Public Interest Group on Cancer Research - Newfoundland and Labrador

06/11/2026

Message by Sevtap:

What a day!

This award recognizes the people (50 and above) who contribute to their community via personal, professional, or volunteer work

I can not believe I am among them....

Thank you everyone, John King who nominated me for this award, and my colleagues Drs. Teri Stuckless and Holly Etchegary who supported my nomination. Thank you Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Minister Pardy for this award, for recognizing our work and its contributions to the community by this wonderful award.

I have received this award because of our public outreach, research, and advocacy activities on cancer. No one can achieve that much alone, so I would like to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm of all patient partners, and my students and assistants I have worked with. Some of them are in this room today – Stephanie, Tracy, Rasel, Aaron. Thank you.

As a cancer researcher, I know that seniors diagnosed with cancer are underserved, even though they constitute a large part of the new diagnoses every year. If there is anything I can do to help address this, I ask the government officials to contact me. I will gladly help as a cancer scientist and advocate, who also lost her mom to cancer.

Lastly, I am an immigrant to Canada and I arrived St. Johns in late 2008 on a very snowy day.
I did not know what to expect.

But I found not only a job, but a vibrant academic institution deeply connected to community.

I found not only a house but great neighbours, who showed me how to do caulking and how to shovel among many experiences

I found not only a local government THERE, but HERE connecting with us, meeting with us, listening to us, and sometimes acting on our needs.

This province has given me more than I ever imagined. I will continue to benefit the province and its people with everything I have.

Thanks again everyone🥰

06/10/2026

Proud moment - all the work we have done with patient partners

05/19/2026

Let's start this morning with an informative video on 'Workplace rights"

Information presented may benefit any of us needing workplace accommodations, for example, while going through cancer treatment

Take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGpXCN9srhQ

This is a pre-recorded speech by Carey Majid, KC, for the public ev...

05/12/2026

Very pleased to note this award being given this year to our lead, Sevtap!

Announcing the CAPO 2026 Innovation Award Winner: Sevtap Savas

Her scholarly work focuses on medical and social outcomes of cancer patients, including identifying prognostic markers, post-cancer lived experiences, and patient priorities.

Read more https://www.capo.ca/CAPO-Innovation-Award

05/04/2026

We are 5 years old! :)

Join us reviewing the past 5 year of activities by our group

We are proud of everything we have achieved, our work, and our members

Sound on!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUaDkdlnf4g



NL Support

1 like. "5th year anniversary for the Public Interest Group on Cancer!"

05/01/2026

New study using an online survey❤️

Have you ever considered being a patient or public partner in a health-related initiative in NL?

OR

Have you ever acted as a patient or public partner in a health-related initiative in NL?

AND

Are you 19 years of age & older?

Then, researchers at Memorial University would like to invite you to participate in this study

See further info and link to survey: https://strength-in-community.ca/2026/02/06/new-study-on-patient-partner-experience-is-recruiting/

Please note that for this study:
• Patient means that you are someone affected by a health issue. A caregiver or a family member of a person with a health issue is also called a patient.

• Public means that you are a member of the general public. You may or may not be a patient.

• Partner means that you are a part of a team. This team may be conducting a research study. Or, it may be designing and delivering an initiative, such as a program, planning session, consultation session, townhall, or public engagement event.

Other terms can also be used to define partners. For example, they may be called an advisor, council member, project team member, interest group member, or committee member.

• As a patient and public partner in the team, you work together with other team members. You may have equal rights or responsibilities for the work done together.

04/20/2026

May 2026 is an important date for us the Public Interest Group on Cancer, when we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary 💓

Since 2021, our Group has undersigned a significant number of accomplishments in public engagement, advocacy, and public outreach on cancer

This year brings an exciting project - ae are just about to start a research study on the vision of cancer in NL - stay tuned!

We are proud.
We are strong.
And we will go as far as we can.

We thank the wonderful staff at now-abolished Office of Public Engagement, NL Support, and colleagues at Discipline of Oncology for their support that has enabled us to form & achieve

04/15/2026

If you ever collaborated (or wanted to collaborate) with researchers in health related initiatives and studies,

we would like to invite you to our study aiming to understand

- your motivation
- barriers you experienced
- your recommendations

Info: https://shorturl.at/Bd3Q3

For more information about the study, you can contact the study PI:
Sevtap Savas, PhD. Memorial University 709 – 864 6507; savas{at}mun.ca

If you have any questions regarding your rights as a participant, you can contact the Health Ethics Research Board in St. John’s at 709-864 8871 or info{at}hrea.ca.

04/08/2026

Our lead, Sevtap, just offered her years of experience in cancer research and public engagement in an email to help address the information needs of the NL population on cancer & asked for government funding for public engagement

Without funding, public partnerships like ours that raise awareness about cancer, patient stories, and cancer care services available to residents cannot continue

Crossing our fingers. We do not wanna be disappointed any more. We should be able to come up with a good plan...



Government of Newfoundland and Labrador NL Support Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador Quality of Care NL Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University

04/05/2026

April is Daffodil month

Listen to Dr. Melanie Seal talking about patient-centered cancer in

Her compassion and clarity are unmatched - we need more leaders and healthcare providers like Dr. Seal to speak and empower us by improving our understanding 💓

Dr. Seal is a medical oncologist and a leader at Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador and NL Health Services

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1iPJMM1ng4aITceF8PqPaO?si=TBjNSX7DTjueMfyQ0mdQTQ&nd=1&dlsi=2ec669dc9e194463

Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University

Public Interest Group on Cancer Research · Episode