LEAP - Fall 2018

REDUCING RISK 4 ways your donation helps

FEELING FESTIVE

Tips for navigating the holidays with cancer

FALL 2018

GAME ON EDMONTON ESKIMOS CEO LEN RHODES IS TAKING A STAND AGAINST CANCER

HEALTHY FATS

The benefits of nuts and seeds

BEYOND TREATMENT

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

TALK IT OUT

THE HEALING POWER OF PSYCHOSOCIAL ONCOLOGY

THE SUPPORT ISSUE

PM 40030911

Text CROSS to 41010 to donate

Thank you for showing the love to the Cross Cancer Institute. Every day nearly 500 people walk through those front doors. There’s still time to donate to ensure our loved ones, our friends, our neighbours continue to receive compassionate treatment and care.

Ask us how you can help

Katie Wiebe katie.wiebe@albertacancer.ca

THANK YOU FOR

BUSTING A MOVE WITH US

We’re still bustin’ with delight here (not to mention our sides still hurt from all the laughing) at Bust a Move over the funds YOU raised in support of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Cross Cancer Institute!

CONTENTS

36 LIVING WELL Services offered by the Department of Psychosocial and Spiritual Resources at the Cross Cancer Institute focus on the restorative power of talking.

38 RESEARCH ROCKSTAR Dr. Vincent Biron is finding new ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

42 TRUE CALLING As medical director of Community Oncology for CancerControl Alberta, Dr. Dean Ruether is working with teams across the province to enhance treatment options and experiences for all cancer patients.

46 IMPACT As the Cross Cancer Institute celebrates its 50th anniversary, the proud daughter of its namesake reflects on her father’s legacy.

FEATURES

20 THE SUPPORT ISSUE From studies looking to alleviate some of the uncomfortable side-effects of cancer treatment to programs that provide vital information to those who are completing their cancer journey, we take a close look at some of the inspiring ways health-care professionals are providing relief to patients and their families.

COLUMNS/DEPARTMENTS the annual U of A Engineering Head Shave celebrates its 15th anniversary and more.

7 FRONT LINE Dr. Winson Cheung is using big data to improve cancer care in Alberta, Patient and Family Centred Care Week is taking place this November,

13 YOUR DONATION MATTERS Four ways your donation to the Alberta Cancer Foundation helps to reduce risk and detect cancer earlier.

14 FOOD FOCUS A closer look at the benefits of including nuts and seeds in your daily diet.

16 WORKOUT How to incorporate weight and resistance training into your workout regimen.

18 EXPERT ADVICE Tips for managing nausea after chemotherapy treatment, and navigating the demands of the holidays with cancer.

34 CARING In her role as a patient navigator, Fiona Garforth-Bles brings comfort and compassion to people undergoing treatment at the Bow Valley Cancer Centre in Canmore.

47 WHY I DONATE Long-time philanthropists Dennis and Donna Klein want to ensure that all Albertans facing cancer have access to cutting-edge treatments.

49 MY LEAP Allison Wusaty climbed Europe’s highest peak to raise funds for her brother, Andrew, who has been living with brain cancer for more than a decade.

50 GAME CHANGER While embarking on his own cancer journey, Len Rhodes, president and CEO of the Edmonton Eskimos, became inspired to raise funds for the Cross Cancer Institute.

COVER PHOTO COOPER & O’HARA

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 3

MESSAGE

Albertans Helping Albertans TRUSTEES

Leigh-Anne Palter (Chair) Rene Aldana Dr. Stanford Blade Dr. Heather Bryant Nancy Guebert Robert (Bob) McGee Andrea McManus Dr. Matthew Parliament Gelaine Pearman Jamie Pytel Rory J. Tyler

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE!

We’re pleased to feature Edmonton Eskimos CEO and President, Len Rhodes, on the cover of this issue of Leap (with all due respect to our die-hard Stamps fans in the south). Len and his Esks were an important part of our year-long Show the Love campaign, celebrating 50 years of compassionate treatment and care at the Cross Cancer Institute. You’ll read about Len’s own personal cancer story and why he wanted to honour other Albertans facing a similar diagnosis (page 50). We’re so grateful to have been part of that important game. Speaking of the Cross Cancer Institute, we’re also delighted to hear a first-person account from Donna Cross StewartWilliams, the daughter of that facility’s namesake, and what her father and that building means to her (page 46).

You’ll meet many other courageous Albertans in Leap. Take Faisel Shariff, for instance (page 29). He was an active fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in his 20s and then, sadly, was diagnosed with the disease himself. The Shariff family said goodbye to their Faisel earlier this year, a few short weeks after he became a new father. His family continues to inspire others and make a difference for others to carry on his legacy.

We’re also privileged to feature so much excellent work across the province by our partners Every time we read in CancerControl Alberta. From the Transitions through an issue of Program (page 21) that is working to provide support to Albertans once they are discharged from Leap we are reminded cancer care to patient navigator Fiona Garforth-Bles of Albertans helping (page 34) in the Bow Valley Community Cancer Albertans.

Centre. Garforth-Bles provides such personal care to patients and families in the area, easing the cancer journey in what is often a complex health-care system.

Every time we read through an issue of Leap we are reminded of Albertans helping Albertans.

The generous Albertans who are committed to making life better for Albertans facing cancer by riding a bike, leaving a gift in their will or making an individual donation. The Alberta Health Services teams who strive to provide the best possible care to the patients and families they see every day. The researchers who are transforming the way we treat Albertans.

We are privileged to tell their stories and hope you are inspired by them as much as we are.

VISIT

a/ albertacancer.ction crip leap/leapsubs

4 LEAP FALL 2018

GEORGE ANDREWS,

LEIGH-ANNE PALTER,

PRESIDENT & CEO ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION

CHAIR ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION

FALL 2018

|

VOL. 4

|

NO. 11

ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION EDITORS

Phoebe Dey and Christiane Gauthier

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jill Foran ART DIRECTOR Kim Larson STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jared Sych CONTRIBUTORS Colleen Biondi, Bluefish Studios, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Shannon Cleary, Cooper & O’Hara, Matthew Coyte, Jennifer Dorozio, Christina Frangou, Andrew Guilbert, Jennifer Madole, Fabian Mayer, Bryce Meyer, Breanna Mroczek, Karin Olafson, Aaron Pedersen, Silvia Pikal, Pete Ryan, Emily Senger PUBLISHED FOR

Alberta Cancer Foundation Calgary office Suite 300, 1620 29 St. N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2N 4L7

PROVINCIAL OFFICE

710, 10123 99 St. N.W. Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3H1 Tel: 780-643-4400 Toll free: 1-866-412-4222 acfonline@albertacancer.ca

PUBLISHED BY

Redpoint Media & Marketing Solutions 100, 1900 11 St. S.E. Calgary, Alberta T2G 3G2 Phone: 403-240-9055 Toll free: 1-877-963-9333 Fax: 403-240-9059 info@redpointmedia.ca PM 40030911 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to the Edmonton address above.

PRESIDENT & CEO Pete Graves GROUP PUBLISHER Joyce Byrne CLIENT RELATIONS MANAGER Sandra Jenks PRODUCTION MANAGER Mike Matovich AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Rob Kelly

As the official fundraising partner for the Cross Cancer Institute, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and the 15 other CancerControl Alberta centres across the province, the Alberta Cancer Foundation is making life better for Albertans facing cancer by investing in research and initiatives that reduce risk, detect cancer earlier, improve quality of life, and provide better treatment options.

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 5

90° South 7th Summit Laval St. Germain

November 11, 2018 • 55 days • 1,130 KM Laval St. Germain will be completing a solo unsupported full length ski to the South Pole, followed by a climb of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica. With a goal of $140,000, all proceeds raised from the event will go towards the Alberta Cancer Foundation in support of cancer patients at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the Cross Cancer Institute.

Visit albertacancer.ca/southpole to donate and learn more

May has promised a gift of life.

Her 52-year marriage cut short, May wants future generations to be free from cancer.

A gift through her Will can honour her late husband and help save lives.

This will be part of her legacy.

Thank you May!

LEGACY GIVING

Leave a legacy. Consider a gift of life in your Will. albertacancer.ca/legacy

FRONT BRIGHT MIND | ENBRIDGE RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER | UPCOMING EVEN TS

BRIGHT MIND

Dr. Winson Cheung is studying big data to improve care for cancer patients across Alberta

A

medical oncologist and provincial director of Cancer Health Services Research since January 2017, Dr. Winson Cheung is shifting the sands of cancer research in Alberta.

Cheung, age 40, sees patients one day a week at his gastrointestinal (GI) cancer clinic at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

The other four days of his work week are dedicated to research, education and administration. He and his team are looking at health databases and electronic health records to collect information about patient journeys.

The question they are asking is: what kind of routine care is going on for cancer patients province-wide? >

DR. WINSON CHEUNG, MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST AND PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR OF CANCER HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

PHOTOS JARED SYCH

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 7

FRONT LINE

DR. CHEUNG IS BUILDING INTEREST AND AWARENESS IN THE POWER OF DATA

By examining information and crunching numbers, they’re finding new ways to create uniform, streamlined and compassionate cancer care for Albertans.

“Measuring what we are currently doing for our patients is the main way that we can learn from them and find better strategies to improve their care,” Cheung says. “Otherwise, we will never know areas in which we are doing well and areas that need improvement.

Real-world evidence is emerging as a powerful research tool, and Alberta has an opportunity to be at the forefront of progress.”

According to Cheung, clinical trials are important for informing cancer care, but they tend to be very specific (targeting certain demographics or medicines) and involve only about 10 per cent of the 8 LEAP FALL 2018

cancer population in Alberta.

“My focus is what is happening for the other 90 per cent of the population,” he says.

Cheung’s overarching goal is to create awareness and stronger interest in this kind of important, data-focused research. It hasn’t been easy

allow us to conduct larger and more impactful projects.”

Two examples of his current data research involve pre- and post-cancer care.

A pre-care project, launched in 2017 and called “Real World Evidence in Pancreatic Cancer – Optimizing Referrals, Management and Outcomes in Alberta,” looked at the records of 1,600 patients with pancreatic cancer.

Cheung and his team discovered that, of those patients, only 60 per cent were actually referred to a cancer centre.

“That was quite concerning,” says Cheung, whose team includes medical students, residents and faculty members from the Alberta Cancer Outcomes Research Network. If 40 per cent of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are not getting early intervention and are only seeing a specialist when their condition is dire, the result is not only much more costly and challenging care, but significantly poorer treatment outcomes.

Cheung has some theories as to why this lack of referrals might be happening (difficulty

“ Measuring what we are currently doing for our patients is the main way we can learn from them and find better ways to improve their care.” – Dr. Winson Cheung (clinical trials are deemed more exciting, and molecular research is gaining more traction), but investigators are now calling him to find out how they can participate.

“Creating a critical mass of interest is key,” he says. “It will

with the referral process, limited resources in remote communities, an inaccurate sense that pancreatic cancer treatment might be fruitless), but the next step in this research project — which will take place in 2019 — will be

surveying the doctors to add more “granularity” to the data. Following that step, the final, problem-solving phase of the project — which will be conducted with the assistance of the Provincial Tumour Team — will help doctors “chart a pathway” to make it easier for them to refer promptly and equitably.

Among Cheung’s post-care initiatives is a project called “Choosing Wisely – Why and When to do CT Scans During Cancer Follow-up.” The project began earlier this year and is looking at the number of computed tomography (CT) scans that 5,000 patients throughout Alberta — patients with breast, lung, colon or prostate cancer — have received after cancer care. Too many scans may be an expensive and inefficient waste of resources, keeping wait lists unnecessarily long.

Too few may mean cancer recurrences (or new cancers) are missed until later stages.

“We apply algorithms. We are not looking at minor differences [between CT scan numbers], but gross deviations,” Cheung explains.

These deviations — identified by comparing numbers of scans received in the study with standard practice recommendations established by Canadian, American and European cancer care regulatory groups — will be used to identify inefficiencies in service and will prompt a look at how to provide more consistent care.

“The job is going well,” Cheung says. “There’s a lot of support for the work we’re doing.” LEAP — COLLEEN BIONDI

CYCLISTS LINE UP FOR THE START OF THE 10TH ANNUAL ENBRIDGE RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER

A Change of Plans The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer marked its 10th anniversary this past August with record-breaking funds raised — and an unanticipated surprise On August 18 and 19, a whopping 1,803 riders were geared to cycle 200-plus kilometres through southern Alberta to raise money and awareness for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in the 10th annual Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer event.

