmonton’s] Northeast Medical Centre [in 2017], I was asleep for three or four days. When I woke up, I had my doctor and my parents there. They told me I was short of blood. EMS transferred me to the University of Alberta with my parents in tow. They immediately put me in isolation, and I remember watching the doctor running toward me with a bag of blood and I thought, ‘I don’t think this is the flu anymore.’

“They did a spinal tap and, on Feb. 5, three or four doctors came into my room and told me I had leukemia. My doctor came in and gave me my options for chemotherapy and I looked at her and I said, ‘We can start now.’

“After that, I was there for about seven months.

“Since then, I’ve had at least 100 spinal taps. Leukemia usually gets

diagnosed in adolescence, so, being an adult, it’s harder to control. They did everything they could — they ran me through so many protocols and immunotherapy and radiation. They told me I was out of options.

“But, in 2020, my doctor sat me down, looked me straight in the face and asked if I would be willing to partake in what’s called the CAR T transplant. At that point, saying no would be ridiculous.

So, I just went for it. And, for me, it was a second chance again.

“I was deemed terminal before this, and this was a Hail Mary — and it worked. I want CAR T to eventually retire chemotherapy. Chemotherapy did a lot to my body and my life, and I lost time. I’m hoping CAR T becomes a protocol as a baseline. I have a lot to catch up on in my life. I have a lot of hope.”

PHOTOS BY JOHN ULAN

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WHY I DONATE

Remembering Joyce Dennis Gaulin gives back in honour of his late wife

by COLLEEN BIONDI

SINCE HIS WIFE, JOYCE, PASSED AT THE AGE OF 68, DENIS GAULIN HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO GIVING BACK TO THE CANCER COMMUNITY AND DEDICATED TO HIS HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

When Denis Gaulin married his young bride, Joyce, in 1956, he had hopes and dreams for their future in Edmonton. Gaulin got a job in sales and marketing with Willis Oil Tool Company, and, after 25 years, moved to Nutron Manufacturing, which was later acquired by Cooper Cameron. Joyce was a homemaker, hiker, a self-taught crafter and the primary caregiver for their four children. “She was our rock,” says Gaulin.

Life was good, but took an unexpected twist in 1988. Joyce was diagnosed with polycythemia, a cancer in which the body overproduces red blood cells. The treatment (hydroxyurea, a chemotherapy drug) helped manage the condition, but increased the risk

for other blood cancers. Unfortunately, she developed leukemia in the summer of 2002. After several rounds of transfusions, platelet treatments and chemotherapy at the Cross Cancer Institute (CCI), Joyce died on Christmas Eve at the age of 68.

“Christmas was her favourite time of year,” says Gaulin. “We didn’t look at it as a bad thing. She was serene with all her family by her side.”

Since Joyce’s death, Gaulin has donated to the Alberta Cancer Foundation in a unique way. He contributes annually on her birthday (Nov. 5) and on their wedding anniversary (June 16). He also gives in honour of each of his grown children, grandchildren and six great-

PHOTOS BY JOHN ULAN

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grandchildren on their birthdays in memory of Joyce. His total donation over 20 years is estimated to be $20,000, with monies targeted to the CCI. This donation schedule has become increasingly poignant over time — in 2004, his brother, Cam, died of prostate cancer. In 2006, his brother, Andy, died of brain cancer and, in 2017, June Skibin, a close family friend, died of pancreatic cancer.

From 2010 to 2019, Gaulin also gave the gift of time — transporting people in his vehicle to and from chemotherapy and radiation appointments at the CCI through the Canadian Cancer Society’s Wheels of Hope program. “I got to know them quite well,” he says. “I really enjoyed it and felt like I was giving back to the facility for the care and respect they gave to Joyce and our family.”

Since 2006, he has lived with his daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Jack, both certified fitness trainers and owners of Ageless Fitness and Health.

The couple has on-site facilities adjacent to their home. They do one-on-one training with people who have health conditions, like cancer, or are preparing for or recovering from joint surgery.

Gaulin trained there prior to recent hip and knee replacements. “As a result, I had no problems,” he says. “I blew right through the surgeries.”

