Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

The fight against cancer is often mired by the stigma the illness carries. In some cultures families try to shield the patients from severity of their cancer diagnosis which jeopardize the treatment options. In reality, the research funded by CIHR and other agencies has resulted in technologies which make the early cancer detection possible and accessible. Several treatment options to cure the cancer are available if cancer is detected art an early stage. This Cafe Scientifique will be held in the north western Ontario city of Thunder Bay. The north western Ontario has significantly higher aboriginal population and cancer is more common among aboriginal communities as compared to national average. The objectives of this Cafe Scientifique will be: 1.Knowledge sharing to remove the stigma attached with cancer 2.Increase the cancer screening uptake which will lead to timely treatment 3.Establish relationship and collaboration among community leaders and researchers 4.Strengthen CIHR's values and impact.