The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) held its third Saskatchewan All-party Cancer Caucus (APCC) at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and Grounds in Regina, Saskatchewan on April 14, 2025. This was CCSN’s second APCC of the year with the hopes of more to come in the fall session of 2025.
The Caucus meeting was facilitated by CCSN staff members Lindsay Timm, Community Engagement Manager, and Stacey Ludlow, Social Media & Events Coordinator. Jackie Manthorne, CCSN’s President & CEO, was unable to attend the Caucus but sent her best with the hopes of joining the next meeting.
CCSN was joined once again by the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN) to act on their expanded mandate to serve patient populations outside of the colorectal cancer space. Their expanded mandate extends to their educational events, such as their pan-tumour biomarker conference and their work to advocate for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP). CCRAN was represented by Cassandra Macaulay, Chief Research Officer. We also had the privilege of having patient advocate Kristen Fiolleau join the Caucus meeting to speak to how biomarker testing could have changed her experience and cancer journey with metastatic breast cancer.
Lindsay Timm: “We would like to congratulate Saskatchewan on having not one, but two outstanding breast health clinics available to provide comprehensive care to women in need of it.”
Lindsay Timm opened the meeting with a traditional land acknowledgement, recognizing that the Saskatchewan Legislature sits on the traditional territory of First Nations and Metis people. The meeting took place in Treaty 4 territory, which is the traditional territory of the Nehiyaw/Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, and formerly Blackfoot.
Timm opened the meeting with a short recounting of events that happened earlier in the day that led to both her and Ludlow being invited to the grand opening of the Regina Breast Health Centre. CCSN was very grateful to have had the opportunity to tour the new centre and meet all the people who have put in a great deal of work to see this centre come to life. Currently women aged 47 and over are able to self refer for mammograms. These are steps in the right direction; however CCSN believes that there should be no age limits on when an individual can be screened for cancer. Yes, this may initially cause an influx of people looking to be screened, but as time goes on this should even out because not everyone is going to wake up one morning and decide to go get a mammogram for fun.
Timm continued by giving some background information on what CCSN is as an organization since there were quite a few new faces in the crowd since the election in the fall of 2024. She highlighted some of the main programs that CCSN runs like the webinar series, the election campaigns, legislative receptions, and the Science of Cancer course.
With the upcoming wildfire season looming, Timm transitioned into talking about how important it is that there are the appropriate policies in place to ensure that all firefighters are covered during this and all future seasons. This issue became apparent to CCSN in 2022 when wildfires raged across the country and scorched 1,379,632 hectares of land. The situation worsened in 2023 when over the fire season the fires engulfed 16,441,400 hectares of Canadian land. This led to an increased need in all firefighters but especially wildland and wildfire firefighters. However, when the influx of firefighters began serving our country, it was revealed that not all firefighters were covered under workers compensation. CCSN strongly felt that this needed to be rectified.
Timm highlighted some of the work that CCSN has done to help move the needle in Ontario when it comes to firefighter coverage, “CCSN presented to the Ontario government in the fall of 2023 about the need to improve coverages for all the types of firefighters. Three releases have come out since then, detailing improvements that if passed, would greatly enhance the overall care all firefighters would receive.” Timm added, “CCSN is proud to be a part of the work that has been done over the past year by many organizations to improve the protection, care, and health of these unsung heroes.”
The Saskatchewan government released their 2025-2026 budget in March, which included a $42 million dollar increase to deliver improved access to team-based primary and preventive care. One component that CCSN is very pleased to see is the increase in the support of cancer care by progressing towards a provincial lung cancer screening program.
Timm continued by iterating CCSN’s support of early screening and urged those attending to look to other provinces to learn from their programs. CCSN views accessibility and equitability as key components when not only designing the risk factors but also the geographical location of the screening sites. Attendees were encouraged to follow the research, and not be afraid to innovate.
As it had been a year since CCSN had been to Saskatchewan, Timm highlighted two new additions to CCSN’s toolbox of resources that had launched since the last time representatives had been there. The first is the Canadian Prostate Cancer Guide, “An aggregate website that pulls together all the best resources in one place for patients, caregivers, and survivors to explore the information that they need.” The second is CCSN’s new podcast series that launched at the beginning of this year. Topics follow emerging issues for cancer care and explore the work being done to shed light on those issues.
