Public Engagement – Strength in Community

Episode 31 – Advocacy

As the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, we are excited to present this podcast to you!

We have had the pleasure of having Stephanie Howlett today! She is one of our most frequent guests, and also a very prolific one!

Stephanie and Sevtap talked about a topic that is dear to their hearts: Advocacy.

What does advocacy mean to us?
What do we advocate for?
How do we advocate?
What are the upsides of advocacy?
What are the downsides of advocacy?
What tips would we give to others about advocacy?

Take a look!

September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, patient partners, Podcast, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, science communication, St. John's Leave a comment

Episode 30 – Health care and cancer care for transgender and gender diverse individuals

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.

Take a look 🙂

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5QxNZFHbC3iDftWGsQ1Uov?si=Cm8vEYJ_Q0aU78J1AHeN8A

For their gender affirming care toolkit, please visit: https://tsnl.org/nl-gender-affirming-care-toolkit/

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Canada, cancer, Cancer Care, cancer care for transgender, gender-affirming care, gender-diverse, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, St. John's, Trans Support NL, transgender Leave a comment

Episode 29 – Patient voice in cancer

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?

Take a look 🙂

August 15, 2026August 15, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Atlantic Canada, Canada, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL, Patient voice, Podcast, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, St. John's Leave a comment

What have we learnt by working with public partners?

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

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: ACC PAC (Atlantic Cancer Consortium_Patient Advisory Committee), Blog, Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Canada, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, patient partnerships, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach Leave a comment

proud moments….

This past week was full of joy, pride, and appreciation 🙂

I have received two awards for our work done by my team and patient partners 🙂 What an amazing feeling.

First one was the Innovation Award by the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO): https://www.capo.ca/CAPO-Innovation-Award

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.

Better days ahead.

Sevtap Savas, PhD. St. John’s, June 15, 2026

June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Blog, Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, cancer, community contributions, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, Recognitions, St. John's Leave a comment

We are celebrating our 5th year together!

The Public Interest Group on Cancer is proud to celebrate its 5th anniversary.

We have been active since May 2021, and undersigned impact public engagement and advocacy activities – take a look:

May 4, 2026May 4, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Canada, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, St. John's Leave a comment

The Public Interest Group on Cancer invites interested folks to their study!

under construction

March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Canada, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, St. John's Leave a comment

The 2nd scholarly manuscript by the ACC PAC is now published

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!

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21501319261420572

February 19, 2026February 19, 2026 by sevtapsavas Categories: ACC PAC (Atlantic Cancer Consortium_Patient Advisory Committee), BlogTags: Advocacy, advocate, Atlantic Cancer Consortium Patient Advisory Committee, Canada, cancer, Marathon of Hope, Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Patient advisors, PEI, Public Engagement Leave a comment

We have a logo!

Dear folks,

We are pleased to share our group’s logo with you!

We loved how it shows togetherness and feeling of community that we have been experiencing and seeing around us.

Happy New Year!

PDF7 with copyright sign Download

December 29, 2025December 29, 2025 by sevtapsavas Categories: Blog, Public Interest Group on Cancer ResearchTags: Advocacy, Canada, cancer, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Public Engagement, Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, Public Outreach, St. John's Leave a comment

ACC PAC webinars have started

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.

December 6, 2025 by sevtapsavas Categories: ACC PAC (Atlantic Cancer Consortium_Patient Advisory Committee)Tags: Advocacy, Biobanking, cancer, Marathon of Hope, Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Precision Medicine, Public Engagement, Public Outreach Leave a comment

Tag: Public Engagement

Episode 31 – Advocacy

Like this:

Episode 30 – Health care and cancer care for transgender and gender diverse individuals

Like this:

Episode 29 – Patient voice in cancer

Like this:

What have we learnt by working with public partners?

Like this:

proud moments….

Like this:

We are celebrating our 5th year together!

Like this:

The Public Interest Group on Cancer invites interested folks to their study!

Like this:

The 2nd scholarly manuscript by the ACC PAC is now published

Like this:

We have a logo!

Like this:

ACC PAC webinars have started

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: