"Exercise Oncology as Supportive Care to Build Hope"

This symposium will present evidence for exercise as supportive cancer care for individuals living with and beyond cancer. The symposium will highlight exercise oncology programs within the Exercise for Cancer to Enhance Living Well (EXCEL) study that supports underserved rural/remote individuals, as well as highlighting programs to meet unique regional needs. Specifically, representation from teams leading work in Eastern Canada, Quebec, and Alberta will be included. Dr. Melanie Keats (Dalhousie University) will present on ACCESS and integration into clinical care, Dr. Isabelle Doré (Université de Montréal) will present on the translation and delivery of French exercise oncology training and programming, and  Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed (University of Calgary) will present on implementation of tailored exercise oncology programming across the cancer care journey. In addition, a patient partner will share how exercise oncology resource access lends hope to their cancer journey.  

Nicole Culos-Reed, PhD

Dr. Culos-Reed is a Professor of Health and Exercise Psychology in the Faculty of Kinesiology; Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oncology in the Cumming School of Medicine; and Director of the Health and Wellness Lab and Thrive Centre. She holds a Research Associate appointment with the Department of Psychosocial Resources at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Cancer Care, Alberta Health Services.  

Dr. Culos-Reed’s research takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and improving the quality of life of individuals living with and beyond cancer, developing, delivering, and evaluating physical activity programs to address the physical and psychological challenges experienced throughout treatment and into survivorship. This research includes national and international collaborations, working with populations from pediatric to adult populations including those with advanced cancer, and most recently includes a Canadian Institute of Health Research-Canadian Cancer Society (CIHR-CCS) Cancer Survivorship Team Grant (2020-26), with additional support from Alberta Cancer Foundation (ACF), to bring her team’s exercise oncology program to underserved rural and remote populations across Canada.   

Dr. Culos-Reed is the co-founder of Thrive Health, an online educational company building capacity in health and fitness professionals to deliver safe and effective exercise oncology resources. As a health behaviour change researcher, Dr. Culos-Reed is passionate about building capacity within cancer care to safely and effectively support individuals with cancer to live well and move more. 

Isabelle Doré, PhD

Prof Isabelle Doré, Ph. D. is an epidemiologist with a fellowship in kinesiology (U of Toronto). She is an assistant professor at the School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences and in the School of Public Health of the Université de Montréal and researcher at the CHUM research centre. Isabelle’s research program focuses on physical activity as a strategy to promote mental health and aims to understand the underpinning social mechanisms that could explain the benefits of physical activity on various mental health indicators. She is conducting research aiming at developing and accessing implementability and efficacy of innovative programs such as multimodal group-based prehabilitation to foster both physical and mental health of cancer patients and caregivers.

Melanie Keats, PhD

Dr. Melanie Keats is a Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, Division of Kinesiology. She holds a research appointment with the Division of Medical Oncology with Nova Scotia Health, Co-Chairs the Physical Activity and Cancer Care Standards Working Group with the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Program and is a Senior Research Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute. Her research program explores how physical activity may help survivors cope and recover from treatment, reduce co-morbid disease, reduce risk of cancer recurrence, and improve survivorship and outcomes for those confronted with a non-curative diagnosis. Dr. Keats’ research takes an interdisciplinary approach to better understanding the role of exercise in improving the quality of life of cancer survivors. This includes working with experts in the fields of behavioral medicine, exercise science, exercise oncology, medical and psychosocial oncology, chronic disease management, knowledge translation, immunology, population health, clinical trials and implementation science.

"Facilitating hope as an essential part of quality cancer care? Considering diverse perspectives"

As two key Canadian organizations committed to enhancing experiences and outcomes for people affected by cancer – the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) and the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (CANO) have undertaken collaborative processes to advance our collective mission to enhance care for all affected by cancer.

In the context of cancer, hope is increasingly construed as a dynamic concept throughout the cancer journey, evolving in its nature and significance across the trajectory. For many people living with cancer, hope manifest itself as a quest for cure, while at end-of-life, it may transform into quests for more peaceful transitions. Moreover, hope may operate across diverse domains, encompassing personal, familial, and contextual settings such as in interactions with health care systems. For healthcare providers, there are often nuances in how hope may be represented, and we need to be cognizant to this diversity among individuals affected by cancer. Despite its pivotal role, research on hope remains scant and there is a need for more whole person and inclusive approaches. In addition, there is a need to integrate concepts related to hope and its expression among more vulnerable groups within education and training. How can we equip healthcare professionals with the understanding and skills necessary to cultivate and nurture hope within their practice?

Join us in this symposium which includes 4 presenters as we explore the concept of hope and its essential components within cancer care, weaving together insights from research, practice, and cultural understandings.

Sarah Champ RN MN CON(C)

Sarah Champ has been an oncology nurse for over 25 years in a variety of areas within oncology.  She graduated from the University of Alberta in 1998 and received her Master of Nursing with a focus on Education at Athabasca University in 2016.  She has taken ONDEC, and holds her CON(C). Sarah has worked in many areas of oncology, from clinical nurse educator in the cross-cancer institute in Edmonton Alberta, to community oncology nurse educator for 15 rural sites across Alberta, educator for the cancer patient navigators, as well as other project work within Cancer Care Alberta. She is currently a senior Consultant at the University of Alberta Hospital. She has been the Director at Large -Education with the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology/Association canadienne des infirmières en oncologie (CANO/ACIO) for 6 years.

Simon Colgan

Simon Colgan is a full-time palliative care physician and Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He currently works a combination of community and tertiary level care palliative medicine. Originally born and raised in Northern Ireland he moved to Canada in 2007 first working in British Columbia and now in Alberta. He has had a diverse medical career in different specialties including ER, family medicine, international medicine (MSF) and now palliative care. Perhaps best known locally and in Canada for palliative work with underserved populations. Founded CAMPP Community Allied Mobile Palliative Partnership (www.campp.ca) in 2016. CAMPP is an outreach-based service developed to improve palliative & end of life experiences for persons with a life-limiting/threatening illness who are experiencing/at risk of homelessness. Dr Colgan also works within the local medical school teaching on health equity topics.

Arrow Big Smoke

Arrow Big Smoke, is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, and proudly registered with the Piikani Nation in Southern Alberta. She currently works as an Indigenous Cancer Patient Navigator for Cancer Care Alberta, South, and is a Registered nurse with experience working in numerous areas of health including emergency, harm reduction, and community health and in BC’s costal region . During her time working as an Indigenous Patient Navigator she has partnered with community organizations to develop the Indigenous Sharing Circle based out of Wellspring, and Indigenous Cancer Patient Multidisciplinary Rounds.

Carmen G. Loiselle, Ph.D.

Professor Carmen G. Loiselle holds a Ph.D. degree in Nursing and Psychology (Double Major) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She is a Professor in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (jointly appointed in the Department of Oncology and the Ingram School of Nursing). She holds the Christine and Herschel Victor/Hope & Cope Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and is past President (2021-2023) of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) and is a board member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). In 2020, Professor Loiselle became the Principal Investigator of a $12-million Health Canada Dialogue McGill initiative to enhance health and social service delivery and access for language minorities as well as language training and retention of health and social service professionals. Professor Loiselle’s research focus is on the development, testing, and implementation of innovative interventions (including digital health) to best support individuals affected by cancer.