Hey folks,
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
Sevtap Savas, PhD. St. John’s, June 15, 2026
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
PUBLISHED PEER-REVIEWED MANUSCRIPTS
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS MADE
ACCEPTED CONFERENCE ABSTRACT
MEDIA ARTICLES and INTERVIEWS
PUBLIC RECAPS
PUBLIC WEBINARS ORGANIZED
PUBLIC CONFERENCE ORGANIZED
Cancer is Personal: Humanizing Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada (March 15, 2025)
ACC PAC YouTube CHANNEL
Currently 19 recordings are posted for free, public access.
We are pleased to note that we – the Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) – have just published our 2nd scholarly paper!! 💓
In this paper, we describe our experience with organizing a Public Conference on Precision Medicine (March 15, 2025) for Atlantic Canadians, self-reflections, feedback received and lessons learnt for future public partnerships and conferences
Take a look!!
What an impressive track-record – The ACC PAC was formed in Jan 2024, and this is our second manuscript peer-reviewed and published freely available to global audience
Congrats everyone – hope more to come!
The Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) is proud to note that it has started its webinar series.
In the first two webinars, the committee focused on the research done by the Atlantic Cancer Consortium.
The first webinar was delivered by Dr. Alexi Surette in French and the second one was delivered in English by Dr. Sherri Christian.
You can access these presentations here:
Better days ahead.
I am excited to note that I will be receiving the Exceptional Leadership in Patient Involvement in Cancer Research Award by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA) in Nov 2025.
Congratulations to all awardees – what a great cohort of folks who are dedicated to make a difference at the cancer front!
I am so happy to bring this Award to Newfoundland and Labrador, and Atlantic Canada.
This prestigious and national award goes to you folks: Community in #NewfoundlandAndLabrador and in #AtlanticCanada, my collaborator colleagues and assistants, and our funders who transformed me into a public communicator and engager.
Over the last 6 years, together we have been working very hard to make a difference in the lives of people, families, and communities affected by cancer.
The Public Interest Group on Cancer Research has been particularly strong voice in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was formed and sustained by funding provided by the Office of Public Engagement in St. John’s, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Sadly, this wonderful unit, its excellent staff, and its funding do not exist anymore. This is just one example of how the budget cuts impact the community in NL – no one wins here.
The Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee is another successful partnership albeit being a young one (formed less than 2 years ago). I thank our funders/MOHCCN for making our work and committee a possibility.
NLSUPPORT has always been there to give us a hand – I cannot thank its wonderful staff.
Among all the units I am associated with at Memorial University, it has been my clinical colleagues at the Discipline of Oncology, who have fully supported and understood what I have been trying to do in my engagement work. Special thanks go to them.
I thank Quality of Care NL for nominating me for this award, and public partners, leaders, and colleagues supporting my nomination.
I always question where my heart and mind are. Nowadays they are with my family. My mom, Nimet Altunbas, died of cancer four years ago. My sister, Mehtap Savas, is a long term survivor of cancer. I would die for them.
I work very hard to make a difference in the lives of people affected (or will be affected) by cancer – I have no regret for working hard, failing, getting up, getting burnt out, and succeeding along the way. My only regret is that my family has not benefited and will not benefit from my hard work. From my young age on, they supported my ideals and not even once complained about me being away from them (since age 11). I proudly note that my sister Mehtap is my biggest supporter, as she understands the gap we have been addressing together with public partners in the lives of people affected by cancer.
Last, I am Turkish and I am an immigrant to Canada. This award is a testament to immigrants’ abilities and contributions to the society and academia in Canada. If there are other immigrant folks out there who would like to start public and patient engagement, please just go ahead – future is brighter.
My commitment to make things better for the next person and family affected by cancer is continuous. Please join me in supporting them in any way you can.
With gratitude
Sevtap Savas, PhD. Oct 21, 2025 St. John’s
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In case you are wondering what we have been doing with public partners, here is a short summary
You can read my full award interview here: https://www.ccra-acrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025_Interview_SSavas_EN.pdf and listen to a snap shot of it in the YouTube video below.
Advocacy is something we naturally do when we partner with public members.
Pleased to advocate on behalf of people affected by cancer in Atlantic Canada by emailing the following to all 40 members of the House of Assembly in Newfoundland and Labrador:
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Dear Members of House of Assembly – Newfoundland and Labrador,
Cancer touches everyone.
When it strikes us, or someone close, we know that they need support, and we all want to help.
As an elected representative, your role is crucial, and your actions can save lives.
The Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee (ACC PAC) is part of the national Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. Our membership includes 15 members from Atlantic Canada, 11 of whom are public members affected by cancer. I proudly lead this group.
Together, ACC PAC has identified priorities to improve access to care, and has published an academic paper with their results – you can access it here free of charge: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44250-025-00201-1
We invite you to take a look at the priorities identified in our paper to explore ways to address them in our region, and reach out to us with suggestions about how you may be able to fast-track improvements.
We are happy to meet in person or virtually.
Thank you and kind regards,
Sevtap
Thanking Bev P. for her valuable help with the content.
Sevtap Savas, PhD, ACC PAC lead.
Dear folks,
We are pleased to report back to the community in Atlantic Canada about our impactful and productive work.
You can find a recap published in Telegram here: https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/letter-atlantic-cancer-consortium-patient-advisory-committee-reflects-on-its-successful-year
A more detailed report is posted below.
We thank you for your support to our activities.
On behalf of ACC PAC, Sevtap Savas, PhD. St. John’s
We are pleased to share the recorded talks delivered on March 15, 2025, as part of the public conference named Cancer is Personal: Humanizing Precision Medicine in Atlantic Canada!
We thank all speakers for making their talks public and tech staff for making this possible.
On behalf of ACC PAC, Sevtap Savas, PhD.
We are pleased to share our scholarly paper published in Discover Health Systems journal this week!
In this paper, we describe the formation of our team (ACC PAC) and the patient and family priorities its members identified regarding cancer and precision medicine in Atlantic Canada.
The ACC PAC identified priorities in two categories:
You can freely access this manuscript here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44250-025-00201-1?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oa_20250324&utm_content=10.1007/s44250-025-00201-1
Better days ahead
Sevtap Savas, PhD.
We will update this page as we finalize the schedule
Register http://bit.ly/4h4spjb