Heather Cutler Foundation Updated on Jun 10, 2025 1 min read

New Research Initiative to Assess Canada’s Pancreatic Cancer Response

With growing attention on rare and hard-to-treat cancers, a student-led team in Newfoundland is examining how Canada delivers pancreatic cancer care — and where gaps in access may exist.

Evening view of Memorial University campus in St. John’s, featuring the iconic clock tower.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Community-Led Research Initiative to Assess Canada’s Pancreatic Cancer Response

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador — The Heather Cutler Foundation has launched We Are Canada Too – A National Audit of Canada’s Response to Pancreatic Cancer, a community-led research initiative designed to better understand how Canadians experience pancreatic cancer care across regions and systems.

The project is supported by the Foundation’s in-house program, The Advocacy Lab, and is led by a newly formed Policy Research Team composed of students and alumni from Memorial University. The team includes Grace, Rhoda, Arafah, Kimia, Seriman, Charlotte, Comfort, Nhi, and Rayah — representing a range of disciplines and perspectives from across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over the coming months, the team will examine how pancreatic cancer care is delivered across Canada, with a focus on access to diagnosis, treatment, biomarker testing, clinical trials, and regional variation. The project will involve data review, policy mapping, and engagement with stakeholders including healthcare professionals, researchers, and people with lived experience.

“This initiative is about asking meaningful questions and listening carefully to the answers,” said Christopher Cutler, Founder of The Heather Cutler Foundation. “We want to better understand how care is working across the country, and where there may be opportunities to support more consistent and equitable outcomes.”

The findings will help inform a formal brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health later this year, with the intention of contributing to broader national conversations on access, coordination, and system readiness in pancreatic cancer care.

About The Heather Cutler Foundation

The Heather Cutler Foundation is a Canadian nonprofit based in Newfoundland and Labrador, focused on improving pancreatic cancer outcomes through education, policy inquiry, and community-led research. Founded in memory of Heather Cutler, the organization works to support more equitable and informed responses to pancreatic cancer in Canada.