Given the glaring lack of data on cancer in Quebec, organizations made a heartfelt appeal to the Legault government on Thursday. They are calling for the urgent implementation of an action plan to combat cancer, the leading cause of death in the province.
Published at 11:45 am.
“There is an urgent need for action. “We expect a plan as ambitious as a vehicle battery factory,” said Cancer Research Society President and CEO Manon Pepin in a press conference Thursday morning.
The Quebec Cancer Foundation, the Cancer Research Society, Leucan and PROCURE have joined forces to ask the government for a plan to fight cancer with measurable goals and dedicated funding. “We can’t say how many people have lung cancer. We have no way of knowing how many people in Quebec have been diagnosed with cancer three times in a row. We cannot know whether there is a region where there are more cases of lung cancer,” Ms. Pepin listed.
The organizations claim Quebec is lagging far behind the rest of Canada. “British Columbia and Prince Edward Island have much more targeted plans with cancer at the heart of the response,” says Ms. Pepin. They are calling for a dashboard specifically for cancer data. “The Minister’s current dashboard [Christian] Dubé is a very powerful tool and we want the same for cancer, the deadliest disease in Quebec,” she says.
Make cancer a priority
In addition to updated data, organizations are demanding greater awareness, faster diagnoses and expanded access to innovative treatments. “Cancer remains the deadliest disease and unfortunately does not seem to be a priority,” says Ms Pepin. “Cancer is the great forgotten one,” added Quebec Cancer Foundation director general Marco Décelles.
They also want to invest more in research as current funding is inadequate. “We definitely need to invest in research and scholarships for our students who stay in Quebec,” says Manon Pepin. Research is an investment, not an expense.”
Leucan’s general director, Juli Meilleur, claims that more investment in research would lead to more children becoming healthy. “There is little research and little funding for rare cancers, making it difficult to reduce the 15% of children who die from cancer,” she said in a statement. “In addition, 70% of children who have recovered from cancer experience sequelae, including 30% who experience serious sequelae. “We need to find solutions to these problems,” she added.
The organizations also want access to prevention measures and screening programs to be increased. “We need to keep certain communities well informed. For example, Black people are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as other communities,” says Laurent Proulx, president and CEO of PROCURE, a cancer charity. He would like to see more resources deployed locally.
Learn more
58,400 Number of Quebecers diagnosed in Quebec in 2022
Quebec Cancer Foundation
22,200 Number of Quebecers who died of cancer in Quebec in 2022
Quebec Cancer Foundation