Donor funding makes access to pediatric clinical trials possible for children in Alberta living with cancer.
Over the last two decades, it’s become increasingly difficult for children living with cancer in Alberta to access clinical trials. Several factors contribute to this challenge, but the primary barrier has been the cost. “We needed to find a way to address the funding shortfall in order for our pediatric oncologists to be able to offer children and their families the option to participate in a clinical trial,” says Dr. Dean Ruether, senior medical director for Cancer Care Alberta. “For our most vulnerable patients — pediatric patients — we want every opportunity for them to do well, and that means access to clinical trials.”
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Alberta Cancer Foundation donors, $400,000 has been allocated to cover the costs of accessing pediatric clinical trials that are not currently publicly funded in Alberta. “It is because of philanthropy that we’ve been able to offer this critical access,” affirms Ruether.
“The Foundation’s More Hope Movement is what propels forward critical initiatives like access to more pediatric clinical trials,” says Wendy Beauchesne, CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundation. “When we have flexibility of funding because our donors trust us to respond to urgent needs, it empowers us to be nimble. Because when it comes to cancer, time is everything.
“And I can’t think of a more urgent need than making sure children have access to treatments that could save their lives.”
Launching in early 2025, this life-saving support will cover the funding gap for two years while Alberta’s public health system works to develop a sustainable model for providing essential access to pediatric clinical trials. “Clinical trials are how cancer care improves,” Ruether affirms. “The outlook for a child diagnosed with cancer today is dramatically different than it was 30 years ago, and that’s because of clinical trials. We cannot lose that momentum. In order to move the needle on cancer for everyone, we need pediatric access to clinical trials.”