But Mother Nature had other plans.

That weekend, smoke from the nearby British Columbia wildfires led to “beyond high risk” levels on the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) in Alberta. It was simply too dangerous to ride.

“It was a really hard decision to make (to cancel). We know how important this event is to so many people, and there is nothing quite

like crossing that finish line, but we had to listen to our medical advice,” says Phoebe Dey, vice president, communications and marketing with the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

There is good news: pledges from this year’s ride — a record-breaking $8.12 million — will push the total raised over the decade to $74 million in Alberta and amp up momentum for research and development of strategies relating to cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment and after-care.

As title sponsor for the event (the largest cycling fundraiser in Alberta), Enbridge remains dedicated to the cause.

“Team Enbridge is

proud to be among a dedicated rider community who has made great impact for Albertans facing cancer. The disease has touched us all, and we must continue to ride and raise crucial funds to keep up the momentum to conquering cancer,” says Vern Yu, Enbridge’s executive vice president and chief development officer. “Enbridge has renewed our partnership in 2019 and is committed to continue to support the Foundation’s vision of a cancer-free future.”

The 11th annual Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer will take place August 17 and 18, 2019. LEAP — COLLEEN BIONDI

For more information, visit conquercancer.ca

Full Circle When this year’s Ride was cancelled, one of the teams, Bob’s Warriors, decided to go to Tasty Thai restaurant in Olds for a consolation meal. It was a serendipitous moment, as the owner of that restaurant, Garnet Greipl, had had multiple myeloma many years earlier and received help from the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Patient Financial Assistance Program (PFAP) during his treatment. He and his wife opened Tasty Thai upon his recovery, and after learning that the Riders in his restaurant that day were raising money for the Foundation and programs like PFAP, he expressed his gratitude for their fundraising work by buying all their meals.

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 9

FRONT LINE

WITH THE PATIENT AND FAMILY-CENTRED APPROACH TO CAREGIVING, PATIENTS ARE PARTNERS IN DECISIONS REGARDING THEIR HEALTH

Putting Patients First During the annual Patient and Family Centred Care Week, activities, resources and educational offerings raise awareness for the patientand family-first method of caregiving SINCE 2014, CANCERCONTROL ALBERTA

has held an annual, week-long event in November that celebrates and raises awareness for patient/family-centred care (PFCC). PFCC is a health-care approach that ensures patients and family members are involved in decision-making processes, that their voices are heard, and that health-care staff act on what matters most to patients and their families.

10 LEAP FALL 2018

According to Dorothy Rodehutskors, senior consultant of Provincial Patient and Family Engagement at CancerControl Alberta, patient/family-centred care is very much a part of the daily work of healthcare providers.

“PFCC is keeping a patient’s points of view in mind, and then recognizing that the patient needs to be brought in as a partner in managing their own health,”

says Rodehutskors. “For example, an Indigenous person’s spiritual practice and how they look at health care might be different from how we might typically look at it, but that outlook is still something that we try to keep in mind as we deliver care.”

This patient-centred caregiving method can greatly improve one’s experience with the health care system. Shaneel Pathak’s wife, Heing Taing, was diagnosed with

lung cancer and received treatment at Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

During her treatment, the couple developed a trusting relationship with the centre’s medical staff and had back-andforth dialogue about treatment options.

“Kate Butler, our oncology nurse for over three years, advocated for us and was our voice in the system,” says Pathak.

“We believed in the circadian timing [the body’s natural awake and sleep cycles] of administering chemotherapy treatment and Kate scheduled the treatment for when we felt best.”

Though PFCC is meant to be a daily practice for Alberta health-care professionals, CancerControl Alberta’s annual Patient and Family Centred Care Week brings added awareness to this method of care, with activities and resources for Alberta Health Services staff, leadership, patients and family members.

Held at Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute, past events during PFCC Weeks have included speaker sessions, educational webinars, and the sharing of personal reflections by patients, family members and health-care providers. Last year, PFCC Week also featured a Patient Experience Digital Story Film Festival, where patient-made videos capturing their experience with the health care system were shared and discussed.

This year’s PFCC Week, which will be held at all CancerControl Alberta facilities in the province, runs November 5 to 9, and the theme is “Care is a Family Affair.”

Various activities and sessions will focus on embracing who patients identify as their family members and part of their care team, celebrating the diversity of today’s family unit, and adopting care practices that make all families feel respected and welcome. LEAP

Shaving for a Cause It’s not often you get to see the University of Alberta’s chair of Civil Engineering shave off half his beard for $400.

To be clear, the money was being raised for the annual U of A Engineering Head Shave, a lively event held every November to raise funds for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Last year, intra-faculty competition was heavily encouraged, which is what led then-interim chair Samer Adeeb to playfully shave just half of his beard, in an effort to raise more money than Faculty of Engineering Dean Fraser Forbes.

“I thought the best way to get people to participate was to invoke a fun challenge between myself and the dean,” says Adeeb.

“I received overwhelming support and heard many stories from friends who have lost someone due to cancer. It was very touching.”

The 2017 event raised more than $10,000.

First launched in 2003, the U of A Engineering Head Shave was created after Ron Wicentowich, the father of U of A engineering students Graeme and Gary Wicentowich, was diagnosed with (and eventually passed away from) cancer. That inaugural event raised more than $12,500 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation as “Razored for Ron” before switching to its current name the next year. The Engineering Students’ Society has continued to host the event every

year since 2003, and it has raised more than $405,000 for cancer research.

“The event is pretty hyped up,” says Ella Wang, one of the VPs of Student Life at the university. “A lot of people are very excited that this happens on campus. It’s one of the biggest philanthropy events at the university.”

Students, staff and family members can participate by dyeing their hair pink to help raise awareness for the event, pledging to shave their hair, dyeing and shaving their hair, or simply donating online.

The 15th Annual U of A Engineering Head Shave will take place on November 21, 2018, at the ETLC Solarium. LEAP — MATTHEW COYTE

“A lot of people are very excited that this happens on campus. It’s one of the biggest philanthropy events at the university.”

– Ella Wang, VP of student life at the University of Alberta

— KARIN OLAFSON

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 11

FRONT LINE

may also be a helpful treatment for multiple myeloma. Experts view it as one of the most promising new cancer treatments around — the therapy was named the 2018 Advance of the Year by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

In order to improve efficacy, and lower possible side effects, the treatment is still undergoing clinical trials. But if the trials are successful, it is set to become more common in the coming years. LEAP — FABIAN MAYER

A VITAL INVESTMENT

CAR-T Cell Therapy A closer look at a promising new form of treatment CANCER RESEARCH IS CONSTANTLY

yielding improved treatments for many types of the disease. One of the most promising new treatments developed in the last several years is Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell, or CAR T-cell, therapy.

CAR T-cell therapy is an immunotherapy, meaning it harnesses the body’s immune system to combat cancer cells.

This particular immunotherapy makes use of the body’s T-cells, a type of white blood cell crucial to the immune system. T-cells detect and destroy harmful cells, but they are often unable to detect certain kinds of

cancer cells. Using genetic engineering, researchers have found a way to help them out.

In CAR T-cell therapy, a patient’s own T-cells are removed from the body and taken to a lab where they are modified to produce synthetic cell receptors, called chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). These receptors allow T-cells to recognize and attack cancer cells when they are reintroduced to the patient’s body.

The new therapy is already being used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and

There are many types of immunotherapy treatment.

In partnership with the Li Ka Shing Virology Institute at the University of Alberta, the Alberta Cancer Foundation has invested $2.4 million in support of the advancement of immunotherapy research.

ILLUSTRATION JENNIFER MADOLE

12 LEAP FALL 2018

4 WAYS

Your donation to the Alberta Cancer Foundation helps to reduce risk and detect cancer earlier Although the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is going up, survival rates are increasing, largely thanks to improvements in reducing risk and early detection. Catching cancer early can lead to improved treatment plans and better outcomes. The Alberta Cancer Foundation invests in research, programs and initiatives that support reducing risk and early detection.

BLOOD TESTS

Clarity-DX Prostate is a reliable, non-invasive blood test, currently in clinical trial, that has the ability to accurately identify prostate cancer, thereby reducing unnecessary biopsies and surgeries for patients. Breast CancerScout is also a clinical trial blood test that has the potential to change breast cancer screening protocols by becoming a key screening tool with accurate results.

ALBERTA’S TOMORROW PROJECT

LUNG CANCER SCREENING

A pilot project researching options for lung cancer screening will allow cancer to be detected at an early stage, when curative treatment is still an option.

Learn more about how you can support the Alberta Cancer Foundation at albertacancer.ca

With more than 55,000 Albertans taking part, this project is identifying components that determine why some people get cancer, and others don’t.

COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU

The mobile mammography unit can provide breast cancer screening to over 120 rural communities around Alberta.

Cancer mortality rates in Alberta have been falling on average by 2.1 per cent each year since 2004. myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 13

FOOD FOCUS

Nutritious Nuts and Seeds IN RECENT YEARS, NUTRITION EXPERTS

have been increasingly vocal about the health benefits of nuts and seeds. As a result, many of us have taken to carrying a handful of almonds in our pockets to snack on throughout the day or sprinkling hemp hearts on our cereal in the morning.

Filling, satisfyingly crunchy and incredibly good for you, nuts and seeds may just be the ideal foods when it comes to both taste and nutrition.

According to Jennifer Black, a dietitian with Alberta Health Services CancerControl, nuts and seeds, as a group, have four major things going for them: they’re full of fibre, they contain plant-based protein, they have a variety of vitamins and minerals, and they’re packed with poly- and monounsaturated fats, which are the heart-healthy fats that help to lower cholesterol and inflammation. Dietitians recommend replacing at least some of the animal-based proteins that we eat with plantbased alternatives, and incorporating nuts and seeds into your weekly diet is an easy way to accomplish that.

The “nuts and seeds” category encompasses a fairly wide range of foods — spanning from common peanuts to ultra-trendy chia seeds — but Black says they’re all beneficial.

Since each nut and seed has a different nutritional profile, however, it is important to mix things up.

“All nuts and seeds are great for us, and are really healthy,” Black says. “But, as with

all foods, we go for moderation and variety.

Walnuts, for example, are known for their high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, whereas almonds are known for their calcium and vitamin E.” When trying to incorporate nuts and seeds into your daily routine, the trick is to find textures and flavours you prefer, then to get creative. Chopped nuts and larger seeds, for example, can be baked into muffins, thrown into homemade granola, or eaten on their own as a snack. Flax seeds need to be ground for the nutrients to be absorbed and, once in powder form, they can be incorporated into soups, smoothies or just about anything else for an extra dose of nutrition.

For convenience and a different texture, nut and seed butters and oils are also a good choice, though the oils lack the fibre benefits found in whole or ground nuts and seeds.

Black suggests limiting salted or seasoned nuts and seeds that pack a lot of sodium. She also points out that the high caloric content can result in unwanted weight gain for individuals looking to maintain or achieve a healthy weight. Still, in general, nuts and seeds are recommended for both the general population and for those undergoing cancer treatment or focusing on cancer prevention.

So, spread that natural almond butter on your toast and make a batch of chia seed pudding — it really is as good for you as it is delicious. LEAP — ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

Almond and Pumpkin Seed Energy Balls These healthy, nut-packed snacks require no baking or cooking! Feel free to use other nut butters and nuts or seeds to create new combinations.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/4 cups large flake rolled oats 1 /4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds 1 /4 cup chopped almonds 1 /4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut 2 tbsp ground flax seeds 1 /2 cup almond butter 1 /3 cup honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 /4 tsp salt

14 LEAP FALL 2018

LOADED WITH HEALTHY FATS!

DIRECTIONS In a large bowl, stir together the oats, pumpkin seeds, chopped almonds, coconut and ground flax seeds. Add the almond butter, honey, vanilla extract and salt and stir until the mixture is uniformly moist and sticky. Check the consistency of the mixture — it should hold together loosely when squeezed into a ball. If it’s too wet, add some more oats; if it’s too dry, add some more almond butter. Once the consistency is right, chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Take the mixture out of the fridge and form it into balls — any size will work, but a 1-inch diameter is standard. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. Makes approximately 18 1-inch balls.

