26
A Year in Review 2012 – 2013:
Programs
Courage Lives Here
27
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
(
...continued from page 25)
150 to 14,000
In its first year, the cervix cancer screening program saw
150 women. By the second year, 1,000 women were
screened. This year, Omenge, who leads the program,
anticipates over 14,000 women will be screened.
“After the success of the cervix screening program, we
asked ourselves: what next?” said Omenge. “You need
legitimacy in your training — how do I tell my peers I’m
qualified in this area? This fellowship training program is
the sustainability piece to what we’ve started.”
The Gynecologic Oncology fellowship training program
will help close the gap in care between high-and low-
resource countries, and implement a sustainable program
to prevent and treat gynecologic cancers in Western
Kenya.
One of the program goals is to have specialized Kenyan
physicians manage the entire program themselves.
Robot
In December 2012, Princess Margaret became the first cancer centre in Canada to use a robot
to produce chemotherapy doses for ambulatory and inpatients. On Dec. 4, the Chemo Daycare
Pharmacy prepared its first chemotherapy dose using RIVA (Robotic IV Automation). RIVA improves
medication safety for cancer patients, occupational health and pharmacy staff.
Intermediate-risk prostate cancer
A team of radiation oncologists led by Dr. Michael Milosevic discovered that low oxygen levels in
tumours can be used to predict cancer recurrence in men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer,
even before they receive radiation therapy. This could change the way prostate cancer is treated —
ensuring patients receive the right treatment from the outset.
COMPACT
On Nov. 16, 2012, the COMPACT (Community Oncology Molecular Profiling in Advanced Cancers
Trial) clinic, a first in Ontario, opened its doors to provide patients with molecular profiling on tumour
samples. Molecular profiling can provide insight that helps oncologists decide on personalized
cancer treatments.
Highlights
“After the success of the cervix screening program,
we asked ourselves: what next?”
–Dr. Elkanah Omenge
VIDEO:
Genetic risks in breast cancer
RELATED
UHN’s Dr. Mathieu Lupien and a team of researchers show why genetic risks promote breast cancer.
(Video: UHN)