Timm finished the update of CCSN’s newest endeavours by drawing attention to its newest Leger survey on Canadian cancer caregivers. “These results will help us identify gaps where there is greater need for resources and support,” Timm stated.
“There is an urgent unmet clinical need to improve timely and equitable access to biomarker testing throughout the country.”
Cassandra Macaulay, who is the Chief Research Officer at CCRAN, was introduced and welcomed to the podium. Macaulay explained that she was not only present to represent CCRAN and CCSN but many other partnering cancer groups to bring awareness and promote change in biomarker testing to help make a difference in the lives of metastatic cancer patients in Saskatchewan. Macaulay gave a brief description of CCRAN as an organization and explained their expanded patient focused mandate across tumour types.
To start off the presentation, Macaulay described what a tumour biomarker is. “A biomarker can be compared to a genetic fingerprint of an individual’s cancer.” Macaulay explained that biomarker testing sits at the centre of personalized medicine by allowing physicians to make individualized treatment decisions and utilize precision medicine and that it adds value to our healthcare system. “However, biomarker testing is often not done efficiently or comprehensively, and relevant biomarkers can be missed.”
“Enter Comprehensive Genomic Profiling or CGP.” Macauly explained that CGP is a test that analyzes hundreds of biomarkers to detect abnormalities or mutations in a tumour. Analyzing the tumour can inform diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and eligibility for clinical trials.
Macaulay explained that there is no public inventory of funded biomarkers in the province of Saskatchewan. She stated that the whole process lacks some transparency and consistency, but that one thing is clear. The turnaround time must be improved upon because lives are at stake. “As an example, in non-small cell lung cancer, delaying initiation of drug treatment which is of course dependent on that biomarker testing by just one week would result in a death rate of four per cent. That is far too many lives to lose while we are awaiting cancer treatment in our great nation.”
Macaulay highlighted CCRAN’s 2023 biomarker conference, which hosted 60 expert speakers, with one of the highlights of the conference being a patient group roundtable. Roundtable participants identified the barriers and challenges to timely and equitable access to biomarker testing from the patient perspective. The top concern was lack of timely access to testing and reporting, next was lack of patient education, and thirdly intra- and inter-provincial disparities in access. “These top three points are all highly applicable and highly relevant here in Saskatchewan.”
Macaulay delivered two of the recommendations made that could help reduce the turnaround time for biomarker testing in Saskatchewan. “Firstly, minimizing the number of steps that a sample actually has to go through before the results are communicated to the patients. We can also maximize the use of automation and AI within the labs to improve efficiencies in testing.
“Secondly, and this one is important, implement reflexive biomarker testing protocols. This is a protocol to permit additional tests to be completed within a set of criteria without having to wait for the intervention of an ordering physician. That is not happening across many biomarkers and tumour types across this province.” Macaulay highlighted that Saskatchewan did, however, run a reflex testing pilot program for lung cancer and germline testing (def. a type of genetic test that examines DNA in healthy cells (like blood or saliva) to identify inherited gene mutations) in breast cancer as well, and a recommendation that the ministry of health expand this work across tumour types.
Next, Macaulay presented some of the findings and results from the 2024 biomarker conference. These findings have garnered quite a lot of engagement in the form of press releases, media coverage, peer review publications, and professional education opportunities.
Macaulay stated that CCRAN believes that there is a missing link in the work that they have been doing in comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP). The missing link is to better present the value of CGP in healthcare. To do this they have partnered with the Conference Board of Canada to model and to analyze the cost benefit of CGP as a standard of care for Canadian metastatic cancer patients. They will be reviewing the data across the top five cancers based on mortality rates. There are 17 patient groups, including CCSN, that are partnering with this initiative.
Macaulay reinforced that they will be working with as many stakeholders as possible to ensure the messaging is delivered to all necessary parties. The Conference Board of Canada will be producing a report with actionable insights as well as an executive summary. The lead author will be developing a keynote presentation to be delivered at CCRAN’s 2025 biomarker conference in June. The outcomes of the conference will be captured in a publication where the cost benefit analysis will be prominently featured to be utilized to help inform public policy.