More on healthy fats with Jennifer Black Jennifer Black is a CancerControl dietitian with Alberta Health Services, based out of the Holy Cross Centre in Calgary. Here, she shares more insights on the benefits of healthy fats.

Are nuts and seeds something that you specifically recommend for people undergoing cancer treatment? Absolutely — they’re such a concentrated source of fat calories. There are so many side effects of treatment that cause people with cancer to eat fewer calories, or they may have unintentional weight loss as a side effect of the disease, so they need to add more calorie-dense foods.

Are there other specific benefits from nuts and seeds for people with cancer? Nuts and seeds contain nutrients and phytochemicals that have been shown to offer cancer-protective actions. So, for anyone who is looking to prevent cancer, incorporating nuts and seeds into your diets can help. And if you actively have cancer, it can also reduce the risk of recurrence.

How can those in treatment add more nuts and seeds to their diets?

I always encourage people to make energy balls, which are a whole lot of nuts and seeds held together with a nut butter of their choice. That’s something you can make a big batch of ahead of time and keep in the freezer for quick, easy calorie-dense snacks. Another tip is to use a coffee grinder or blender to grind nuts to a powder. Then just sprinkle a couple of tablespoons in your cereal or into muffins or cookies to add in some nutrition.

ALMOND AND PUMPKIN SEED ENERGY BALLS REQUIRE NO BAKING

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WORKOUT

of a five-year study funded by Alberta Innovates Health Solutions’ Cancer Prevention Research Opportunity. ACE teaches its participants how to properly incorporate exercise — including both resistance and aerobic training — into their lives following a cancer diagnosis. In his role, Sellar helps design, supervise and monitor the workout programs for ACE’s Edmonton participants.

“As well as the general benefits, resistance-training can offer additional benefits for cancer survivors,” says Sellar. “For example, at ACE we’ve had a lot of breast cancer survivors who’ve had surgery on the shoulder area. They can have a lot of weakness in that area, so doing resistance-training on that arm is ultimately going to make it stronger and help with their recovery.”

Here, Sellar offers some training tips and ideas that will help you begin a safe and successful resistance-training regimen.

START LOW AND SLOW

Give Your Workout More Weight How to get started with a resistancetraining routine

SEEK HELP TO GET STARTED

by KARIN OLAFSON LIFTING WEIGHTS ISN’T JUST FOR

serious athletes. Weight and resistance training should be considered an important part of everyone’s workout, regardless of fitness level or background.

Dr. Chris Sellar, a sports and fitness advocate, earned his PhD in physical education from the University of Alberta and is well aware of the universal benefits of resistance-training. According to Sellar, weight-training improves muscular strength and endurance, which can help

In order to safely incorporate weight-training into your exercise regimen and keep it a regular part of your workout, Sellar strongly recommends starting “low and slow,” regardless of fitness level or background.

“If you try to do too much too soon, you may get injured, or you won’t feel good and won’t want to continue exercising,” Sellar says.

with everything from athletic performance to completing day-to-day activities. It also increases muscle mass, which can improve metabolism and, in turn, helps manage weight gain. And weight-training exercises can increase bone density, which can reduce one’s risk of fractures and osteoporosis, and also stabilize joints.

Sellar is now the project coordinator for the Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) Program, a free, 12-week, province-wide community exercise program that is part

If you’re unsure of how to start, get support from a certified trainer or other staff member at a fitness facility.

“With the ACE program, we assess all participants before they begin, which means we can base an individual’s specific starting load on testing we’ve done,” says Sellar. “A lot of fitness facilities also have trainers who can test, so you have a better understanding of where you’re at to start and what load you should begin with. They can also offer feedback on your form so you don’t hurt yourself.”

ILLUSTRATIONS ANDREW BENSON

16 LEAP FALL 2018

3 ResistanceTraining Exercises to Try at Home Consider incorporating these simple, equipment-free exercises into your routine.

They can help you build strength and stamina using nothing but your own body weight.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE AS YOUR BODY ADAPTS “Increasing the weight that you’re lifting by five to 10 per cent every two weeks is a common rule of thumb,” says Sellar. “But this does depend on how many times a week you’re training. If you’re only doing it one day a week, you’re not going to progress as fast. If you’re doing it three days a week, you might be able to increase the load a little bit more than 10 per cent every two weeks.”

Sellar adds that two to three days of resistance-training per week is the goal, but incorporating it into a fitness routine once a week is a great place to start.

COUNT YOUR REPS Sellar recommends eight to 15 repetitions of each exercise to see some muscle-building and toning, as well as increased strength and endurance.

“With moderate repetitions and higher weights, you’ll get a little more muscle building. If your goal is muscular endurance or toning the muscle, your workout should be in that higher rep range,” says Sellar.

If you’re doing a higher number of repetitions, remember to lighten the load you’re lifting.

WORK OPPOSING BODY MUSCLES A resistance-training routine should work the whole body, but you don’t have to train the whole body in one session. However,

PUSH-UPS it is important to work opposite muscles in the same training session. For example, train the legs one day, working the leg’s opposing muscles — the quadriceps and hamstrings — with exercises like leg presses and lunges. Focus on arms another day, making sure to balance bicep exercises, like bicep curls, with triceps exercises, like triceps dips.

“Working muscles in opposition helps to maintain good joint alignment, good posture and stability. It also helps avoid muscle imbalance. If you’re strong on one side and weak on the other, that’s when you can get injuries,” says Sellar.

THERE’S NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL RESISTANCE WORKOUT Don’t forget to listen to your body. A variety of factors can affect your workout, including fatigue, illness and injury, so don’t feel disheartened if you need to modify your sessions.

“Fatigue is common among our ACE participants,” says Sellar. “We might modify their workouts so that the work they do is reduced or their training progression overall may be slowed: instead of that five to 10 per cent weight increase every two weeks, that increase might be spread out over a month.” LEAP

If you’re new to push-ups, start out by doing them against a wall while standing. Work your way up to doing them on the ground from your knees, then from your toes as you get stronger. Start with one or two sets of 10 repetitions.

SELLAR’S TIP: “Keep your body straight, from your shoulders to the lower body pivot point [knees or toes].”

SQUATS

Work various muscles in the lower body by slowing sitting down into a chair or performing a squat against a wall. Try squats unsupported as you gain strength and endurance. Start with one or two sets of 10 repetitions.

SELLAR’S TIP: “Work toward lowering your body so your knees are at 90 degrees at the bottom of your squat. But always avoid pain by only going as low as your body allows.”

PLANK

Challenge your core muscles by holding your body straight above the ground while resting on your forearms, and on either your knees or toes. Start by holding this position for 10 seconds.

SELLAR’S TIP: “Keep your tummy tight to protect your back, and make sure to keep breathing while holding the plank.”

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 17

EXPERT ADVICE

We ask the experts for tips on managing chemotherapy side-effects through diet, and navigating the holiday season with cancer

by JENNIFER DOROZIO

DR. CATHERINE FIELD

DECREASING NAUSEA THROUGH DIET Chemotherapy treatment can be accompanied by nausea. Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to avoid or lessen the impacts of this unpleasant side effect.

Dr. Catherine Field, a professor of nutrition at the University of Alberta, offers practical advice on how and what to eat to successfully manage nausea while providing your body with the nutrition it needs during treatment.

brain, a response to having toxic chemicals in your blood, prompting the brain to stop you from eating anything more. In addition, the taste buds in the mouth are cells that turn over very quickly, and that makes them very sensitive to chemotherapy — they are either altered or destroyed.

Because of this, foods often taste bitter, and a bitter taste can induce nausea.

Some chemotherapies can also damage the lining of the throat and the stomach, and that also induces nausea.

Q: Are there certain foods people should avoid entirely during chemotherapy?

It’s very personal. If a certain food triggers nausea, then you should avoid it.

Eating your favourite food when you’re feeling nauseous can actually trigger an aversion reaction. So, if you really love blueberries, then don’t eat blueberries when you are nauseous. You may never want to eat them again, and even the sight of them could bring on nausea later on.

Q: Why does chemotherapy cause nausea?

Q: What are some foods that people undergoing chemotherapy tend to have an aversion to?

It’s commonly believed that the nausea is actually caused by a response in the

Many people undergoing chemotherapy have a really hard time eating red meat.

They find the flavour to be tinny. We actually tell people who are having that problem not to use metal utensils — use plastic to avoid that extra tin flavour that causes more nausea. Sometimes using strong-tasting sauces can also help mask this change and enable one to enjoy eating red meats.

Q: What can you do if you have a very low appetite due to nausea?

Large amounts of food can increase nausea, so eat small, frequent meals instead of three meals a day. The temperature of food can be quite important, too. Hot foods with strong odours tend to aggravate nausea, so eat food at room temperature or cold to avoid those odours. There are also meal replacements out there that people can take, which are an easy way to get calories and protein.

Q: Any tips for stimulating the appetite?

Chemotherapy can cause either a sore mouth or a dry mouth. If the mouth is really dry, it’s sometimes hard to eat without the saliva moving. Things that are sour stimulate saliva, like lemonade and sour candies.

Q: Specifically, what can you do to lessen nausea as it is happening?

Sitting up for about an hour after you’ve eaten can help. Rinsing your mouth after you eat also helps because then you don’t have lingering flavours. Drink beverages between meals instead of with a meal, and make sure you drink cool or chilled beverages and sip them through a straw. If nausea is really severe, talk to your doctor, as there are some anti-nausea drugs that could be prescribed to you.

ILLUSTRATIONS JENNIFER MADOLE

18 LEAP FALL 2018

Q: What are some strategies that cancer patients can incorporate to avoid burnout during this busy season?

DR. GUY PELLETIER

NAVIGATING THE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH CANCER The holiday season is just around the corner. This is a time of year that can tax our energy even in the best of circumstance — but, for those dealing with cancer, the demands of the season can be even more stressful. Dr. Guy Pelletier is a clinical psychologist in the department of psychosocial oncology at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary who has 26 years of experience supporting cancer patients and their loved ones in all seasons. Here, he shares tips for making the holidays a little easier to manage.

Q: What are some of the key issues that can arise for cancer patients during the holidays?

The biggest one is that feeling of “I can’t do what I used to do.” But it’s important to heed medical advice.

Physicians will have an opinion in terms of how much effort they think a person should be putting out. Another concern [for patients] would be that finances may be a bit constricted, so people can’t spend the money they’re used to spending during the holidays.

It’s important not to overcommit. Sit down and decide how things are going to work. Cut yourself some slack; if you don’t feel like going to a particular event, you don’t have to go. If you don’t want to send cards because you feel that it’s an additional burden, then don’t do it.

There are a number of things that, if you’re not feeling very well, you can skip without too many difficulties.

Q: How can a person with cancer manage feelings of sadness or depression over the holidays?

Start early in terms of planning activities that are going to be interesting and allow time to pass. The key to dealing with this time of year is social support.

Being with people can make a huge difference at a time of year that is particularly sensitive emotionally. Of course, there are people who may be more isolated than others. In those cases, going somewhere — it may be to a Christmas celebration, it may be to an event hosted by a church or social organization — can help.

Q: How can family and friends best support a loved one with cancer during the festive season?

Role shifting is important. That means passing a role that the person with cancer would usually have on to someone else.

For patients who have a family, the demands of Christmas-related responsibilities may shift from one spouse to another.

It’s important for people, if they can, to

get a certain level of help in terms of even preparing for Christmas events.

Q: What’s the best strategy for getting family members who are unaccustomed to helping out during the holiday season to take on more of the work?

The patient and his/her loved ones should discuss early on how Christmas will go, who ought to do what, and what they expect the outcome(s) to be. That way, there should be no surprise when spouses and children are asked to contribute as planned.

Q: What are some mindful exercises a person can do to better enjoy the season?

Look for the simple pleasures, like noticing your loved ones being attentive to you. Even the pleasure of looking outside the window and seeing sparkling snow under the sun can help. Concentrate on enjoying the small stuff — you can do it multiple times a day and it will bring an element of joy that will help you overcome aspects of sadness.

Q: Where else can people go for help if they need it during the holidays?

