This September is a bit special for me. It commemorates the 50th year of me “going to school”. As a scientist and academician, I am very excited about this accomplishment.
I hope we will invest in education more in NL and elsewhere, as when there is a strong public education, even the least privileged can excel.
I was also honoured with Inspired Innovation Award (adult category) by St. John’s YWCA “as an innovator and pioneer in the academic public engagement space..”.
I thank my parents for giving my siblings and I the best conditions they could offer to help us pursue education and all.
I do not do everything myself: I also gratefully acknowledge my students, assistants, collaborators, and public partners and advocates who I have worked with for their critical roles in everything I do.
We have had the pleasure of having Suad Ismail as our guest today! Suad is a mom, survivor of pediatric cancer, social worker, patient advocate and leader, and an amazing speaker.
Suad and Sevtap talked about two topics that are their shared interest: Pediatric cancers and patient partnerships. They touched the following questions:
What are pediatric cancers?
Suad’s pediatric cancer story full of challenges as well as resilience
Importance of seeing both the system and patient side
How to bridge research and healthcare system with patient experience, and why?
Active engagement of patients in everything from knowing their rights in clinic to reach out to others who may help them realize their goals
We cannot thank Suad enough for this very energizing and eye-opening podcast.
We are very pleased to share that our study on pediatric cancers and social and stigma related experiences is now published: https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/33/8/494
Quinn Jesso and Sydney Knapman from Trans Support NL had a chat with Sevtap Savas on healthcare and cancer care for individualstransgender and gender-diverse, what gender affirming care looks like, what barriers exist in accessing healthcare and cancer care, and more.
We are pleased to share this podcast with Stephanie Howlett, Judy D. Whitty, Tracy Slaney, and Sevtap Savas on Patient Voice in Cancer: what it means? how it looks? what can be done to further progress it?
I made two presentations as part of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) annual conference – one about the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research and the other about the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee.
We learnt and grew together – both of these presentations paint a picture of different experiences and learning – take a look
The second one was the Seniors of Distinction award by the Department of Seniors, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – another amazing recognition 🙂 https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2026/exec/0611n03/
Folks, I am happy that our efforts are making an impact. Together, we can do so much more.
After 2 years and 3 months of working together, sadly the ACC PAC (Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee) is coming to an end due to lack of funding.
During this time frame, our committee worked tirelessly to connect patient stories, scientific and medical knowledge, and priorities with the general public, scientists, clinicians and funders.
We are very proud of our accomplishments. Below you will find a summary of our work.
It has been an honour to advocate for you.
We wish you healthy and happy days – whatever happens, please remember that one day we will eliminate cancer via science and medicine.
Our key accomplishments:
MANUSCRIPT in PREPARATION
Sevtap Savas, Georgia Skardasi, Judy Donovan Whitty, Stephanie Howlett, John King, Cyndi Corbett, Jennifer Coish, Pauline McIntyre, Beverly Pausche, Angela Hyde, Marcelo F. Martinez, Cara MacInnis. “See the person and not just the tumor”: Cancer research ideas for Precision Medicine through the patient lens (in preparation)
Sevtap Savas, Aaron Curtis, Angela Hyde. The Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisor Committee (ACC PAC) – Creation and Goals for 2024. ARCC 2024 Conference, May 16-17, Ottawa, Canada (oral presentation by Savas)
Sevtap Savas, Georgia Skardasi, Aaron Curtis, John King, Jennifer Coish, Sharon Jennings, Marcelo Fabian Martinez, Cyndi Corbett, Cara MacInnis, Judy Donovan Whitty, Beverly Pausche, Gilles LeBlanc, Pauline McIntyre, Angela Hyde. ACC PAC: A pan-Atlantic Canada patient and family advisory committee for Precision Medicine and cancer. CAPO 2025 annual meeting Toronto, Canada April 23-25, 2025 (poster presentation by Savas) Published in Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(4), 241; https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/32/4/241
Nov 25, 2025 Speaker: Dr. Alexi Surette. Moderator: Gilles LeBlanc. Le consortium atlantique contre le cancer, le biobanquage et le reseau des centres de cancérologie Marathon of Hope du TFRI. 12 :30 – 1:30 pm NST. A virtual, free and public webinar organized by the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZofHfMOr0E&t=1976s
Nov 28, 2025 Speaker: Dr. Sherri Christian. Moderator: Sevtap Savas. The Atlantic Cancer Consortium, Biobanking, and the TFRI Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. 12 :30 – 1:30 pm NST. A virtual, free and public webinar organized by the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaekKVNQi9I&t=261s
PUBLIC CONFERENCE ORGANIZED
Cancer is Personal: Humanizing Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada (March 15, 2025)
