designed for systems change. the cancer collaborative's reimagined strategic direction for 2026

across Canada, people living with and beyond cancer still move through systems that weren’t designed with them in mind. decisions about drugs, diagnostics, and delivery models are often made far from the lived reality of patients, caregivers, and frontline teams. policies focus on budgets more than people. data is fragmented. and the pace of innovation has outstripped the processes meant to evaluate and fund it — creating delays that directly limit access and deepening inequities.

in 2025, we spent a lot of time observing what patients, caregivers, advocates, healthcare professionals, decision/policy makers, HTA bodies, and industry partners were saying. the same themes continue to resurface-

• Canadians living with cancer still face avoidable delays

• access to tests and therapies varies widely by province and even by hospital

• workforce shortages are straining every part of the system

• real patient experience data is missing from major decisions

• collaboration across institutions and sectors is fragmented and surface level

• while precision oncology is advancing, Canada lacks the national alignment, infrastructure, and policy frameworks needed to implement it effectively or equitably.

in 2026, the cancer collaborative is taking a more deliberate role in addressing some of these gaps. we are shifting from a traditional advocacy group to a policy lab — a space designed to test ideas, generate evidence, convene decision makers, and support more coherent, patient centric policy development across the cancer system. this work is grounded in a simple premise- if no one is responsible for connecting the dots, systems won’t change.

our plan three year plan focuses on three priorities that will guide the work ahead-

1. lived experience & data. building a national evidence base that reflects what patients and caregivers actually experience — and ensuring that this evidence informs decisions about access, funding, and system design.

2. precision oncology & diagnostics. strengthening the frameworks, pathways, and policies required to make precision oncology usable, sustainable, and equitable across Canada.

3. access & innovation. improving how decisions are made — from HTA to funding to system adoption — so that innovation translates into timely, fair, and consistent access for the people who need it.

looking ahead, our 2026 strategic direction is both a roadmap and an invitation- to imagine a cancer system where decisions are shaped with lived experience, grounded in evidence, and built to keep pace with scientific progress. a system where access is not determined by geography, timing, or institutional capacity — but by what patients need.

we cannot do this alone. together — across clinical practice, research, policy, advocacy, industry, and lived experience — we can build a cancer system that reflects reality, responds to evidence, and delivers care that is designed for the people it serves.

if you are a person living with cancer, a caregiver, clinician, pathologist, health system leader, health economist, HTA reviewer, policymaker, payer, advocate, nonprofit, or industry partner (pharma, biotech, diagnostics, AI, or related), and you want to be part of this work, we invite you to connect with us.

together, we can build a cancer system that finally works the way it should — for the people it is meant to serve.

we are not here to fit in