Psychosocial resources still has services running at that time of year, and if it’s anticipated that things are going to be tough, then it would be useful for people to consider seeking out some additional help, which can be provided by our department [or others like it]. LEAP Visit albertahealthservices.ca for more information on booking an appointment with the Psychosocial Oncology department. myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 19

POST-TREATMENT PREP

TRANSITIONS OF CARE A new program in Alberta aims to provide vital information and education for patients who are completing their cancer treatment

by ANDREW GUILBERT illustration PETE RYAN

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE

At every point along the cancer journey, from diagnosis and treatment to survivorship and loss, patients and their families experience a range of psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Over the next 14 pages, we take a closer look at these challenges and explore some of the many support systems in place across Alberta that are helping to address them.

20 LEAP FALL 2018

has ever come out the other side of cancer into post-treatment, you know that one chapter of the cancer journey may have ended, but another has begun.

That’s where the Transitions of Care program comes in. Established in 2014

by CancerControl Alberta with nearly $1 million in funding from the Alberta Cancer Foundation, the program seeks to ensure that cancer patients and their family doctors receive the information they need about recommended follow-up care and transitioning into a new normal once treatment has ended.

Integrating these new transition resources into clinical practice is currently underway across the province on a site by site basis. Each set of resources was informed by a team of physicians and other health-care professionals, including registered nurses, psychosocial oncology specialists and radiation therapists that specialize in the management of particular types of cancer. >

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 21

Among this team is Calgary-based Dr. Linda Watson, provincial lead for Person Centred Care Integration. Watson says that, to build the Transitions resources, the team started by identifying three priority areas that would address the issues most in need of attention. The first was developing established provincial recommendations for follow-up care for each cancer type. The second was creating patient and primary care provider resources that mirrored and delivered those recommendations in ways that empowered patients and their family health care providers to partner more effectively in the recovery process. The third was working in tandem with community partners, such as the Wellspring cancer support network, to ensure an integrated approach supporting patients in the post-treatment phase of the their journey.

After gradually establishing provincial consensus on follow-up care recommendations for the seven cancers with the largest population of survivors (guidelines for hematology, for example, were only finalized this past May), and developing the different resources, the current work revolves around ensuring the correct transition information is shared with the patient and their family health provider at the right time.

When the Transitions resources are integrated into clinical practice, patients and doctors will receive information in the form of workshops and classes as well as letters and booklets — put together by Watson’s team in collaboration

with expert provincial oncologist and clinical teams and provincial patient education teams — outlining things like recommended follow-up, signs of recurrence, where to get psychological and emotional support, and how to deal with long-term effects of their treatment. All information is tailored to the particular types of cancer populations. For instance, head and neck cancer patients receive information regarding the effects of radiation on their oral and dental health, and breast cancer patients are given information on rediscovering intimacy with their partners after a mastectomy.

that the province will have some information to help [cancer survivors and their families], and then gives them ideas of places where they can go depending on the type of cancer they have, where they live in the province and other factors,” he says.

Currently, the implementation of the Transitions resources has begun in a staggered fashion, starting with gynecological and genitourinary tumour groups at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary and Lethbridge’s Jack Ady Cancer Centre, but Watson hopes it will be integrated widely across tumour teams

“ THE REALITY IS, IMPROVING TRANSITIONS IN CARE POST-TREATMENT IS A HUGE ISSUE ACROSS CANADA AND INTERNATIONALLY.” — DR. LINDA WATSON

Informing the creation of these educational aids are patient advisors — people who have experienced their own cancer journey and who share patient and family perspectives on the health care system. One such advisor, Bill Richardson, has dealt with both prostate and head and neck cancer and actively provides feedback on Transitions. He believes having a centralized resource like Transitions of Care that provides targeted information based on individual patient needs and situations will improve quality of life for cancer survivors and their families. “It helps to ensure

and cancer care facilities soon.

“The reality is, improving transitions in care post-treatment is a huge issue across Canada and internationally, and this is a home-grown solution,” says Watson.

“Part of the solution is increasing awareness and plugging away with the work of creating these resources, and then following through and getting our clinical teams to utilize these Transition resources with their patients on a regular basis. We’re on the right path, it’s just not moving as fast as we would like because it’s such a huge gap.” LEAP PHOTO BRYCE MEYER

22 LEAP FALL 2018

DR. LINDA WATSON, PROVINCIAL LEAD FOR PERSON CENTRED CARE INTEGRATION

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 23

REHABILITATION SERVICES

TAILORED TREATMENT The department of rehabilitation medicine at the Cross Cancer Institute provides healing physical therapy to those who need it

by EMILY SENGER photography BLUEFISH STUDIOS

WHEN AMY DRIGA

developed tendonitis in her wrist as a teen, her doctor told her to stop doing two things she loved, playing piano and playing flute. He also referred her to an occupational therapist (OT). The OT took a different approach.

“She asked, ‘Do you like piano and flute? Then why would you quit?’” recalls Driga. The occupational therapist fitted Driga with a splint, gave her stretching exercises and got her back to making music.

AMY DRIGA 24 LEAP FALL 2018

The experience was formative for Driga. She knew, then and there, that she wanted to be an occupational therapist, too. “This woman was saying, ‘I want you to do what’s important to you, let’s make that happen,’ rather than saying, ‘No, if it’s a problem, stop.’”

In 2019, Driga will celebrate 20 years of work as an occupational therapist at the Cross Cancer Institute, where, alongside other team members in the department of rehabilitation medicine, she helps people deal with the physical and cognitive issues caused by cancer or its treatment, so they can do the things that are most important to them again.

The issues Driga treats are wide-ranging. Among them, she helps patients manage pain and fatigue, fits patients with walkers or other mobility aids and sees patients whose cancer has affected their movement. Driga works closely with physiotherapists, speech therapists and assistants in the department to give patients treatment that addresses their specific needs.

The needs, aims and goals of patients in rehabilitation can vary greatly. Patients may be aiming to be able to play with their grandkids, walk a dog or, if you’re Kimberley Boulton, run a marathon.

Boulton was training to run a Boston-qualifying marathon time of under three hours and 35 minutes when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. In 2015 and 2016, she had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. She lost some range of motion in her arm due to initial treatments, and again when scar tissue caused tightness. Both times, she turned to rehabilitation services at the Cross, which she says alleviated additional financial hardship since the rehab is covered by Alberta Health Services and ensured the best possible care.

“Another physiotherapist wouldn’t necessarily have experience working with someone who had been through cancer treatments,” Boulton says. Now cancer-free, she has run two half marathons, one full marathon and has completed the 200-kilometre

Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer since finishing her treatments.

Of course, not everyone has a marathon goal. Driga’s occupational therapy focuses on day-to-day living and preparing inpatients for hospital discharge. The rehabilitation department has a kitchen and a bathroom where Driga and other OTs help people find new ways to perform everyday tasks. For example, someone with brain cancer might have weakness on one side of their body that makes daily tasks difficult, much like a stroke patient. Driga will use kitchen props, including a dishwasher and stove, to help assess and build strength.

“Can they load things?” she says, giving an example of the types of questions she asks while helping patients as they use the kitchen props. “Can they grab? Cognitively, can they remember to turn the burner off after they’ve used the stove? Is there anything that helps make holding a utensil easier? How can you keep doing the activities that you need to do, and want to

do, if you have impairments?”

Answering this last question means rehabilitation at the Cross Cancer Institute is tailored to each patient, no matter where they are in their cancer trajectory. Patients can also self-refer for occupational therapy and speech therapy, meaning they can call rehabilitation at any time during or after their cancer treatments, without requiring a doctor’s note.

In one day, Driga might fit someone with a walker or other mobility aid, lead a class on managing cancer-related fatigue and cut a foam chunk into just the right shape to make sitting more comfortable.

“It’s a combination of science and arts,” she says. “You have to be really creative.”

A lot of science, and a little creativity, will help Boulton again this fall. She has one final reconstructive surgery and, backed by the rehab team at the Cross, she will keep her eyes on the prize during recovery.

“I’m stubborn,” she says. “I will never, ever give up on my Boston goal.” LEAP

REGIONAL REHAB Patients outside Edmonton and Calgary can access rehab services closer to home, thanks to the Jack Ady Cancer Centre (JACC) in Lethbridge and the Central Alberta Cancer Centre (CACC) in Red Deer.

Physiotherapist Alexander Grant has been working with the JACC rehabilitation program since it opened in 2015, thanks to an enhanced care grant from the Alberta Cancer Foundation. He says it’s “wonderful” that people in the south zone can get treatment without driving to Calgary.

Grant frequently treats lymphedema, the chronic swelling associated with

many cancer treatments. He also helps with sensory and balance issues after chemotherapy and does rehabilitation for people with head and neck cancers.

Grant, along with the physiotherapist and occupational therapists at the CACC in Red Deer, are all certified lymphedema therapists, a condition most physiotherapists aren’t familiar with treating. “All fully licensed physiotherapists in Alberta are licensed to treat lymphedema,” Grant says.

“But the extra training and certification I have allows me to use more specialized treatments and provides more specific training in clinical decision-making. This

is especially useful for complicated cases of lymphedema. We also have specialized equipment to help us treat and diagnose, that you wouldn’t otherwise find in another physiotherapy department.”

Whether they’re north, south or central, the cancer centre rehab teams collaborate to provide patients with the best possible care. “Having a specialized service means we’re connected to all the other oncology rehab sites across the province,” says Grant. “Whatever research is going on, whatever methods they are using, we’re keeping up, to provide the same standard and knowledge.” –ES LEAP myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 25

SEXUAL HEALTH

ENCOURAGING INTIMACY The Central Alberta Cancer Centre provides vital information to cancer patients facing sexual challenges

by SHANNON CLEARY

illustration PETE RYAN

SEXUAL CHANGES

related to cancer treatment are common. In fact, research shows that sexual health challenges are one of the most distressing and longest-lasting side effects of cancer treatment. Nevertheless, Kelsey Kenway, an occupational therapist at the Central Alberta Cancer Centre (CACC) in Red Deer, says she often hears the following words from people who have undergone cancer treatment and are struggling with sexual health: “I should just be thankful to be alive.”

But Kenway believes it doesn’t have to be that way. As a member of the CACC’s working group on sexual health, Kenway believes that addressing difficulties related to sexual health and intimacy is an important, and often overlooked, part of a patient’s cancer journey.

“It’s okay to talk about what 26 LEAP FALL 2018

has changed,” she says.

The CACC Sexual Health working group formed in late 2017, and one of its primary goals is to support and enhance staff’s knowledge of issues related to sexual health due to cancer treatments and improve consistency of addressing these concerns with patients. The multidisciplinary group offers support to care providers and patients in Red Deer and surrounding communities and includes representatives from occupational therapy, social work, nursing and radiation therapy.

With funding from the Alberta Cancer Foundation, Kenway and other CACC care providers completed a two-part course in sexual health and cancer care through the de Souza Institute. The course helps health professionals in cancer care integrate human sexuality

in their thinking and practice and provides resources and strategies on how to manage sexual health concerns. Following the de Souza training, the working group facilitated training for representatives from each CACC department in order to disseminate the information that had been learned and share available resources. Staff can also access recent sexual health literature and local resources on the centre’s shared drive.

The group also designed a PowerPoint presentation that addresses common topics such as fatigue and brain fog, in addition to slides that identify possible sexual-health and intimacy-related side effects for both female and male cancer patients. The presentation will be shown on a cyclical rotation on the public monitors throughout the centre on its own channel, in an attempt to

prompt the conversation between patient and provider.

The CACC also has a dedicated, on-site clerk who triages any inquiries related to sexual health — patients with relationship or body image concerns are connected with a social worker; patients with pain, fatigue and positioning issues are connected with an occupational therapist; and questions about medications or erectile dysfunction are directed to a nurse practitioner.

Kenway says these initiatives support central Albertans and build capacity in smaller centres like the CACC, so patients can avoid travelling for services or having their sexuality and intimacy concerns go unaddressed.

“It’s a holistic way to approach sexual health,” she says.

“For all of us to address it, and to make patients feel that it’s okay to bring up the topic.” LEAP

This year’s golf tournament raised $1 million thanks to you!

The Alberta Cancer Foundation and the CCI Golf Classic committee would like to thank you for being a part of this great event year over year.

The impact your support has made in the lives of Albertans facing cancer is helping to ensure patient outcomes are improving. You are making progress that was impossible 30 years ago, and your support is giving the gift of time.

