Canadian Cancer Society and MaRS grant $100,000 to Gateway CERH in partnership with the School of Pharmacy
A critical gap in cancer screening was identified for people living in rural, remote and communities with limited access to care across Canada by the Canadian Cancer Society in 2023. In response, the Canadian Cancer Society initiated a Cancer Screening Challenge inviting researchers to develop innovative solutions to improve access and uptake in these areas.
Through this initiative, the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) in collaboration with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, has been awarded $100,000 to support the scale-up and implementation of their solution aimed at closing the cancer screening gap in rural and remote regions in Ontario.
The solution achieved early success during the first phase. In August 2025, Gateway CERH was one of five research teams awarded an initial $15,000 grant. This phase focused on embedding cancer screening education and outreach approaches in underserved Ontario communities to achieve broad reach at a low cost.
Co-led by Dr. Feng Chang, Associate Professor and Gateway CERH Research Chair, the project integrated cancer screening conversations into non-clinical, community-based settings to raise awareness and encourage early detection – when treatment is most effective.
“At the community level, one of the most significant ripple effects was the normalization of cancer screening conversations in public, non-clinical settings,” Dr. Chang says. “Hosting discussions within firehalls, community events, and group programs reduced stigma and encouraged peer-to-peer dialogue. Post session surveys showed increased awareness and intent to screen by residents, marking a shift from education to action, such as following up with healthcare professionals."
Early improvement in the communities demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach. by normalizing conversations around cancer screening outside traditional healthcare settings.
Over five months, community-centered programming used multiple engagement strategies, including an educational outreach delivered at 10 in-person community events. More than 450 in-person rural residents were reached, including farmers, firefighters, older adults and the public. Virtual awareness campaigns generated more than 7,000 engagements and reached 2,550 unique users, along with further unmeasured reach on HuronTel and YouTube.
With pharmacies and pharmacists among the most accessible healthcare providers, alongside nurse practitioners, the next phase of this project will focus on strengthening their role in cancer screening awareness and enhancing interprofessional collaboration and partnership. Funding will be used for staffing a project co-ordinator, supplies, further communications and evaluation. By encouraging residents to initiate conversations with pharmacists and nurse practitioners about potential cancer concerns, the initiative aims to reduce barriers to screening and to support early detection across Ontario’s rural and remote regions.