Macaulay concluded her presentation by thanking the attendees for their time and attention and their dedication to cancer care in Saskatchewan. “On behalf of CCRAN, and their patient group partners, I call upon you to address the biomarker testing turn around time and provide equitable access to comprehensive genomic profiling for all metastatic cancer patients in Saskatchewan.”
“Cancer doesn’t have a turnaround time. I don’t have time to wait for a test to be done. It needs to be done immediately.”
Timm returned to the podium to introduce Kristen Fiolleau, a metastatic breast cancer patient who is in full remission. Fiolleau opened her remarks by stating that she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer in 2014. She shared that her initial meeting with her oncologist was very grim, and that she was told to get her papers in order. Without the strength to stand up and advocate for herself, she wouldn’t be here today.
“It is very challenging to be diagnosed with stage four cancer at 31 and not have a future to look forward to at that age.” Fiolleau explained that she was encouraged to speak at this meeting because she did not have very much in the way of treatments when she was going through her journey. “Other than the standards of care from the 70s, and the typical treatments that I responded to remarkably twice over.” She shared that she walked beside many who were not as fortunate as her and that she was sharing her story on behalf of them as well.
Fiolleau explained that she is looking for the next steps as part of her journey. She does not take her remission for granted and lives her life fully. She is grateful for everything that the healthcare system has done and she has been involved in many fundraising efforts over the last ten years to improve research in Saskatchewan. She is hopeful that the next generation, which includes her daughter, become just as involved.
In the midst of her treatment, she was pushed forward for BRCA testing and found out that she is positive for that mutation. This affects her daughter’s future as she could have the possibility of inheriting the BRCA gene and going through the same experience that her mother has. “I don’t want that. She was two at the time and now she is 12. We have been able to celebrate so many milestones. I want to celebrate many more.”
Fiolleau mused that she would hope that in the future, all cancer patients would have a portfolio of tools available to them that would allow everyone to know their unique needs for care. “We aren’t necessarily going to die from our cancer. We are going to die because the treatments are harsh and cruel and need so many supports just to go through them.”
Fiolleau reiterated that she was there to echo the message of CCRAN that Macaulay presented. On a personal level, her hope as a Saskatchewan resident is that they can find a cure in her home province. On a broader scale, she wants there to be a cure found in Canada. As Fiolleau ended her remarks, she thanked the attendees for listening and being present and valuing what patients have to say.
Timm returned to the podium and thanked Fiolleau for walking everyone through the patient journey. She thanked everyone for attending the All-party Cancer Caucus and then opened up the floor to questions, which centered around Macauly’s presentation about the cost of performing the testing, if comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) is standard of care in other countries, and what the interprovincial biomarker testing situation looks like. There was great discussion and conversations during the Q&A as well as after the meeting.
We thank everyone who attended the All-party Cancer Caucus meeting and look forward to the next meeting. Caucus members’ commitment to the progression and championing of cancer care is valued, and CCSN looks forward to continuing the conversation!
Attendees of the 2025 Saskatchewan All-party Cancer Caucus
Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN)
- Lindsay Timm, Community Engagement Manager, Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
- Stacey Ludlow, Social Media & Events Coordinator, Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN)
- Cassandra Macaulay, Chief Research Officer, Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network
- Kristen Fiolleau, Patient Advocate
Government – Saskatchewan Party
- Hon. Jeremy Cockrill, The Battlefords
- Hon. Lori Carr, Estevan-Big Muddy
- Hon. Alana Ross, Prince Albert Northcote
- Hon. Colleen Young, Lloydminster
- MLA Chris Beaudry, Kelvington-Wadena
- MLA Brad Crassweller, White City-Qu’Appelle
- MLA Terri Bromm, Carrot River Valley
- MLA Kevin Kasun, Prince Albert Carlton
- MLA Kevin Weedmark, Moosomin-Montmartre
- MLA Michael Weger, Weyburn-Bengough
Official Opposition – NDP
- MLA April ChiefCalf, Saskatoon Westview
- MLA Brent Blakley, Regina Wascana Plains
- MLA Hugh Gordon, Saskatoon Silverspring
- MLA Vicki Mowat, Saskatoon Fairview
- MLA Darcy Warrington, Saskatoon Stonebridge