In Canada, over 30,000 people have survived childhood cancer, and this number is expected to grow as more children are cured of their cancers. While survival rates are encouraging, many survivors face significant health challenges later in life due to the long-term effects of cancer and its treatments. Studies indicate that by age 50, most childhood cancer survivors will develop at least one chronic health issue, underscoring the need for long-term, personalized care to help manage and prevent serious health complications, including increased risk of death. However, socioeconomic challenges, geographical distances, healthcare shortages, and differences in healthcare services across Canada often limit equitable access to such care.

This project will examine the current state of childhood survivorship care by gathering insights from healthcare providers, survivors, and caregivers to understand what’s working well and where there are gaps in the system.

Findings from this study will support the creation of the Canadian Survivorship Care and Advocacy Network for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Cancer (CAN SCAN). This network will strive to ensure that all childhood cancer survivors receive high-quality, evidence-based, and personalized care, regardless of where they live.

In the long run, CAN SCAN aims to drive research advancements in survivorship care and foster policies that provide robust support for childhood cancer survivors across Canada.

The CAN SCAN network seeks to:

1. Evaluate the current survivorship care practices for childhood cancer survivors to identify variability and gaps, unmet needs, and desired supports by examining the perspectives of healthcare providers, survivors, and caregivers across various pediatric cancer centers in Canada.
2. Engage healthcare providers, survivors, and caregivers to develop the network, which will focus on delivering consistent, person-centred, evidence-informed, and accessible survivorship care, as well as facilitating and accelerating survivorship research across Canada.

For more information, please contact Jenna Craig.