In September, Stacey Marjerrison and Caroline Wai, ACCESS Co-Leads, Social Justice, Indigenization & Inclusion Committee, were invited to deliver a presentation during the Canadian education session at the Children’s Oncology Group‘s (COG) conference.

Their session focused on the importance of collecting sensitive data (particularly race- and ethnicity-based data), as well as ensuring that researchers and staff are properly trained to collect such information in ways that are context- and country-specific.

This education session was prompted by ACCESS’s support of pediatric cancer patients in Canada’s participation in, “AALL2131: An International Pilot Study of Chemotherapy and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor with Blinatumomab”, by providing access to next-generation sequencing for disease monitoring — a resource not routinely available in Canada but required to participate in the trial. Upon reviewing the trial’s data collection forms during the review of the ACCESS proposal for support for the AALL2131 trial, the response options for race- and ethnicity-based questions were found to be inappropriate for the Canadian context.

In response, members of the SJII Committee, including Stacey and Kathy Brodeur-Robb, Member at Large of the ACCESS Senior Leadership Committee and Executive Director of C17, are collaborating with various project leads at the COG to revise the response options for race- and ethnicity-based questions for patients at Canadian centres, and develop an approach for Canadian centres when tasked with COG response options mandated by the US federal government.

December and the close of the year are always a reflective time, and I have been considering what an honour it is to have been part of the leadership of ACCESS for the past 18 months. I am proud of witnessing how our community is actively changing the way we work together and combining our diverse expertise and experiences to find solutions to the difficult problems of childhood cancer.

ACCESS was founded with a bold purpose: Advancing Childhood Cancer Experience, Science and Survivorship in Canada. Thanks to your commitment and hard work we have made meaningful strides in achieving our goals of advancing research across the cancer journey and building a connected national community.

Today, we are excited to be launching our first ACCESS Newsletter. This quarterly publication will spotlight some of the successes and impact emerging from our consortium’s work. Through these articles we aim to keep you informed, inspired, and connected to the transformative efforts happening across the country in pediatric cancer.

In the new year, we will focus on gaining momentum in our work and advancing a unified national pediatric cancer strategy. Many of these important discussions will begin at our 2nd Annual Meeting in January.

I want to thank you for believing in our mission and for the incredible work you do to support children and families impacted by cancer. Your passion and dedication inspire everything we do. On behalf of everyone at ACCESS, I wish you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a healthy, prosperous new year.