INVITED

SYMPOSIUMS

"Navigating a road without a map: The psychosocial impacts of hereditary cancer syndromes"

Hereditary cancers account for up to 10% of the global cancer burden. In this invited symposia, we will explore the psychosocial impacts and challenges faced by individuals and families living with hereditary cancer risk. Designed for healthcare providers, researchers, and patients and families, the session will provide an overview of hereditary cancers — what they are, their prevalence, associated risks, and current approaches to risk management and counselling.

The symposia will feature a multidisciplinary panel including a genetic counsellor, a researcher, and a patient partner who will share lived and professional experiences. Topics will include:

• Emotional and psychological impacts of living with inherited cancer risk
• Decision-making around risk management, including prophylactic surgeries and family planning
• Managing lifelong uncertainty and coping strategies

Participants will gain practical insights into integrating psychosocial considerations into clinical care and research. The session will conclude with an open Q&A to foster dialogue and collaboration.

Panelists: 

Dr. Holly Etchegary is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University. She has an active research program in hereditary cancers, genomics health services research and patient-oriented research, particularly in oncology. She can speak to a wide range of psychosocial impacts faced by patients with cancer predisposition syndromes, informed by her involvement in local and national research projects and her work with patient partners.

Vanessa Francis is a patient partner and registered nurse who has been working in the area of family practice and primary care for over two decades. She has lived experience of hereditary cancer and has often been a patient partner for research projects focused on cancer predisposition syndromes. Vanessa can attest to the challenges of managing inherited cancer risk both as a carrier of a pathogenic variant and as a health care provider. 

Mathieu Lessard (He/Him) is a certified genetic counsellor in the Provincial Medical Genetics Program for NL Health Services. Mathieu completed his Master of Science in Genetic Counselling at McGill University in 2023. He obtained his board certification from the American Board of Genetic Counselling in 2024. Mathieu provides comprehensive risk assessment and genetic counselling to cancer patients and their families in Newfoundland and Labrador. As a genetic counsellor he helps patients understand their hereditary cancer risks, discloses genetic test results, and provides personalized cancer surveillance and risk-reducing strategies. In his free time, Mathieu is actively involved in the local basketball community, or he can be found hiking the East Coast Trail with his partner and dog Louie.

"Beyond the Algorithm: The Promise & Challenges of AI/Digital Tools as Partner in Psychosocial Cancer Care"

Supportive oncology, including psychosocial care, can include clinical trials where participant recruitment, retention, and participation is paramount for success. Is there a role for AI in this process, what are the ethical considerations, and how will we keep the “human in the loop”? Dr. Bell will review the ethics of gaining participants’ informed consent to clinical trials and how AI may improve comprehension, values-concordant decision-making, and equity (e.g., teach-back support, tailoring to health literacy, and language) while potentially reducing undue influence. She will identify key ethical risks and mitigation strategies and illustrate a consent workflow that incorporates AI in real trial operations.

Dr. Bender will discuss how digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), can increase access to care, improve understanding of treatment options and management of side effects, and connect patients to supportive care services. Using three case scenarios Dr. Bender will discuss how to optimize virtual appointments, technology-enabled navigation, and remote symptom management to better meet the supportive care needs of patients with cancer and cancer survivors.

Dr. Nunez will open by highlighting how under-detection and delayed response to distress and other psychosocial sequelae can negatively affect patient outcomes, and how thoughtfully designed AI tools may help address this gap. He will present peer-reviewed evidence showing how predictive AI models can support earlier identification of psychosocial risk and help ensure patients receive the right care at the right time, while maintaining clinician oversight and patient engagement. He will describe techniques his team has developed to better understand how models generate risk signals and how transparent approaches can help build trust among clinicians and patients. Drawing on a recent review of patient perspectives on AI in cancer care, he will discuss how these insights inform system design. The talk will conclude with emerging work integrating predictive modeling into a patient-facing navigation assistant for supportive cancer care.

Panelists:

Dr. Jennifer A.H. Bell, MA, PhD, is a Senior Bioethicist, Bioethics Research Lead, and Clinician-Scientist at the University Health Network (UHN). She holds a research appointment at The Institute for Education Research at UHN, is an Assistant Professor, Affiliate Scientist, in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bell recently completed a research and leadership fellowship in compassion and AI through AMS Healthcare. Her program of research addresses emergent ethical issues at the frontier of cancer care, including the responsible use of AI to enable compassionate care.

Dr. Jackie Bender is a Scientist and Co-Lead of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bender has an innovative program of research in digital health, cancer survivorship and implementation science. Her research focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating digital health innovations that improve cancer care access, experience, and outcomes, and promote health equity. Dr. Bender is also the Co-Chair of Digital Health for the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer.

