As the number of cancer cases in Alberta continues to rise, the province has announced a new strategy, Changing Our Future: Alberta’s Cancer Plan to 2030, for cancer prevention, curing cancer, and reducing the suffering of cancer patients.
“Every day, 42 Albertans learn they have cancer. We expect that to grow to 73 new cancer cases a day by 2030. We aim to change that,” said Health Minister Fred Horne. “Even though we have exceptional cancer care, we need to do more starting today. To wait means losing the opportunity to get ahead of the curve and that will end up costing much more in lives and in dollars.”
The strategy calls for the construction of new cancer facilities, including Calgary’s billion dollar cancer centre, and the expansion of current facilities in Edmonton, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie. Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute is set to receive a $67 million upgrade.
Among the highlights of the new plan are a focus on reducing wait times for cancer treatment, improving the use of cancer research and clinical trials, and the creation of a new operating division of Alberta Health Services, CancerControl Alberta, which will oversee the implementation of the province’s cancer plan.
“CancerControl Alberta builds on the foundation of an already impressive provincial cancer program. Our program will be amongst the best in the world, increasingly based on evidence, much generated by research that will be carried out as an integral part of CancerControl Alberta,” says Dr. Paul Grundy, Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Director of CancerControl Alberta. “The new entity will provide far greater leadership and have responsibility for the full cancer control spectrum, providing expert care and support for patients from their first symptom to survivorship or palliation.”
