Our Story
Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children and adolescents beyond the newborn period. Approximately 10,000 children are living with cancer in Canada and roughly 1,500 new cases are diagnosed each year.
For those with refractory, relapsed, or metastatic disease, overall survival rates are less than 15 percent. More than 80 percent of adult survivors of childhood cancer will experience long-term detrimental effects because of the disease itself or due to the toxicity of cancer treatments – a heavy price for high cure rates. Challenges remain for improving outcomes for pediatric cancer patients, while rates of childhood cancer continue to climb each year in Canada.
To meet these challenges, ACCESS has formed as a community-driven, networked organization in which research, healthcare tools and technologies are developed and made equitably accessible to patients and their families.
A unified national pediatric cancer strategy will lead to better outcomes and quality of life for children and their families through:
- Improvement in cure rates
- Lessening of side effects
- Improved psychosocial support and outcomes
- Standardization of care
- Reduced burden on the health care system through system-wide efficiencies
- Reduced burden on patients and families as pediatric cancer survivors become adults
Establishing ACCESS
In 2021, the federal government committed $30 million to fund pediatric cancer research, the largest investment in Canada to date. This funding was a direct result of advocacy by several hundred families directly impacted by pediatric cancer, along with many researchers, clinicians, and partner organizations. The collective goal was for enhanced, coordinated childhood cancer research and care in Canada.
In 2022, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) launched a $23 million team-grant opportunity to support the establishment of a national pediatric cancer consortium that would change the way childhood cancers are researched and treated in Canada.
Following comprehensive international peer review, the proposal led by two prominent physician researchers in pediatric cancer, Drs. David Malkin and James Whitlock, and pediatric cancer parent advocate, Adrienne Co-Dyre, was approved for funding. This successful application brought together a pan-Canadian team of stakeholders including researchers, clinicians, advocates, patients, and families to make real their shared vision to improve the lives of children with cancer and their families in Canada.
Our Purpose
Leverage research and clinical expertise across the breadth of cancer types and experiences from birth through adolescence and the transition into adulthood and survivorship.
Engage a network of clinicians, researchers, advocates, and other stakeholders in the pediatric cancer community representing Canada’s ethnocultural, socioeconomic, and geographic diversity.
Build partnerships between children, families, professionals, organisations, institutions, and existing programs and networks to collaborate in coordinated research and knowledge mobilization across Canada and abroad.
Implement transformative change in the delivery of fair, fast, effective, and safe cancer care to all children in Canada.
Create a unified national strategy that ensures equitable access for all children with cancer in Canada.
Our Equity Statement
ACCESS is a partnership of clinicians, researchers, policymakers, organizations, advocates, patients, survivors, and families across Canada. It embeds a patient and person-centred approach by directly engaging and collaborating with persons with lived experience.
ACCESS is committed to upholding the values of reciprocity, equity, and human rights in our work to build a national pediatric cancer strategy. As individual members of ACCESS, we come to this space to share responsibility for creating a diverse and inclusive community that strives to improve pediatric cancer outcomes, while simultaneously working to reduce barriers to treatment and outcome inequities.
ACCESS is committed to addressing systemic inequities, and recognizes systemic oppressions based on but not limited to, Indigenous identity, race, socioeconomic class, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion, age, and ability.
Our Values
Patient/Survivor and Family Centred: Children and youth experiencing cancer are our most important partners. Patients, survivors, and families have unique perspectives that should be incorporated into understanding and improving the cancer journey.
Collaboration: Our partnerships, across geography, professions, and social location, leverage collective action and voice to increase knowledge and capacity, respond to gaps in service delivery, and optimize resources.
Anti-oppressive: We are committed to challenging systemic discrimination by providing inclusive and accessible services and by engaging in health equity advocacy and system improvements to reduce health inequities.
Innovation and Excellence: We strive to be a leader in service excellence by demonstrating how diverse, patient and person-centred approaches result in better research, policy, and outcomes. The inclusion of diverse voices that allow individuals to bring their intersecting identities to the table makes ACCESS stronger, leads to excellence and spurs innovation.
Accountability: We are transparent about how decisions are made, and how resources are allocated. We advocate for therapies that improve cancer outcomes, result in fewer late-effects of therapy, as well as improve the quality of life for the cancer patient.
