What you need to know about Budget 2018
March 20, 2018
Advocates pressing for increased government investments in ovarian cancer research are searching for answers following the announcement of Budget 2018. While the Standing Committee on Finance recommended ovarian cancer for funding consideration, nothing was specifically earmarked to support scientific progress in this area.
Instead, government proposed the single largest investment in fundamental research in Canadian history. As part of it, $354.7 million will be directed to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), which is the federal agency responsible for allocating funds for health research. At this time, it is not clear whether this broad funding envelope will help address the need for ovarian cancer research.
“I’m pleased the government recognizes the importance of health research and is willing to invest a historic amount of money in it,” says Katherine Farris, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer seven years ago. “But it seems to me that we’re at a tipping point. CIHR is going to receive a lot of money and I want to know that they are going to follow the government's call and invest mightily in ovarian cancer research.”
An excerpt from this year’s budget reads as follows:
Canada supports its researchers and scientists through three agencies: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Together, they support and promote high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas, from how to make workplaces safer to how to build longer-lasting batteries to finding new ways to help ovarian cancer patients live longer lives.
This seems to suggest that funding allocated to CIHR reaches scientists focused on ovarian cancer research. But a look at CIHR’s track record presents a different picture.
Between 2010 and 2014, CIHR invested $81.3 million in breast cancer research, $39.8 million in research on prostate cancer, and only $16.9 million in ovarian cancer research. With substantial financial backing, both breast cancer and prostate cancer have seen marked advances in treatment and survival. In contrast, little has changed in screening or treatment for ovarian cancer.
In its 2015 to 2019 strategic plan, CIHR set its sights on addressing high mortality cancers that claim thousands of lives a year. Beyond this, other funders are to address rare cancers. But according to CIHR’s current definitions, ovarian cancer fits neither of these categories. As a result, ovarian cancer researchers hoping to collaborate on larger team grants are missing out on crucial funding opportunities.
“Unless there is a strategy to change the way health research funding is allocated though CIHR, there are no guarantees that ovarian cancer research will see the added investment that’s so urgently needed,” says Elisabeth Baugh, CEO of Ovarian Cancer Canada. “We’d welcome any opportunity to work with government or CIHR to help improve the current funding framework and enable Canadian researchers to make a difference against this disease.”
“I encourage everyone affected by this disease to remain vocal,” she urges. “Talk about this important women’s health concern at every opportunity to build support within your community. We need to be prepared to come back with even greater force.”
Preparations to support next steps are already underway, targeting the launch of renewed efforts on World Ovarian Cancer Day this May 8.
In the meantime, Ovarian Cancer Canada and community advocates who have been urging elected representatives to support a call for $10 million in funding for ovarian cancer research are determined to keep pressure on government.
“We have to be on government’s doorstep,” say Katherine. “It behooves those of us who are healthy enough and able enough to join with Ovarian Cancer Canada to press for the investment in research that is so sorely needed. They are going to need our backing, in whatever ways we are able to give it, to help ensure that lab research and clinical trials have a chance to take place in Canada and advance our knowledge of ovarian cancer.”
To find out how you can get involved, call your regional director or follow Ovarian Cancer Canada on Facebook or Twitter.