Message from the Executive Director

In June 2026, G7 leaders met to discuss and coordinate their response to major global issues in the areas of trade, security, economics, and climate change. At this meeting, the leaders made a historic commitment to the fight against cancer and specifically agreed to collaborate on accelerating international data access for pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers, intensifying the fight against cancers with poor prognosis, and strengthening access to quality cancer care for all.

For the pediatric cancer community in Canada, this moment matters. Children with cancer have unique biological, psychosocial, and developmental needs that require dedicated research, care and support solutions. No single country, including Canada, possesses sufficient data or resources to generate the evidence needed across the full range of childhood tumour types, to address these complex and urgent challenges. The G7’s call to action is clear – progress requires international alignment, collaboration, and sustained investment.

Canada already has a strong foundation to build on. We have the collective capacity for world-leading science and clinical programs that can provide high-quality, equitable, efficient, and sustainable systems of care for all children. With ACCESS, we have the network required to bring the best and brightest minds together to have national and international impact on childhood cancer. As we work to renew funding for ACCESS, we encourage our community to use their voices to ensure children with cancer are supported through federal investments in the 2026 Budget. You can write to your local MP to share that important message. You can also save the date for a ‘Day on the Hill,’ organized by the pediatric cancer advocate community this September, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, on Monday, September 21, 12:00 – 2:30 PM in Ottawa. For additional advocacy materials and more information, visit strongerthancancer.ca.

In this latest edition of the ACCESS Newsletter, you can learn more about ongoing work to build research infrastructure, support collaborative science and increase capacity for pediatric cancer research and policy. Read about how ACCESS is supporting the next generation of pediatric cancer scientists through research projects led by early-career investigators pursuing new ideas in psychosocial and survivorship research and the ACCESS Summer Research Program, a 10-week program designed to broaden the experiences of trainees through interactive research and education sessions. Also spotlighted is the Beyond the Binder project, which will provide valuable information for how holistic support can be made more accessible for children and families navigating childhood cancer. We have also included some ‘short reads’ to reflect the breadth and depth of projects supported by ACCESS and our partners.

Canada’s participation in the G7 commitment to accelerate the fight against cancer highlights why having ACCESS as our national childhood cancer network is so critical. Our connected, diverse community is amplifying the voices of children and families experiencing cancer in Canada. Through collaboration, we are generating new findings about childhood cancer to lessen the burden of disease and establishing new ways of working together. Because of our collective efforts, the ACCESS network is ready to ensure Canada not only meets this international moment but plays a role in leading it.