Funds raised from this year’s event will support a colorectal cancer research program, led by Dr. Michael Weinfeld – completing our three year commitment to his work. Dr. Weinfeld’s team is investigating DNA repair systems in order to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments while reducing side effects and increasing the quality of life for patients.

On behalf of the patients that have benefitted from your dedication and generosity, thank you for making a difference. We’ll see you again next year!

Presenting Sponsor:

THE SHARIFF FAMILY, LEFT TO RIGHT: SAMIRA, ALIYA, RUMI AND NASH

28 LEAP FALL 2018

GRIEVING TOGETHER

LOSING FAISEL The Shariff family endeavours to carry on their loved one’s legacy of helping others

by CHRISTINA FRANGOU photography COOPER & O’HARA

AS THE SHARIFF FAMILY

sits in the living room of their Edmonton home, they speak frequently of time.

They don’t dwell on the time points that often mark a cancer story — things like the age of diagnosis or the time to recurrence. They focus on an immeasurable aspect of time: what we make of the time we have.

“For Faisel, it was important to live his life in the moment, and to appreciate life,” says Aliya Shariff, describing what initially drew her to Faisel Shariff, whom she later married.

“He taught all of us to live in the moment.”

Faisel died in March of this year from Ewing’s sarcoma. He was 37, father to an infant son, an ardent Edmonton Oilers fan, and a much-loved teacher in Edmonton’s Ismaili Muslim community.

As Aliya speaks, her father-in-law, Nash, cuddles his five-month-old grandson, Rumi, on his lap. >

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 29

FAISEL SHARIFF

Immediately after Rumi was born, he received his first skinto-skin contact from his father, who’d been wheeled down from the palliative care floor to an operating room of the Grey Nuns Community Hospital for his son’s birth. It’s a fortunate twist in the timeline of Rumi’s life that he met Faisel: the infant arrived urgently by Caesarean section five weeks earlier than expected. On the day Rumi was officially due, March 21, his father succumbed to cancer.

As his family tells it, Faisel, always an optimist, made the best out of life’s unlikely occurrences. As a kid, a bus driver stole his prized collection of autographed hockey cards, a treasured Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky among them.

But he wouldn’t let his mom protest to the school.

After his family began fundraising for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in 2001 — a decision inspired by a family friend who lost a spouse to cancer — Faisel stepped into a role as 30 LEAP FALL 2018

one of the public faces of their efforts, befriending kids with cancer. Over the next decade and a half, the Shariff family, through their four Boston Pizza franchises and personal donations, would help raise more than $1 million for cancer care in Alberta.

In 2010, they were stunned when cancer struck home.

Faisel was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma — a bone or soft-tissue cancer that usually occurs in children and young adults. It is a very rare cancer in adults.

After his diagnosis, Faisel’s commitment to do more grew.

He found ways to become involved with the Alberta Cancer Foundation at every turn — from the Cross Cancer Institute Golf Classic tournament, to being part of the Cash & Cars Lottery, to sharing his inspirational story whenever he could.

“I honestly believe we were fortunate to have the time we had, that this was a god-given cancer because it was a child-

hood cancer that showed up in Faisel at 29,” says Samira, his mother.

When Faisel learned his leg would be amputated below the knee, he reminded his mother about the kids he knew who’d undergone amputations for cancer. He told her that his family wouldn’t need to buy a new house with fewer stairs.

“I’ll just bump down the stairs,” he said.

In 2014, a mutual friend introduced Faisel and Aliya, both of Ismaili Muslim faith. Faisel, who’d just completed a round of gruelling chemotherapy, told Aliya about his diagnosis and his belief in serving others. She was impressed by the work he did with kids, and the way he’d help seniors to remove their shoes at the mosque entrance. “For me, I just thought this was meant to be — whatever time we could have together,” she says.

Within a few months, they were engaged. They married a year later, fulfilling Faisel’s wish to meet his soulmate and be married. They conceived a baby by IVF, both undeterred

by Faisel’s worsening condition and dwindling treatment options. As their child grew inside Aliya, Faisel’s bones weakened and he was taken off therapy.

Admitted first to a hospital and then to hospice, Faisel organized his son’s bayat ceremony — the Ismaili baptismal ceremony — as well as a luncheon to celebrate.

Over FaceTime, he helped pick items for a baby registry, with Aliya holding up her phone as she walked through the store.

He recorded songs and messages for the baby, and chose Rumi’s name, inspired by his favourite poet.

“I never expected a lifetime, but it was all so quick,” says Aliya. “We still had hopes and dreams of a lifetime together.”

The Shariffs say they are taking their grief day by day.

Some days are better than others — their sadness is still raw and unpredictable. It’s hard to look too far ahead, says Aliya.

The family credits their faith and their community for supporting them, and Faisel’s optimism for inspiring them.

They’ve bonded tightly; Aliya lives 10 minutes away from her in-laws and sees them often.

They are focused on adjusting to their new roles as parent and grandparents. (As they speak with Leap, they take turns holding Rumi, celebrating his little noises and his newfound ability to sit.)

They thrive on the memories that Faisel created for them, especially in his last months.

He attended his son’s bayat and the luncheon, and died four days after the latter.

A framed photo of Faisel and Rumi from that day sits on a desk in his parents’ living room.

To anyone who has lost someone close, Samira says it’s important to remember that people who have died want happiness for those who miss them. “That’s my first message: your loved ones want you to continue to live and love.”

The family continues to support the Alberta Cancer Foundation and the Cross Cancer Institute, saying they are inspired to carry on their son’s legacy.

“He taught us to make all the differences that we can in people’s lives,” says Samira, “so we continue with his mission.” LEAP

BRINGING RELIEF

LIVING WITH LYMPHEDEMA A recent study aims to provide relief to breast cancer survivors dealing with a common problem

by SILVIA PIKAL

WHEN ANNE

Muir was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer 34 years ago, she was in shock.

“I was a physically active, 29-year-old mother of two,” Muir says. “It just didn’t seem possible.”

While undergoing treatment, Muir developed lymphedema, a common complication of breast cancer care. When lymph nodes are removed from a patient’s armpit area to see if the cancer has spread, it can damage the area, leading to a build-up of fluid and causing significant swelling, especially in the arm.

Muir’s left arm was affected.

“I would bring it to my doctors’ attention, but would always feel that I was lucky to be a survivor and that this was just something to live with,” Muir says. “Still, my arm just kept getting larger. It felt like a tree branch.”

She was forced to adapt and use her right, non-dominant, arm in daily life. But over the years, it slowly became worse.

Decades passed, and it got to the point where clothing didn’t fit and exercise became more challenging. In March 2016, Muir asked a doctor if she could get a referral to a physiotherapist who specialized in lymphedema treatment.

“The response was typical: it’s been a long time, so it was not likely,” Muir says. “But I became my own advocate that day and asked him to try.”

The next week, she saw a physiotherapist at the Cross Cancer Institute who was instantly concerned about the size of her arm and told Muir about a study that could help.

Called “Night-time Compression for Breast Cancer Related Lymphedema (LYNC): A Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial,” the study is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alberta Cancer Foundation and investigates whether nighttime compression for breast cancer-related lymphedema improves arm lymphedema volume in breast cancer survivors. Participants in the study were randomized into three groups: 1. Those wearing a daytime sleeve for 12 hours a day.

(Currently, the standard care is daytime compression only.)

2. Those wearing the daytime sleeve plus nighttime compression through the application of multi-layered compression bandaging.

3. Those wearing the daytime sleeve and nighttime compression systems with foam padding and Velcro strapping for about eight hours at night, in addition to daytime compression for about 12 hours a day.

The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Margaret McNeely, is an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s physical therapy department. She performs

clinical research in the Cross Cancer Institute’s rehabilitation medicine department.

McNeely describes how, in addition to the physical discomfort of lymphedema, there’s also an emotional impact.

“It’s a constant reminder of cancer — you’re always having to deal with this chronic swelling,” McNeely says.

Since bacteria can accumulate in the limb, there’s also a higher risk for infection.

According to McNeely, about

lymphedema than women who use a daytime compression sleeve only. In the study, the level of swelling in women who used the daytime sleeve alone stayed about the same, while women who applied nighttime compression were found to have a reduction in limb volume of 15 per cent.

McNeely says that now, thanks to the study, physical therapists at both the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the Cross Cancer Institute will

“ THIS WAS A VERY POSITIVE STUDY FOR A CHRONIC CONDITION.” — DR. MARGARET MCNEELY

30 per cent of women with lymphedema have problems with ongoing infections.

“Things we wouldn’t think about — a hangnail or a little cut — might lead to cellulitis or an infection in the arm,” she says. “Those infections can become systemic and make you very ill, very quickly.”

So far, the findings of the study (which began in 2014 with final data collection happening this December) suggest that women applying nighttime compression — whether through use of multi-layered bandaging or the Velcro wrap system — along with the use of a daytime compression sleeve, have better control of their

have research to guide practice and will be able to recommend that patients apply compression at night.

“This was a very positive study for a chronic condition,” McNeely says.

For Anne Muir, the results have been dramatic. When she joined the study in April 2016, her first measurement revealed close to 900 millilitres of extra fluid in her left arm. Through the added use of the nighttime compression system, the swelling has been reduced to 300 millilitres. She is now able to use her arm more effectively and says it’s changed her life from “being a survivor, to being someone who thrives.” LEAP

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 31

POST-OPERATIVE HELP

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT: AT-HOME PATIENT CARE A Calgary study is looking at how to streamline post-surgical care

by JENNIFER DOROZIO illustration GLENN HARVEY

PROGRESS IN

post-operative cancer care could begin with the use of a smartphone app.

Typically, patients who go home from the hospital after surgery will travel back to see a doctor should anything concerning arise while they heal. But a trip to the doctor isn’t always the most effective choice for patients or health care professionals, as these visits are sometimes unnecessary for the patients, and medical staff are already dealing with hectic schedules.

In response to this, a clinical trial called “A Protocol for Mobile App Postoperative Home Monitoring after Enhanced Recovery Oncologic Surgery,” which began in September 2018 and is funded by the Alberta Cancer Foundation, is looking at the effectiveness of an app concept called Recover Well, which allows post-surgical patients to receive direct follow-up care from their doctor simply by checking in on their smartphone or tablet.

Led by Dr. Claire TempleOberle, a surgeon at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, and coordinated

by Carmen Webb, a research coordinator at the Tom Baker, 32 LEAP FALL 2018

the study is monitoring 72 patients who will undergo either gynecologic oncology surgery, mastectomy alone, or mastectomy with breast reconstruction during its twoyear period. Half the patients are utilizing Recover Well, while the remaining undergo traditional follow-up measures in order to compare outcomes like patient satisfaction and number of hospital visits. All of the study’s participants will be treated according to Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol, a method of best practices for health care workers to ensure that pre, during and post-operative care for a patient is at the highest quality and is the most efficient.

Recover Well is designed so that the patient at home can check in on health indicators like their pain level, how they slept, how much they’re eating and any other concerns (including the option to send a photo), with that information going directly to a doctor and support staff for review.

Check-in prompts happen daily for the first two weeks post-surgery, and weekly for the following four.

“One challenge with the earlier hospital discharge that naturally flows from ERAS

protocols is the reduced number of days of in-hospital contact between the patient and the health care team,” says Temple-Oberle. “This smartphone app adds an additional layer of care, setting the patient’s and surgeon’s mind at ease that all is well during recovery.”

The hope is that the virtual visits facilitated with the app will prove to not only streamline and improve patient-doctor interaction, but also help identify potential complications for a patient earlier on.

“This will allow the patient to be assessed safely, from the comfort of their own home. The surgeon will be able to review the patient’s case outside of traditional clinic hours, allowing more flexibility for both the patient and the surgeon, leading to more timely access to care,” says Dr. Gregg Nelson, an associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and a co-investigator in the study. “I see this technology as being extremely beneficial to patients, especially as we continue to iterate toward improvement in patient-centred models of care.” LEAP

THE RECOVER WELL APP ALLOWS POST-SURGICAL PATIENTS TO RECEIVE DIRECT FOLLOW-UP CARE FROM THEIR DOCTOR

BY CHECKING IN ON THEIR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET.

