Wednesday, January 22, 2025 Change often comes with both excitement and the inevitable goodbye. After 13 years of service to the CCTG Patient Representative Committee we say thank you to Judy Needham who has completed two term as Chair but will continue to share her invaluable insights as the Chair Emeritus for the next few months. Judy became involved with CCTG in 2012 as a member of the Breast Cancer Disease Site Committee, moving on to become the Vice Chair and then Chair of the Patient Representatives Committee (formerly the Lay Committee) in 2014. In her role as chair, Judy has been instrumental in leading the redesign of the Patient Representative role at CCTG. Patient Representatives are now active contributors on disease site committees, identifying potential patient issues during trial design and ensuring patient-oriented endpoints and questions are included, along with the scientific questions, in CCTG clinical trials. The impact Judy has had not just within the CCTG network but in Canada and Internationally is immeasurable and she will be missed by those of us she has touched at CCTG."My focus and passion has been to support the development of both people and the processes within CCTG and Canada in general to enable the scientific community and patient community to work together to achieve joint scientific and patient goals. I am delighted to now entrust these responsibilities to Michelle, who I am confident will excel in leading the CCTG's patient engagement activities," - Judy Needham After a year long process to find a successor for the Chair position, CCTG is extremely excited to announce that Michelle Audoin has accepted the role of Chair and will be leading the CCTG Patient Representative Committee starting in 2025. Michelle is living with stage 4 breast cancer and has been a valued member of the CCTG Breast Disease Site Committee. During her cancer journey, after seeing that Black women were not represented in the images of breast reconstruction she created Uncovered: A Breast Recognition Project, a resource that features breast cancer images and stories of Black, Indigenous, and women of colour. It was created in collaboration with Rethink Breast Cancer. The resource has been used as an education and teaching tool at the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Health, and at UHN. She has broadened her advocacy journey through volunteer roles at Ontario Institute for Cancer Research’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, 3CTN and Women’s College Hospital and as a patient partner on various cancer trials. "It is important for me to bring my voice to the development of cancer clinical trials. I want to support inclusive trial enrollment, improving the generalizability of results for diverse communities," - Michelle AudoinPlease join us in congratulating both Michelle in her new role and Judy as she moves on to other advocacy leadership ventures.
