We are excited to share our latest publication about our activities as the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research! 🙂
We invite you to take a look at our publication – see the link below.
https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/32/10/579
Our work since 2021 has shown that there is a need to reach out to public in our province. Specifically, there is a need to inform and empower folks about cancer.
In the last two years, we have been creating a guest blog and podcast series on cancer, lived experience, cancer care and research, and advocacy.
- During this time frame, we have published 13 blog posts on our website and 28 podcast episodes on Spotify.
- Each of these pieces includes genuine, cozy, and informative conversations and perspectives by 36 guests. We enjoyed working with them, listening to their stories, and exchanging perspectives – all to benefit the population-at-large in NL and beyond.
- While 2 out of 3 guests are from NL, we also had guest from other provinces (NS, PEI, QC, BC, NWT) and other countries (England, Turkiye) – these guests helped us to see the wider view on the cancer front. We thank all of them for sharing their knowledge and wisdom with us.
- Our podcast hosts included our group members – Jason Wiseman, Janine Taylor-Cutting, Tracy Slaney, and Sevtap Savas. Our coordinator Kayla Crichton helped edit all podcasts episodes, write their summaries, and hosted one episode. We had lots of fun 😊
- We have done something with this project that was not done before in our province. And we are very proud of this.
- Support by the Office of Public Engagement and NLSUPPORT staff is gratefully acknowledged. This project was possible because of the funds we received from the now-closed Office of Public Engagement in St. John’s campus, Memorial University. This office and its dedicated staff were critical in our success. We are unsure at the moment whether we can continue this and other group projects without funding. That is the sad reality of budget cuts.
We are incredibly honored to have published our experience, perspectives, and lessons learnt in this publication. It also gave us a unique opportunity to advocate for better public and patient contributor compensations globally.
This project has been fueled by care and compassion that we feel towards the people affected by cancer.
Cancer affects 2 in 5 people in our province. Its effects extend to family, friends, workplaces, and communities.
While we thought (and still think) that it is the obligation of the government of NL and the NL Health Services to inform and empower our population, we wanted to do our part as dedicated advocates.
Our group has been advocating for better cancer care, risk reduction, treatment, support services, and a system that works for all.
Please join us by reading the blogs, listening to our podcast episodes, and advocating for a better future in NL and beyond.
Thank you.
Sevtap Savas, PhD. October 19, 2025. St. John’s
