The GNWT has released a new guide to cancer treatment services available to NWT residents, though that doesn’t come with any change to those services.
The Cancer Care Vision: A Living Framework for Quality and Priorities in the Northwest Territories, announced on Tuesday, succeeds the 2015-2025 NWT Cancer Strategy.
The latest vision issued by the GNWT has no end date and is not a detailed action plan, the territory said. Instead, it is described in the guide as a “living guide to help the health system make decisions, set priorities and improve cancer care over time.”
“The Vision represents a commitment to understanding how residents experience the health care system with a goal of supporting their wellness, community connections, access to care, interactions with the health system and life beyond cancer,” the GNWT said in a news release.
The territorial government said the framework considers the full cancer journey, including prevention, screening, treatment, survivorship and end of life care.
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In place of actions, the guide has five goals:
- the system provides communities and residents with supports, knowledge, and environments needed to reduce the incidence of cancer and promote wellness;
- people and communities across the NWT are supported with screening options that are accessible, culturally safe and shaped by what works for them;
- people and families are supported with navigation and coordinated culturally relevant transitions across the cancer continuum;
- people affected by cancer have access to holistic supports that strengthen quality of life across their cancer experience; and
- communication and information systems strengthen the coordination of care and meet the needs of residents across the cancer care journey.
“By listening, learning, and adapting over time, this Vision aims to strengthen cancer care in ways that are realistic, respectful, and rooted in the realities of northern life, now and for future generations,” the guide said.
The GNWT said an evaluation took place in 2023 of the 2015-2025 NWT Cancer Strategy – the first comprehensive, territory-wide approach to cancer prevention, care and support.
That evaluation showed progress in prevention, screening, navigation and collaboration, the territory said, but “identified continued gaps in access, equity, survivorship, and palliative and end-of-life care.”