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 33

CARING

Guidance and Comfort At the Bow Valley Community Cancer Centre, oncology nurse FIONA GARFORTH-BLES brings decades of experience, and genuine compassion, to her patients

by ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

WHEN MARY PASTON WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER

in December 2017, she went through what many people experience when they first receive such news: shock, sadness, fear and a sense of worry about what her course of treatment would look like. A resident of Banff, Paston did her first round of treatment at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, but the large facility and its distance from her home did little to alleviate her stress.

Luckily, Paston had Fiona Garforth-Bles in her corner, a dedicated oncology nurse who set her on a path toward a more personalized cancer care experience. Before Paston even had that first treatment in Calgary, her oncologist had referred her case to Garforth-Bles, who called Paston to let her know that she’d been assigned as her “patient navigator” and would be helping her through her treatment journey.

Based primarily out of the Bow Valley Community Cancer Centre in Canmore (she also works casually out of the Tom Baker), Garforth-Bles, in her role as an Alberta Cancer Foundation patient navigator (part of a nurse navigator program largely made possible thanks to the generosity of Foundation donors), ensures that her patients receive treatment in the most comfortable way possible while addressing their questions and concerns thoughtfully and compassionately. GarforthBles helps to triage and coordinate care with oncologists and other doctors, transition patients through various stages of treatment, and provides education to patients and their families, all while offering genuine moral support.

Garforth-Bles worked out of the Foothills Medical Centre and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre as an oncology nurse for 30 years before transferring to Canmore four years ago, taking on the patient navigator role two years ago. “I wanted to become a navigator, as the role is very involved with the patient and their family,” she says. “It utilizes all my 35 years of previous experience as a treatment nurse, bedside oncology nurse

and palliative care nurse.”

Garforth-Bles’s familiarity with the Tom Baker Cancer Centre has helped her in her role, as doctors there trust her and feel confident referring patients her way and allowing them to undergo chemotherapy at the Bow Valley Community Cancer Centre, which is smaller, quieter and offers a different level of personalized care. When oncologists in Calgary know that a patient lives in the Bow Valley and is eligible for treatment at the Canmore centre, they will refer the patient to Garforth-Bles, who, in turn, contacts the patient directly and explains her role as navigator.

“We know our patients very well here,” Garforth-Bles says. “The area where they have their treatment looks out onto the mountains, it’s got big windows, it is really lovely. We have a guitarist come and play music on our treatment days. There are only four treatment chairs, so we have some time to sit and talk.”

Paston says that being able to receive treatment closer to home has been invaluable, but it’s the less tangible aspects of Garforth-Bles’s role that mean the most to her.

“She truly cares about her people,” Paston says. “She knows the names of my grandkids and my husband, and she shares things about her own life. She’s not just a nurse, she’s a human being with a big heart. I trust her implicitly.”

While Garforth-Bles sees her patient navigator position as the ideal way to apply her decades of experience, she has other aspirations, too, such as helping to establish a hospice in the Bow Valley, and building more awareness of patient navigator services.

Meanwhile, she’s happy to continue helping patients through the process of treatment and recovery.

“I feel this position brings everything I’ve done in oncology full circle,” she says. “I am coming toward the end of my career, so it’s a fantastic job to get my teeth into, but also to think about what more I can do for patients.” LEAP PHOTO JARED SYCH

34 LEAP FALL 2018

“ I wanted to become a navigator, as the role is very involved with the patient and their family.

It utilizes all my 35 years of previous experience as a treatment nurse, bedside oncology nurse and palliative care nurse.”

— Fiona Garforth-Bles

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 35

LIVING WELL

DR. JILL TURNER IS A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST

The Power of Talking Opening up can make a huge difference for patients and their families

by KARIN OLAFSON

AT FIRST, KRISTI SAINCHUK DEALT WITH HER BREAST CANCER

diagnosis with humour. Despite requiring a radical mastectomy on her left side, as well as chemotherapy and numerous rounds of radiation, she says she was able to stay positive throughout her treatment. For her, emotional difficulties arrived after she had to get back to “regular” life.

“Everyone kept saying to me, ‘Aren’t you excited it’s over?’

But I found I wasn’t coping well dealing with the minutiae of life,” says Sainchuk. “I still had to go to work or go to Costco to get groceries. I thought, is this what I fought so hard for? Aren’t I supposed to be living every day like it’s my last? But life isn’t like that. I didn’t realize it, but I was really angry and sad.”

After having a nervous breakdown in the grocery store, Sainchuk knew she needed to find additional support. So, she began seeing Dr. Jill Turner, a clinical psychologist at the Alberta Health Services Department of Psychosocial and Spiritual Resources at the Cross Cancer Institute, Westmount site.

Cancer can be an isolating experience that can take an emotional toll on patients and their family members, which is why the Department of Psychosocial and Spiritual Resources focuses on supporting individuals’ mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being, collectively known as psychosocial oncology.

Here, all are encouraged to talk through their own experience with cancer, which can help them realize they’re not alone.

36 LEAP FALL 2018

“Our department helps patients and families as they experience cancer, whether that’s before, during or after treatment,” explains Turner. “We have four psychologists, four social workers and two spiritual care providers who help address cancerrelated concerns.”

One of the ways the department offers psychosocial support is through one-on-one counselling. Whether individuals are looking for psychological support to explore the emotions accompanying a cancer diagnosis, non-denominational spiritual support to explore meaning of life questions, or practical assistance with matters like accommodation, discharge planning or medical coverage, there are trained professionals on staff to help.

“I think the one-on-one counselling offers a person a chance to talk freely and genuinely. It’s hard to do that with family and friends sometimes,” says Dr. Noëlle Liwski, another clinical psychologist in the department. Liwski adds that, for family members, this individualized type of counselling is a chance to feel supported, as cancer can be an emotional and lonely experience for them, too.

In addition to individual counselling, the department also offers a variety of support groups. “Groups can connect people who may be experiencing something similar, reducing feelings of isolation or loneliness, and normalizing feelings they might be having,” says Turner.

The department’s past group sessions and classes have included coping skills, grief workshops, sessions on mindfulness relaxation and advice for therapeutic lifestyle changes. Liwski also facilitates a group called “Living Well in the Here and Now,” a popular workshop that uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a mindfulness-based type of behavioural therapy, to help patients and their family members live a hopeful, value-based life with or after cancer.

Both psychologists emphasize that there’s no “right” way to experience all that the department offers. Ultimately, the department helps anyone who is struggling with their own personal cancer experience, regardless of their timeline.

In Sainchuk’s case, she turned to the department two years after her diagnosis. Visiting provided an outlet for Sainchuk to finally speak frankly about how she was feeling post-cancer. Turner also encouraged Sainchuk to discover what made her happy, and recommended she try the department’s group sessions and classes. This suggestion opened doors to new, therapeutic experiences for Sainchuk — she tried Japanese weaving, an art form that connected her with other cancer survivors and that continues to bring fulfillment to Sainchuk’s life.

“When I sat down at that loom and started to weave with all these women who also went through cancer treatment, it was the first time that I felt joy after being sick,” says Sainchuk. “The department made me feel like I wasn’t alone and that I could say things that I was feeling, and I would then get support. It was a gateway into many different types of healing for me.” LEAP The Department of Psychosocial and Spiritual Resources has service locations in Edmonton at the Cross Cancer Institute and the Westmount Shopping Centre. Psychosocial services are also available in other locations for patients across the province. For more information, visit albertahealthservices.ca.

THANK YOU! The 2nd Annual Alberta Cancer Foundation Golf Classic was a tremendous success raising over $300,000 – thanks to a dedicated group of committee members, sponsors, donors and volunteers.

Held in Calgary at the Country Hills Golf Club, the funds raised from this tournament have been designated towards our Patient Financial Assistance Program. Cancer can be expensive, and the costs that come along with a diagnosis can be overwhelming for patients, and their families. This program covers expenses such as medication, food, transportation and childcare, allowing patients to focus on what matters most - healing.

We would like to thank our event sponsors and participants for allowing us to make a substantial investment in our Patient Financial Assistance Program. It is through your generous contribution to the Alberta Cancer Foundation Golf Classic that we are able to deliver impact and positive outcomes for Albertans facing cancer.

Together, we can create more moments for Albertans facing cancer.

RESEARCH ROCKSTAR

by COLLEEN BIONDI photography AARON PEDERSEN

DR. VINCENT BIRON IS EXPLORING A PROMISING NEW WAY TO DIAGNOSE HEAD AND NECK CANCER

F

or the last four years, Dr. Vincent Biron, a head and neck oncologic surgeon and researcher from the University of Alberta, has been focused on improving the experiences of head and neck cancer patients in the province. And that is a good thing — over the last 20 years, the incidences of these kinds of cancers have been growing exponentially in developed countries.

For Biron, the work is intensely gratifying, and he sees it as a realization of a goal he’s had since he was an undergrad in university: to work in science, where he could be both an explorer and a trailblazer. >

38 LEAP FALL 2018

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 39

“I have found my career sweet spot,” says the 40-year-old, who grew up on an acreage near Bonnyville, Alberta. “In this field, I can do complicated surgeries, reconstruction procedures and innovative research — all to influence real change.”

One of Biron’s main research projects involves adapting a diagnostic tool to identify head and neck cancers — which are caused from a subset of the human papillomavirus (HPV) — in early stages.

This tool, called a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), was originally developed to detect DNA sequences, particularly from samples with little genetic material. Biron took advantage of the technology to screen head and neck cancer patients for a specific gene related to HPV. Since 2015, he and his team have obtained saliva samples from 300 patients in whom the HPV virus had already been detected and confirmed via biopsy. The team then used the ddPCR tool to see if the HPV could also be detected via those simple saliva swabs. They were able to clinically validate the tool’s efficacy by identifying the virus with 97 per cent accuracy.

with HPV-related cancer detection and intervention, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has even changed staging criteria — in some cases, advanced-stage cancers are now being re-staged as early stage ones. With Biron’s tool being relatively inexpensive (original set-up cost for the ddPCR is $40,000-plus, but it’s only $20 a pop per patient for the saliva swipes) and easy to use, screening compliance rates should also go up.

In addition, instead of expensive imaging tools, like PET scans and biopsies, the tool can be used to look for cancer recurrence.

Because of such promising preliminary results, Biron has been approved to move into phase two of the project, thanks to a $550,000 research grant from the Alberta Cancer Foundation. This phase involves rolling out the screening tool and encouraging its use in clinical practices across Alberta and the rest of Canada.

Down the road, he’d love to see it used as a screening tool in the general population, the way pap smears have evolved to detect cervical cancer. He’d

“ HE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL CLINICIAN, HAS EXCELLENT SURGICAL SKILLS AND A HIGHLY ANALYTICAL MIND. HE’S A NATURAL AT RESEARCH.” — DR. HADI SEIKALY

This is a significant development, because 80 per cent of new tonsil and tongue cancers in Alberta are now associated with HPV, rather than with smoking and drinking. Tissues of the tongue and throat are similar to those of the cervix and are therefore preferentially infected by the virus. Also, HPV can be transmitted by oral sex.

Like all cancers, if HPV-related head and neck varieties are caught early, they can be treated less invasively (radiation or minor surgery, for example) and more effectively, reducing mortality rates and increasing quality of life factors.

In light of progress being made 40 LEAP FALL 2018

also like to get dentists more involved as potential screening agents — they are often the first to witness suspicious lesions of the throat and mouth and would be ideal co-conspirators in the stand against cancer.

A related project that Biron is working on began in 2017 and is taking place in Kenya. A colleague, Dr. Andre Isaac, convinced Biron to initiate a cervical cancer screening initiative in the country, using the ddPCR. Kenya is in great need of this kind of help. It has one of the highest rates of HPV-related cancer in the world, but is a “low resource” environment when it comes to cancer care. Few women are aware of the link between the virus and

cervical cancer or have timely access to screening. By the time symptoms present, the disease is frequently in advanced and life-threatening stages.

“The tool could be perfect there — a game changer,” says Biron. “We can screen large numbers and get results quickly.”

Biron’s team is planning to collect 200 saliva samples from Kenyan women in Nairobi and surrounding areas who have been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and ship them to Alberta for analysis. If the tool continues to detect HPV with premium accuracy, the end goal will be to help the local community establish its own lab with equipment and personnel.

To Biron, all this promising research means very little unless it is absorbed into practice. He sees cancer patients every day who motivate him to do just that — provide clarity about their diagnosis, effective treatment and prognosis, and hope for their future. He is also paying it forward by sharing his knowledge about clinical work, surgery and anatomy with medical residents at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

It is not always easy doing research.

