Being diagnosed with cancer is something no one wants to hear, for ourselves or our loved ones. After a cancer diagnosis, there are many different challenges, complicating factors and concerns patients and their caregivers are faced with. 

There are one million cancer survivors in Canada – so there is an “after cancer” life for so many.

How will we live that life? Lifelong medications are expensive, fear of recurrence is pervasive, financial impact can be long-lasting, what can we do about it? 

The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network is a strong voice to help policy makers understand life after cancer and support work on shorter wait times for diagnosis, for the time between diagnosis and treatment, on shortening the long long process of acceptance of new cancer medications and alleviating the financial after-effects.

CCSN is asking: as a nation is Canada doing everything it can to find cancer cures, improve care prevention and provide equal access and support to best available care?  For those who have already experienced a diagnosis and those who will do so in the future? After treatment is over, what support can patients and caregivers expect to carry on leading normal and happy lives? What do they do if their cancer comes back?

CCSN’s mission is three-fold:

•  We work together with partner groups and individuals, to identify and remove barriers to the best standard of patient care

•  We ensure cancer patients, survivors and caregivers have access to education and action opportunities

• We support and encourage evidence-based research on ways to improve patient care and recognize the need for and provide survivor support