EXCEL – Participant Advisory Board (PAB)
Please meet the members of the EXCEL Participant Advisory Board and their role in the EXCEL team.
Purpose Statement
The Patient Advisory Board (PAB) provides advice to the Exercise for Cancer to Enhance Living Well (EXCEL) core team on research questions, program design, and delivery, for a Canada-wide cancer exercise program. The advice and suggestions draw upon evidence-based practice and innovative delivery, while meeting community and participant needs, and taking financial parameters into consideration. The PAB communicates to the core team of EXCEL, any advice relating to EXCEL research, programming, or delivery that is developed as a result of their work. The PAB provides the opportunity to integrate the collective ‘voice’ of those living with cancer into the vision and mission of EXCEL.
Description
The EXCEL participant advisory board, or PAB, is a group of current and former EXCEL participants that have agreed to be more involved with the EXCEL study and our programs on an ongoing basis. Its purpose is to ensure that participant perspectives are actively considered within the EXCEL study as part of our participant-oriented research approach. The PAB amplifies the voices of those with lived experiences of both cancer and our exercise oncology programs, empowering them to impact our ongoing dissemination and implementation research. Currently, the PAB is made up of 5-6 participants from across Canada. PAB members meet regularly with the research team to collaborate on exercise program and study improvements. Key areas of involvement include referral and outreach, exercise programming and implementation, as well as ongoing participant support. We are grateful for the invaluable contributions of the PAB to the success of the EXCEL study.
Patient Advocacy Toolkits
One of the projects the PAB and EXCEL team developed, are the Patient Advocacy Toolkits. These kits serve as a guide to promote the EXCEL program and increase awareness of the importance of exercise for those living with and beyond cancer.
Whether you're advocating for yourself, a loved one, or within a professional capacity, these province-specific toolkits are your ally. The advocacy toolkits will ensure you have the knowledge and resources needed to be a strong and effective voice for those living with and beyond cancer.
Advocacy Reporting Form
To help the EXCEL team and fellow PAB members track you outreach efforts, please click the link below.
Meet the PAB
Angus Pratt
Angus Pratt is a patient with lung cancer who has been involved in projects as diverse as Canadian Cancer Society Advisory Council on Research (ACOR), presenting at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, and supporting the recent PanCanadian Lung Cancer Summit. He sits on the Canadian Medical Association Patient Voice where he works to raise awareness about the cancer that kills more folk than breast, colorectal, and prostate. He is looking forward to sharing this information with you. When Angus isn't advocating for lung cancer, he likes to paint with watercolour and write poetry.
Lisa Making
Lisa Making was born in Newfoundland, raised across Canada, and travelled the world. Her upbringing firmly established culture, adventure and discovery as the foundations of her life — so much so, that she made culture and museums her career focus. She is now living and working in rural Alberta leading one of the country’s most visited museums. Two years after starting that dream job, she went on a whole new adventure when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Throughout frontline treatment, movement kept her going—it also helped that she has a very active dog. She walked every day as it kept her connected to her community and herself. It was just as she finished her last round of chemotherapy that she learned about the amazing work happening with EXCEL and she quickly signed up. Two years later, she is still actively involved in the program and, every chance she gets, praises the impact it has had on her physical and mental recovery. In addition to participating in online exercise classes, she loves wandering the beautiful badlands with her 14 year old pup. Her goal is to see programs like EXCEL integrated into standard-of-care for all cancer patients.
Seema Saroj
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, I embarked on a life-changing journey that deeply reinforced the importance of physical activity, positive thinking, and a strong support system in facing the challenges of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Regular physical activity was a vital part of my recovery, helping me regain my energy, fight fatigue, manage stress, and maintain a hopeful outlook. The EXCEL program was a game-changer for me: it gave me the opportunity to make exercise a regular part of my routine, provided a safe space to share experiences, and offered valuable tools to cope with my condition. That’s why I am such a strong advocate for integrating exercise into every cancer patient’s care plan and believe that programs like EXCEL should be mandated as part of treatment. As a member of the Patient Advisory Board, I am committed to advocating for the expansion and greater accessibility of programs like EXCEL that provide cancer patients the support they need to regain strength, manage treatment side effects, and enhance their overall quality of life.