Getting clinicians on board takes coordinated efforts and judicious communication, and there is always “healthy scepticism” with anything new on the landscape. But the dedicated professionals Biron works with provide practical and emotional support, which is critical to his resilience.

Some of his colleagues are also fervent fans. “Vince possesses a rare combination of skills that ensure his success,” says Dr. Hadi Seikaly, a fellow oncologic surgeon, researcher and professor in Edmonton.

“He is an exceptional clinician, has excellent surgical skills and a highly analytical mind. He’s a natural at research.”

After a long day at the office, Biron recharges by heading home to his wife and two children. He might go to karate with his 10-year-old son or to a swimming event with his 13-year-old daughter. It’s the ability to enjoy simple yet life-enriching moments such as these that inspire him to keep moving forward in improving and advancing medical care for Albertans.

“It keeps you focused on what’s important,” he says. LEAP

8

QUESTIONS WITH

DR. BIRON 1. Describe what you do in 10 words or less.

I surgically treat and research head and neck cancers.

2. What’s the biggest misperception about what you do?

That I am an “ear, nose and throat doctor.” This gives patients a skewed perception of what I actually do as a head and neck cancer surgeon. The title itself sounds a bit like I’m an expert in treating the common cold.

3. Where do you get your best ideas?

I get my best ideas while going on long runs.

4. If you weren’t a surgeon/ researcher, what would you be?

A farmer. I grew up in a rural community and helped out with farming as a teenager.

I liked the variety of work, taking care of animals and being outdoors.

5. What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned?

Learning to go with the flow and deal with the unexpected, particularly in the operating room.

6. What motivates you?

In my job, seeing patients who have struggled and ultimately lost their lives to head and neck cancer motivates me to improve the management of this disease.

7. What do you do to recharge?

I enjoy going on vacation with my family and doing martial arts with my son.

8. Why does your research matter?

Because it addresses a significant gap in our ability to manage head and neck cancer. This research looks at ways to improve the accuracy of diagnosis for HPV-related head and neck cancer, which is essential to provide the most appropriate treatment for patients. It also aims to provide a new and inexpensive tool to detect these cancers earlier, ultimately enabling earlier and less invasive treatment.

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 41

42 LEAP FALL 2018

TRUE CALLING

DR. J. DEAN RUETHER IS MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY IN ALBERTA

STRENGTHENING CANCER CARE ACROSS ALBERTA Dr. J. Dean Ruether is transforming community oncology

by SILVIA PIKAL

PHOTOS BRYCE MEYER

GROWING UP IN CALGARY, DR. J. DEAN RUETHER HAD A HUNCH

he would follow in his father’s footsteps and work in medicine.

“This just always felt like where I was going to end up,” Ruether says. “From the time I was a little kid, I remember being very aware of how much my father loved what he did.

That was a very powerful message for me — do something you love. I’ve been very fortunate to find that.”

After finishing medical school at the University of Alberta, Ruether completed post-graduate training at the University of Calgary in hematology, his father’s specialty. He found it very rewarding to work with patients affected by hematologic malignancies (cancers related to the blood), helping them navigate one of the most difficult and challenging times in their lives. So, he pursued additional training in oncology.

After working in private practice for five years, he joined the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary as a medical oncologist in 2000. > myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 43

At the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Ruether developed an interest in genitourinary (GU) oncology — the research and treatment of cancers that affect the reproductive organs and the urinary system — thanks to the guidance of a former colleague and mentor who was the only oncologist specializing in GU at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre at the time. Ruether was happy to support his work, and when his mentor left for another job, Ruether became the lone oncologist specializing in GU cancers there.

“I became very busy, very quickly,” he says with a laugh.

Throughout his career, he has also developed expertise in endocrine and neuroendocrine malignancies.

“My interest in endocrine malignancies and neuroendocrine tumours grew out of the fact that, at the time, medical oncologists had little to offer these patients and there was a need to develop expertise in this area as new treatments were becoming available to these patients,” Ruether says. “Getting involved in a new area of oncology on the ground floor, from a medical oncology perspective, was an exciting opportunity.”

Reflecting on his 24-year career in clinical practice, Ruether has nothing but good things to say about the job.

“I love what I do,” he says. “I love working with this patient population.

It’s a privilege to be able to care for someone and help them work through the challenges that come with living with a cancer diagnosis.”

In 2015, Ruether was appointed medical director of Community Oncology, CancerControl Alberta. In this role, he is the physician leader for four regional and 11 community cancer centre sites that bring cancer care closer to home for Albertans.

The two main cancer centres in Alberta are the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary and the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. The four regional community cancer centres, located in Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, provide a range of cancer care options to patients in their home communities, including chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and access to supportive care 44 LEAP FALL 2018

including psychosocial oncology, physiotherapy, nutritional support and social work. Patients see medical oncologists at the tertiary centres in Calgary or Edmonton or one of the four regional community cancer centres and are referred to one of the 11 community cancer centres for systemic treatment if it’s closer to where they live — these are located within hospitals or health centres.

“For a lot of our patients, time is very precious,” Ruether says. “[The goal is to] facilitate people getting care closer to home, or in their own community, and not using up that precious time driving back and forth to the tertiary or regional cancer clinics, which can be three or more hours away. That travel [can be] a huge added burden for patients and their families.”

When he’s not in clinic at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre meeting with patients, Ruether’s medical director role takes him throughout the province for clinical work or for face-to-face meetings with staff at one of the four regional sites in community oncology. He describes meeting with

staff in their own environment as essential to being successful in his role. “You can’t replace the value of sitting down with people face to face and hearing from them — what are your challenges? What is working well? What frustrates you? I meet with amazing people who are working in some incredibly challenging circumstances, small environments where resources are precious, and the energy and positivity they bring to work in that set of circumstances is very inspiring.”

Recently, Ruether obtained funding from the Alberta Cancer Foundation to set the infrastructure in place needed to make clinical trials available to patients at the regional cancer centres in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer. That includes supporting a project manager and three research nurses. This past July, the nurses underwent orientation in the clinical trials unit at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

Ruether says they hope to start offering an expanded list of radiation therapy trials sometime this fall (based, in part, on the success of the ACCEL trial, a clinical trial

that took place in three of the regional centres in 2017), and systemic therapy trials for the most prevalent tumour groups (GU, gastrointestinal, lung, breast, hematology) will follow by spring 2019.

These trials would include new types of chemotherapy, targeted agents and immunotherapy treatment.

According to Ruether, roughly seven to 11 per cent of patients at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Cross Cancer Institute participate in clinical trials, while, in community oncology, less than one per cent of patients participate due to the travel burden of getting to the two main centres.

“I have patients I’m still following now who benefited from participating in clinical trials 10 years ago,” he says. “They’re still here to see those benefits. I’ve seen the difference it can make for people, and that should be available to all Albertans dealing with cancer, not just the ones living in Calgary and Edmonton.”

Not only do clinical trials provide access to new drugs for patients, but Ruether believes the quality of care required to support clinical trials provides an important benchmark for the development of the community oncology program.

“It’s setting the bar at a level where we know we’re doing a really good job of the day-to-day care,” Ruether says.

Brenda Hubley, senior program lead, CancerControl North, works in a dyad role with Ruether. She describes him as a great problem-solver and communicator who shows respect to his colleagues by being open to learning, and by supporting others to learn.

“What makes Dean excel as a clinician, leader, and colleague is his authenticity, compassion, dedication and commitment to improving how we care for patients,” Hubley says. “He regularly steps in, and

“ I want to leave the cancer program a little better off than when I found it.”

– Dr. J. Dean Ruether

not away, which is a key reason he is highly respected in any forum or situation.”

No matter what role he’s in, Ruether is committed to clinical work and describes it as key to his success. “I never want to step too far away from the bedside — that’s how I maintain the focus, and also how I maintain some credibility with the people I’m working with in community

DR. J. DEAN RUETHER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS ° Expanded the Annual Community Oncology Update (a yearly two-day meeting that brings together clinicians from the four regional and 11 community sites) to include nurse navigators, managers and colleagues in pharmacy and supportive care, providing crucial educational updates and networking opportunities

° Improved access to palliative care services by embedding pain and symptom control clinics in two regional care centres eveloped a core °D group of family physicians in all 11 community centres to ensure patients always have access to a doctor layed a crucial role °P in bringing clinical trials for patients affected by GU and

endocrine malignancies to Alberta ° Built an innovative educational program for prostate cancer patients when they are initially diagnosed.

As a result, close to 3,000 men and their family members have gained an understanding of their diagnosis and the options available to them, making them more confident in their treatment choices

oncology. I’m somebody who will roll up their sleeves and dig into the clinic and help out. That goes a long way when you’re trying to develop programs and sometimes push people to work in ways that are not always comfortable for them.

I don’t ask anybody to do something I’m not willing to do.”

Dr. Daniel Heng is a colleague of Ruether’s at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

He points out that Ruether has strengthened the links between oncologists in the community and larger centres through multidisciplinary tumour board meetings composed of experts in a particular cancer type. At the meetings, the doctors have the opportunity to discuss challenging clinical scenarios and create collaborative patient plans.

“I’ve worked with him for 10 years,” Heng says. “He has shown me time and time again that difficult problems are solved by connecting the right people together who share the same inspiration.”

Ruether is quick to credit his colleagues as contributing to the motivation and passion he has for the job.

“People drawn to work in health care are caregivers, and I’ve been very lucky over 24 years to work with an amazing group of physicians, nurses, people in pharmacy and psychosocial care,” Ruether says. “They’re here because they want to help look after people, and that creates an amazing environment to work in.”

Ruether’s next big goal on the horizon is recruiting more staff for community oncology — an ongoing effort due to competition in major cities in Alberta and across Canada. Despite the challenges that come with building a strong program across 15 different community sites, his work continues to energize him.

“I remember one time talking with my dad about why he enjoyed what he did, and he said, ‘If, at the end of the day, you can feel like you’ve left the world around you a little better than you found it, then that’s the measure of a good day,’” he says. “That has always stuck with me. I want to leave the cancer program a little better off than I found it. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning — and looking after my patients.” LEAP myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 45

IMPACT

DONNA CROSS STEWART-WILLIAMS IN THE CROSS CANCER INSTITUTE HEALING GARDEN

A look back at Wallace Warren Cross as told to JENNIFER DOROZIO

Marking its 50th anniversary this year, the Cross Cancer Institute has delivered expert care, compassion, and cuttingedge treatments to tens of thousands of Albertans facing cancer. It’s hard to imagine Edmonton without this flagship facility, but Donna Cross Stewart-Williams recalls a time before there was a Cross Cancer Institute. It was a time when her father, Wallace Warren Cross — for whom the Cross Cancer Institute is named — was the Minister of Health in Alberta and saw a need in Edmonton for a dedicated cancer-care facility. Thanks in large part to Cross’ tireless efforts serving the province for well over two decades, his vision for the Institute turned to reality. Here, StewartWilliams shares her father’s story and the impact he had on both the City of Edmonton and her life.

Donna Cross Stewart-Williams: “I was an only child and remember well the day my father and mother told me we would be moving to Edmonton from Hanna, Alberta, so my daddy could work in the legislative buildings. I was seven, and that was in the fall of 1935.

“Dad was Minister of Health for 22 years in the Alberta Social Credit government, which he said was humbling. From that came his opportunity to start improving the life of Albertans, even though Alberta was a poor and bankrupt province at that time.

“I never heard much of the goings on, as he did not discuss work with me. But I would really enjoy him when we would go on holidays.

“Wherever we went as a family, I know he was respected and was looked upon to solve people’s problems. Dad was very quiet and a good listener. He would always listen to what people had to say or what they needed, and he never thought himself any better than anyone else.

“Eventually, the administration made use of the windfall revenues from oil development and could finally give more health benefits to Albertans. Dad [helped ensure] free treatment and hospital care for tuberculosis and polio, free insulin for diabetics, free maternity care services, and established free blood transfusion clinics and cerebral palsy centres.

“In the 1950s, he improved nursing services, established an investigative team to study diseases carried by insects and wildlife, and established a department of health nutrition and many health units. He also gave hospital, medical and dental care to pensioner groups, grants to the Alberta Alcoholic Foundation, and legislated Blue Cross hospital insurance in 1948. And he planned many auxiliary hospitals for chronic care patients, convincing the cities to donate the land.