Dr. John-Jose Nunez is the Associate Medical Director of Supportive Care at BC Cancer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. A dual-trained cancer psychiatrist and computer scientist, his research uses artificial intelligence to improve outcomes for patients facing both cancer and mental illness or other supportive care needs. His work, published in leading journals and featured internationally, ranges from predicting cancer survival to identifying patients in need of counseling or psychiatric care, bridging the gap between data science and supportive cancer care.

Moderated by: Fred Ashbury, BA, MA, PhD FMASCC

CAPO/CANO Symposium: "Going Beyond Consultation: Leveraging Cancer Experiences to Create Change in AYA Cancer Care and Support"

This joint symposium will explore how AYAs with lived experiences with cancer are leveraging their knowledge, skills, and capacities to inspire tangible innovations in AYA cancer care and support.  Through the creative sharing of stories and experiences, the session will begin by exploring the felt experiences of many AYAs as they navigate cancer in Canada. We will then highlight how the landscape of AYA cancer care and support is changing to better support AYAs, before then exploring three examples of how AYAs with lived experience are wielding their positionality to create change locally, provincially, and nationally in both research and practice.

Objectives:

• Understand the lived experiences of AYAs navigating cancer care and support.
• Explore how AYAs with lived experience are creating change in AYA cancer care and support.
• Identify how to support and leverage the capacities and agency of AYAs to shape and inform research and practice.

Panelists:

Mackenzie Jansen is the Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program at CancerCare Manitoba, where she leads a multi‑disciplinary team approach to patient‑centred care and program innovation for young people aged 15–39. Her practice is grounded in her lived experience as a young adult diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, informing her commitment to improving the cancer journey for AYA patients. Nationally, she serves as Co‑Lead of the CANO AYA Special Interest Group and was recognized with the 2024 CANO Boehringer Ingelheim Oncology Nurse of the Year Award for her exceptional clinical leadership and her pivotal role in shaping CancerCare Manitoba’s multidisciplinary AYA program. Mackenzie is also part of EXTRA Cohort 20 (2025) with Healthcare Excellence Canada, contributing to nurse-led research focused on strengthening equitable, person‑centred oncology care. She additionally supports Manitoba’s work in the AYA Oncofertility Screening in the Cancer System Initiative, emphasizing integrated fertility preservation pathways. Mackenzie advances the knowledge translation of AYA oncology care across provincial and national platforms, sharing education and resources with both healthcare providers and patients. This includes presenting AYA‑focused content at the National CANO Conferences as well as provincial platforms.

Dani Taylor, Young Adult Cancer Canada, Oncology Social Worker and AYA Colorectal Survivor – Dani has been instrumental in creating programming and supports at YACC to better respond to the needs of AYAs with diverse intersectionalities

Moderated by: 

Cheryl Heykoop, Anew Research Collaborative, Royal Roads University, and was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 34. She is a member of CAPO.

Catriona (Trina) Buick. Trina is a Nurse Scientist in oncology nursing practice. She is at Assistant Professor at York University, an Oncology Nurse Clinician Scientist at Odette Cancer Centre as is the President of CANO.

CONFERENCE DINNER & SHOW:

6:30 to 9 p.m., Spirit of NL Productions, Theatre Gower, 208 Gower Street, Newfoundland, A1C 1R2

• Doors open - 6:30 p.m.
• Meal service - 7 p.m.
• Show start - 8 p.m.

Come join us for an award-winning dinner and show experience!

THE NEWFOUNDLAND ‘N’ LABRADOR SHOWCASE is an original 55-minute comedic showcase emceed by one of Spirit of Newfoundland’s irreverent performers and featuring our talented cast and the Spirit of Newfoundland Band. It’s a full immersion into the music and stories of Newfoundland that represent our unique culture. It’s a real Newfoundland time.

So, what’s a “time”, you ask! Well, a time is one of those experiences that leaves audiences saying things like, “The man next to me laughed so hard his teeth fell out!” Seriously. A time is an absolutely fabulous social and cultural experience. And it always features:

• amazing food and lots of it – with an appetizer, main, and dessert – served up by our culinary team led by Chef Colleen O’Rielly
• foot-stomping songs and music with, of course, a little bit of that traditional sound with an accordion or fiddle 
• and that world famous Newfoundland sense of humor so often heard in our dialogue and stories

A three-course dinner followed by:

• Newfoundland Screech Cake, the Spirit of Newfoundland’s Signature Dessert! Slices of moist and delicious bundt cake infused with Newfoundland Screech rum with hints of vanilla, soaked in a rum glaze. Served with a generous helping of Spirit of Newfoundland’s versatile Rum Sauce and fluffy cream.

Registration includes dinner and the show. Drinks are extra, and you will be billed separately for these.

Advanced registration is required.

Fee: $110

CAPO is a registered charity and does not charge tax.

CONFERENCE

CHAIR