In October 2023, the Shirley and Jim Fielding Northeast Cancer Centre was ranked top amongst the fourteen regional cancer programs in Ontario. An important piece of the success is helping cancer patients to quit smoking. Dr. Deborah Saunders, Medical Director for the department of dental oncology and the Regional Lead for Tobacco Intervention, leads the efforts to screen patients for tobacco use and refer them to tobacco cessation – programs designed to help patients to quit smoking.
Stopping the practice of smoking has been shown to have a number of health benefits. For cancer patients these benefits include a decreased risk of cancer recurrence, a decreased risk of new cancer development, and overall better outcomes in therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Patients who quit smoking during their cancer treatments also have less side effects and better pain management than those that continue to smoke.
To enhance access to smoking cessation programs, Dr. Saunders initiated the STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) program to provide access to free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for all patients interested in quitting. The use of NRTs such as nicotine gum, nicotine patches, and oral sprays (among others) can sometimes create a financial burden on patients. Smoking cessation programs, like STOP, support patients by giving them access to these therapies at low to no cost.
In June of 2023, the STOP Student Initiative program was rolled out. Presently, 12 student volunteers from Laurentian University, Queen’s University, and University of Ottawa play a key role in helping patients with limited access internet access or low literacy to enroll.
“The Stop program is a great program for Ontario residents that cannot afford to quit smoking by evidenced based approaches. It offers free counselling, follow up, and nicotine replacement. Unfortunately, it is not accessible to those patients with low literacy or have limited access to the internet.” says Dr. Saunders. “This access to care is not only invaluable to our marginalized patients, but also an amazing experience for our young aspiring students interested in entering the health care field, to acquire the experience in communicating with our patients. The students gain experience with patients and see the true success in helping them in their cessation journey.”
“The part I value most about volunteering with HSN, and specifically in my role as a STOP provider, is that it allows me to follow up with and build meaningful relationships with optimistic patients who are hopeful that they can quit smoking” says Massimo Marrone, a third year science student Laurentian University. “It is especially fulfilling to celebrate with patients who have completely ceased from tobacco use after I have helped them through the provision of motivational counselling and nicotine replacement therapy.”
The success of the student volunteers and high patient enrollment was presented at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s Ottawa Conference by student lead Meredith Kusnierczyk, a fourth year science student at Laurentian University. The conference took place in January 2024.