“I am very proud of all he did, how he could change the lives of people.

“He started [the city’s] cancer services in 1941 as a department in the old maternity ward building of the University of Alberta hospital. It became a special government program, and he could see the need for future development, which meant specialized staff and money for a real cancer hospital. It was his dream to build it, eventually.

“After six consecutive elections, and with the developmental planning of the new cancer hospital well into reality, he retired in 1959.

“I saw the [Cross Cancer Institute] when it was first opened. It was certainly smaller [at that time], but they were doing wonderful work even then. I know it’s like a family — anyone that went there as a patient just felt so loved and so taken care of.

“He was a fine man, and I’m just so proud that there is a hospital here in his name. He would be so flabbergasted to see it now.” LEAP PHOTO BLUEFISH STUDIOS

46 LEAP FALL 2018

WHY I DONATE

Giving Hope

by BREANNA MROCZEK

Dennis and Donna Klein want to help ensure that all Albertans facing cancer have access to the best and most advanced options for treatment and support >

PHOTO BLUEFISH STUDIOS

myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 47

WHEN DENNIS AND DONNA KLEIN’S 14-

year-old daughter, Karma, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (a soft tissue cancer) in the back of her neck, they were, understandably, very scared. Dennis had lost a brother, at a young age, to cancer and already knew first-hand how the disease can affect a family. But their fears were made more manageable by the treatment advancements and quality of care their daughter received in Fort McMurray, and at the Cross Cancer Institute and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

“It changes everybody’s life,” says Donna. “Our other three daughters worried about their sister and experienced all of that stress, too.” Based in Fort McMurray at that time, the Kleins travelled to Edmonton for much of Karma’s treatment.

“She had a very good surgeon in Fort McMurray, and he referred Karma to one of the best orthopedic surgeons in Alberta who operated in the Stollery Children’s Hospital at the University of Alberta. She went on to have an aggressive chemotherapy protocol,” says Dennis.

He attributes G-CSF, a now-common drug that had been in use for less than a decade at the time of Karma’s diagnosis in 1993, to her ability to maintain her chemotherapy schedule and overcome cancer. G-CSF hastens the increase of a patient’s white blood cell count, which gets depleted during chemotherapy. This, in turn, helps the patient resist infections and be better able to maintain the treatment protocol.

“It was very, very fortunate that she got to use that drug,” says Dennis. “To me, it was a breakthrough drug. Without it, I’m not sure how fast she would have recovered.”

Dennis and Donna were grateful that Karma was able to receive some of her weekly chemo treatments at a satellite clinic in the Fort McMurray Regional Hospital. This reduced the travel to Edmonton, plus maintained a more normal family life and school schedule, without compromising her treatment. By 1994, Karma was in recovery, and the Kleins, buoyed by the support their daughter received during her cancer journey, were 48 LEAP FALL 2018

inspired to make a donation to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

“She had such good care,” says Dennis, “and we wanted to help ensure others could get that level of care and treatment, as well.”

In 1996, just two years after Karma’s recovery, Donna began her own journey as a patient after she received news she had breast cancer. “I had the same good surgeon in Fort McMurray and caring doctors, nurses and staff at the Cross Cancer Institute; and I survived. But then, much to my surprise, I was diagnosed with uveal melanoma in 2012,” Donna says.

“We’re just so fortunate to have doctors like Weis and Smylie here in Alberta,” Donna says. “If treatment hadn’t been available in the brachytherapy clinic at the Cross, I would have had to travel to Toronto or Philadelphia.”

After having seen and experienced different, always-changing technologies and cancer treatments over 20 years, the Kleins made a commitment to further their financial support for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

“In all areas, from technology to training, cancer treatment has changed to such a high degree,” Dennis says. “We wanted

“ She had such good care, and we wanted to help ensure others could get that level of care and treatment, as well.” — Dennis Klein

Uveal melanoma, a form of eye cancer, is rare and was previously treated by removal of the affected eye. Just eight months prior to Donna’s uveal melanoma diagnosis, Dr. Ezekiel Weis, with the assistance of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, had started an ocular brachytherapy clinic — treating these cancers with radioactive implants — at the Cross Cancer Institute.

Following brachytherapy treatment, the biopsy result indicated that Donna’s uveal melanoma was the aggressive class. Dr. Weis suggested participation in a clinical trial, as there was no effective adjuvant drug treatment available.

“When we saw oncologist Dr. Michael Smylie at the Cross, he told us that immunotherapy treatment had produced some encouraging remissions in cutaneous melanoma patients, but fewer clinical trials had been done for uveal melanoma,” Dennis says. Smylie was also supportive of the clinical trial option, a method by which adjuvant treatments are proven effective prior to general acceptance.

Donna decided to proceed with a clinical trial using the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab. She has survived six years, which is beating the odds for her disease, and has useful vision in her affected eye.

to help cancer specialists like Dr. Weis and Dr. Smylie assist more people like ourselves. When we talk about helping the Alberta Cancer Foundation, we’re looking for them to support initiatives like the brachytherapy clinic (it’s one of only two in Canada), as well as clinical trials and immunotherapy research. We know they’re making great progress and we want to see them continue.”

Today, both Donna and Karma are healthy and thriving. Donna is retired and loves tending a large perennial garden on an acreage near Edmonton, plus seeing her 10 grandchildren whenever possible.

Karma is a mother of five and a practicing doctor who supervises the cancer clinic in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Kleins are hopeful that other Albertans facing cancer will be able to have a treatment experience similar to those of Donna and Karma, where patients feel cared for, make a full recovery, and are able to lead happy and fulfilling lives.

“We just need to keep providing that hope and supporting that progress,” Donna says. “Things are changing for the better. It’s reassuring that when you get a diagnosis there are many skilled and dedicated people to help you.” LEAP

MY LEAP

ALLISON WUSATY ON THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT ELBRUS

Climbing for Cancer Allison Wusaty set her sights on Europe’s highest peak to raise funds in support of her brother

by FABIAN MAYER

THE INSTINCT TO HELP A FAMILY MEMBER FACING CANCER

can be overwhelming. But a cruel reality of the disease is that there can be relatively few ways to help directly. Allison Wusaty decided to fight that feeling of helplessness by climbing Europe’s highest peak, raising more than $35,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in the process.

Allison’s brother, Andrew, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008 after suffering multiple seizures following a collision during a hockey game. Within a week, Andrew had his first surgery and, since then, the 40-year-old Calgary resident has had three more surgeries to remove recurrent tumours.

Despite undergoing multiple chemotherapy and treatment programs, Andrew continues to work full-time as an environmental consultant. He also travels, snowboards, fishes and still plays hockey.

He remembers his younger sister coming to him in mid-2017 as if with a dark secret — that’s when she first raised the idea of climbing Mount Elbrus, in southwest Russia, as a fundraising initiative.

“She came to me and said, ‘What would you think about this?’

And I said, ‘Oh god, I think that’s just brilliant, I’m behind it 100 per cent,’” says Andrew.

Less than a year later, Allison found herself atop the 5,642-metre-high peak. Though she trained for the eight-day climb, she says finding the mental strength to keep going was the most difficult part

of the ascent. But remembering the cause behind it allowed her to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

“My brother doesn’t have the option to quit. He has to go through treatment and keep going, and what a lousy attitude I would have if I stopped because it was too hard,” says Allison.

After being stuck at one camp for four days due to a storm, Allison’s group of climbers was eventually able to summit the mountain in early September 2017.

“It was incredible to have this moment where I was all alone at the top,” says Allison. “Being there was so exciting, and then all I could think about was calling my brother and being able to tell my family I did it.”

Andrew vividly recalls not getting any news for a few days before getting a phone call from a small Russian village and hearing Allison’s voice on the other end.

“There was relief, happiness — I was so glad that she achieved it and that she was safe,” says Andrew. “It’s just a nice feeling, it’s a culmination.”

The siblings say they’ve always been close, but Allison says what they have gone through together over the past decade has brought them even closer.

“It changes your whole family, really. We are so much closer now and it sort of changes all your priorities,” says Allison. “We’ve gone on so many family trips and done so many amazing things together.”

Allison and her family fundraised for the climb online and hosted events such as yoga classes, hikes and clothing sales. Andrew had initially kept his diagnosis relatively private and, while he was somewhat uneasy about the public nature of the fundraising, he’s happy with how it worked out.

“To be honest, it’s a bit comforting. It did feel better when everybody knew,” says Andrew. “Now I’m happy to talk when asked about it because I think it informs people.”

Beyond overwhelming support and donations from family and friends, Allison says the process of fundraising was also rewarding in other ways.

“You feel a little bit alone when your family is going through something like this, but then you have these conversations where other people feel exactly the same way and you can support each other,” says Allison.

Andrew says another big source of support in his journey has been the staff at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. He credits them for allowing him to live his life as normally as possible despite the circumstances.

“From my oncologist, my surgeon, right down to the nurses, it’s been awesome,” says Andrew. “It’s very comforting. They do a nice job of putting positives on the reality.”

Not content with having climbed Europe’s highest mountain, Allison has now set her sights on South America’s highest peak. She plans on redoubling her fundraising efforts and will attempt the 6,962-metre Aconcagua this December. LEAP myleapmagazine.ca FALL 2018 LEAP 49

GAME CHANGER Rhodes was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2017, after a routine blood test indicated something was off. “Luckily, I was diagnosed at stage one, and I quickly realized that early diagnosis improves your prognosis and allows you to have so many more options, as far as treatment is concerned,” says Rhodes.

Rhodes’ diagnosis also spurred him to find more ways to give back to his home community of Edmonton, and to the Cross Cancer Institute. After first raising $56,000 through his own network for prostate cancer research, he looked to bigger opportunities.

“ I feel like I’ve been given a platform, and I’ve got to use that platform to do whatever I can to help this community and be genuine when I’m involved with a cause.”

— Len Rhodes, Edmonton Eskimos CEO

Playing to Win This fall, Edmonton Eskimos CEO Len Rhodes dedicated a home game to cancer research and care

by JENNIFER DOROZIO

EVERY GAME DAY, THE DISTINCTIVE CLANGING OF COWBELLS CAN

be heard as fans cheer on the Edmonton Eskimos football team at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

But elsewhere in the city, at the Cross Cancer Institute, the cowbell is used to cheer on something else entirely. The Cross has its very own “Bell of Hope” that patients ring once their cancer treatment is completed.

Len Rhodes, president and CEO of the Edmonton Eskimos, hopes to ring that bell this November, when his radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer is set to finish. He is currently undergoing brachytherapy at the Cross Cancer Institute.

“The Cross Cancer Institute is a blessing for our community, there’s no doubt about it,” says Rhodes. “I just admire all the staff that work there, from the doctors to the nurses to all the support staff. It’s just an incredible place.”

“I feel like I’ve been given a platform, and I’ve got to use that platform to do whatever I can to help this community and be genuine when I’m involved with a cause,” says Rhodes.

He met with Peter Wilkes, co-chair of Show the Love, a campaign celebrating and raising money for the Cross in honour of its 50th anniversary. After talking with the Show the Love committee, Rhodes pledged to dedicate an Eskimos home game to their cause. The game, between the Eskimos and the Ottawa Redblacks, took place on October 13, with proceeds from cowbell sales and a portion of designated seat sales going to the Cross. A significant centrepiece of that game was the cowbell — thousands were sold to spectators as part of a stirring celebration at halftime that included 50 cancer survivors ringing the bell on the 55-yard line.

“So many people have been impacted directly or indirectly by some form of cancer. It’s really important to bring it to the mainstream so people can talk about it and build awareness around the need for medical attention and annual checkups,” says Rhodes.

As a team, the Edmonton Eskimos have backed other causes before. They had a “pink game” to support the fight against women’s cancers, and also host annual dinners that have raised more than $600,000 for ovarian cancer research at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women.

“You’ve got to do the difficult things in life, and that includes dealing with the fact that cancer exists, but not just sitting back and crossing your fingers and hoping it goes away,” says Rhodes. “[Cancer] is a viable opponent, but it can be taken down. Being able to talk about it publicly and bring it to a public format is really important.” LEAP PHOTO COOPER & O’HARA

50 LEAP FALL 2018

CEL E

18 20

ATING IN R B

• A • L B E R TA

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