He continues to exercise daily and walks in the neighbourhood when the weather suits.

In his spare time, Gaulin loves to travel. He has been to California for winter holidays and visited family in Boise, Idaho, his son Marty’s family in St. John’s, N.L., son Myles’ family in Penticton, B.C., and lots of time with son Mark in Edmonton. He also visits with family in Red Deer and frequently communicates with family in Ontario.

Last summer, he went hiking in Banff and Jasper.

Gaulin, now 87, knows donations are making a difference to cancer care — treatments are now less toxic than in Joyce’s day and outcomes are more promising.

“It is a small thing I am doing, but I know it is beneficial,” he says. “I am healthy and able to contribute this way.

How fortunate am I?” myleapmagazine.ca SPRING 2022 LEAP 41

GAME CHANGER

Valuing Community Cask Global Canning Solutions passes on the philanthropic torch to the next generation by LYSANDRA NOTHING The Love family takes their namesake to heart, with a tradition of working together and giving back to the community. The Calgary-based Loves have run a family business since 1905 when patriarch James Love founded the J.E. Love and Sons feed store. In the early 1980s, the Loves pivoted into craft brewing and began supplying equipment and ingredients to brewers across Canada, the U.S. and Australia. In 1999, the craft brewing industry began to decline due to oversupply. But the family wasn’t deterred by the challenge, and instead found creative and economical ways to stay in business.

In 2002, the Loves established Cask Global Canning Solutions, an innovative and affordable aluminum canning system for craft beverages of all types, such as beer, cider, wine, coldbrew coffee, kombucha and more. The game-changing aluminum canning system was the first of its kind and, today, has more than 1,800 canning systems throughout 67 countries.

From headquarters in Canada to the United States, Europe, Hong Kong and beyond, Cask is leading the micro-canning industry.

With all its success, Cask and the Love family wouldn’t be where they are today without Michael Love, a beloved brother, son and uncle who passed away from cancer in 2010. Michael’s death

forever changed the hearts and minds of the family and friends left behind.

“He was certainly an integral part of our organization, but, even more so, he was a great uncle to all our kids,” says Jim Love, former vice-president of Cask, who describes his brother, Michael, as “very smart and respected.”

Since 2015, Cask has supported the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Patient Financial Assistance Program (PFAP) in honour and memory of Michael.

PFAP provides financial relief to families and patients throughout diagnosis and treatment. That first year, Cask donated $5,000. The following year, the donation increased to $10,000, then $20,000. Cask continued to give $25,000 per year since 2018 — the donations quickly became a tradition.

While donations were initially made in memory of Michael, Cask’s continued support reflects the fact that all of its 80 employees have, in one way or another, been impacted by cancer, including company president John Howey, whose wife, Marcie, was recently diagnosed.

In 2021, the company provided a matching gift of up to $25,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s end-ofyear direct mail and email campaign.

This donation was particularly meaningful to Cask, as one staff member had just lost a brother to the illness and the spouse of another

was diagnosed with cancer. Cask has since pledged another $100,000 gift in support of the Calgary Cancer Centre with the goal of providing a $25,000 annual match for the Patient Financial Assistance Program through this campaign.

The email campaign aims to inspire donors in the community to support the Foundation, and its emphasis on the importance of giving back speaks to a value that is part of Cask’s culture.

“I think it’s important to be involved in the community and to make our imprint, but also to make sure we’re contributing to the community,” says Jim. Cask is passing on the philanthropic torch to the next generation of leadership with high hopes and expectations for the team to lead the business in a demanding industry and marketplace. The fourth generation will continue to support the Alberta Cancer Foundation and nurture the community even as the business grows.

“I was given the opportunity by my father, and he was given the opportunity by his father, so it’s nice to be able to pass that on,” says Peter Love, president of Cask, whose own son, Russell Love, will be carrying the torch onwards as CEO. “It’s just really exciting, despite the risks and challenges of running your own business.”

ILLUSTRATION BY STELLALEVI, COURTESY iSTOCK

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