Patient is used as an overarching term that includes individuals who have or have had cancer and informal caregivers, including family and friends, who have cared or are caring for a cancer patient. Patient engagement is defined in the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Patient Engagement Framework as meaningful and active collaboration with patients in governance, priority setting, conducting research and knowledge translation. Effective patient engagement occurs throughout the research process and improves the relevance of the research and its translation into policy and practice.
Since 2017, the CCRA has offered the Patient Involvement in Cancer Research Program (PIP) as part of the biennial Canadian Cancer Research Conference (CCRC). PIP provides patient partners with an opportunity to learn about leading-edge science from Canada’s cancer researchers and trainees and to, likewise, offer the scientific community an opportunity to learn from and interact with patient partners keen on building their knowledge of cancer research and demonstrating the value that engaged patients can bring to the cancer research process.
PIP 2025
The 2025 PIP Working Committee is pleased to announce that applications for this year’s program are now available. To complete, go to https://cpacc.questionpro.ca/2025-PIP-application. The deadline for applications is May 5, 2025. For this year’s program, 20 participants will be selected. The program includes in-person participation at the 2025 Canadian Cancer Research Conference (CCRC) in Calgary. More information about the program is available at https://www.ccra-acrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025_About_PIP_Brochure_EN.pdf.
CCRA Exceptional Leadership in Patient Involvement in Cancer Research
Since 2017, CCRA has, as part of its awards program, recognized individuals who have made exceptional contributions to fostering patient involvement in cancer research in Canada. This individual may be a patient research advocate, a researcher, and/or a care provider or clinician. More about the awards program is available here.
Resources for Patient Research Advocate
To support patients in their learning journey, CCRA has developed a series of digests on research advocacy as well as different topics within cancer science. A searchable glossary is also available. PIP participants may also elect to be part of an online group within the MS Teams environment, which provides additional opportunities to keep abreast of developments in the field of patient engagement and stay connected with other patient research advocates.
CCRA has also supported PIP participants interested in utilizing the Canadian Cancer Research Survey (CCRS) to explore research investments made in specific cancer research areas. Two of our PIP participants published an article in Archives of Breast Cancer (July 2021) looking at the research investment in metastatic breast cancer research and how it aligned with research priorities generated through a priority setting partnership of patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers.