James Gowing, Chair of the Board, BA, MB, BS, FRCPC, graduated in 1966. He started a community cancer clinic in 1974. He has promoted community cancer clinics across Canada and established the National Conference on Community Cancer Clinics. He is a medical oncologist and hematologist at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Ontario and a consultant for the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre. He has spoken on metabolic iron disorders, lung cancer and supportive care at the Chinese Academy in Beijing, MASCC in Boston and the American Society of Hematology. Dr. Gowing has chaired the National Conference on Community Cancer Programs, and is a member a variety of hospital and Cancer Care Ontario committees and professional associations.

Jack Chritchley BA, MD, MSc, FRCPC, is one of the founding members of the CACC.  He practiced Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology for 25 years in the Interior of British Columbia.  He participated in national and international clinical cancer research trials and also chaired the development of the hospice palliative care service in that region. He is past chair of the section of Internal Medicine for the BC Medical Association and represented that organization on the Board of Trustees of the BC Cancer Agency. He later joined the Agency as a Vice President to lead the provincial Communities Oncology Network. 

William Hryniuk, Past Chair, MD (University of Manitoba), FRCPC, received his post-doctoral training at the Winnipeg General Hospital, Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, and Yale University.  He has taught as a Professor of Medicine on the faculties of Medicine at the University of Manitoba, McMaster University, the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and Wayne State University in Detroit.  Dr. Hryniuk has been Head of Medical Oncology at Manitoba, McMaster and UCSD, CEO of the Ontario Cancer Foundation’s Regional Cancer Centre for Central West Ontario, and has directed the UCSD Cancer Center, and both the Breast Cancer Program and the Institute of Technology Assessment (think tank) at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit. 

Dr. Hryniuk has been active in research, initially in the laboratory as a Scholar of the Leukemia Society of America, and, more recently, studying the relationship between dose and clinical responses in cancer chemotherapy as well as developing methods for reducing weight and alleviating distress in breast cancer survivors.  He has advised the US NCI, chaired numerous scientific committees, serves on journal editorial boards, and consults with industry on matters related to cancer.  He remains active in basic and clinical research and is currently Medical Director of CAREpath Inc.

Dr. Hryniuk practices medical oncology, with a specific interest in breast cancer, is consistently listed as one of "The Best Doctors in America" and has recently been named as one of the outstanding scientists of the 21st century.

Linda Jalbert is a breast cancer survivor living in Montreal. She is currently on the board of Jump for Hope an organization that raises funds for the emotional needs of breast cancer patients and their families. She is also the Executive Assistant Manager of Loews Hotel Vogue, with more than two decades of experience in the local hotel industry.

Kong Khoo, Vice Chair of the Board, BSc MD FRCP(C), is a medical oncologist based in Kelowna, British Columbia and clinical assistant professor, University of British Columbia. He has an undergraduate degree from University of Toronto and medical degree from McMaster University. He underwent post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine and Hematology (Dalhousie University) and Medical Oncology (University of British Columbia / BC Cancer Agency). He was Head, Clinical Investigations Office at Cancer Care Manitoba and oncologist at St. Boniface General Hospital from 1992-1997, and on faculty at University if Manitoba. He was Head, Medical Oncology, Centre for the Southern Interior, BC Cancer Agency from 1997-2004 where he helped establish a regional medical oncology department based in 5 centres to serve the most dispersed regional population in British Columbia. He has interests in new drug development, clinical trials, telemedicine, and Community Oncology Network models.

Darwin Kealey, Vice Chair of the Board, BA, MA (corporate and political communications) is an international and entrepreneurial manager with 30 years experience in public policy, public affairs and communications as well as extensive advocacy experience. He provided executive leadership and vision in building Canada’s leading and largest public affairs and communications company, with offices across Canada, Europe, and the U.S. Previously, he was Vice President and Senior Counselor with the world’s largest public relations company, Principal Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontario), ADM for Community and Public Health with the Ontario Ministry of Health, Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations (Federal) and Assistant Secretary to Cabinet in the Ontario government.   

Darwin recently retired from his position as founding President and CEO of Ontario’s Trillium Gift of Life Foundation, and has been an active volunteer on the boards of hospice associations, public policy institutes and community service organizations.

Deborah (Deb) Maskens, MA, is Vice Chair and co-founder of Kidney Cancer Canada (KCC), a national non-profit patient support and advocacy organization. Deb has worked tirelessly as a patient advocate to ensure equal access to high quality care for kidney cancer patients across Canada. As a kidney cancer patient herself, Deb has been highly instrumental as a media spokesperson, government advocate, and peer supporter for fellow patients.

Deborah’s business career has included over 20 years of experience in professional writing at IBM, Hewlett-Packard. She has taught professional communications courses at the University of Waterloo, Fanshawe College, Ontario Police College and in private industry. 

Robert Pearcey MA, MBBS, FRCR, FRCPC, is Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta, with overall responsibility for the administration of the largest clinical department within the Alberta Cancer Board.  He is also Professor, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, at the University of Alberta. He has served as President of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists, Chair of the Specialty Committee in Radiation Oncology for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Chair of the Radiation Oncology Council for the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies, member of the Quality Assurance Committee for the NCIC Clinical Trials Group, and member of the Examination Board in Radiation Oncology. His major area of clinical research has been in the use of radiotherapy for gynecological malignancies and, in particular, the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy as the treatment of cervical cancer. Future clinical research will increasingly focus on developing innovative external beam radiotherapy techniques for gynecological cancer, taking advantage of biological imaging, to improve tumor control and reduce treatment-related morbidity. 

Joseph Ragaz MD, FRCP, is a Clinical Professor, Medicine & Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. He is an outgoing Director, Oncology Program, McGill University Health Center (2003 – 2007); prior to this, he spent 27 years as a senior Medical Oncologist and an Internationally recognized Breast Cancer Researcher at the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia (1977 – 2003).

Sandeep Sehdev MD, FRCPC, is a community focused medical oncologist at the William Olser Health Centre in Brampton, Ontario – one of Canada’s largest community hospitals – where he has worked since 1992. He is past chair (5yrs) of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

Prior, he was a staff oncologist at a community hospital in upstate N.Y. and is thus familiar with the social and financial differences in medical care between Canada and the U.S. Currently, the Bayshore Clinic (administering privately funded cancer drugs) is affiliated with his medical office in Brampton, the first such association in an oncologist’s office in Canada.

He completed his fellowship at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto in 1991 and his clinical practice treats most types of cancer, however he has keen interests in breast cancer, lung cancer web and patient education, and advocacy. Prior to medical school, he studied molecular genetics at the national Research Council in Ottawa.

Dr. Sehdev has been involved in breast cancer clinical trials through NCIC and BCIRG groups, and has recently chaired several medical advisory board meetings in the fields of breast and lung cancers, and has been an invited speaker for the Lymphoma Foundation of Canada.

Jack Shapiro Order of Canada, is Co-Chair of the Canadian Cancer Advocacy Network, the organization that represents cancer patients on the Governing Council of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. He is presently a Board Member for the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance. He is an exchange representative to the CACC Board in the interests of promoting a stronger working relationship between the two organizations.

Sandi Yurichuk BS, MBA, possesses a comprehensive scientific and managerial background in oncology, anti-infectives, endocrinology, and immunology. She has extensive executive management experience covering more than 18 years in the Canadian and US pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, specializing in general and executive management, strategic business development, market access strategy, health policy influence, corporate communications, commercial operations and sales. Sandi is a long-time patient advocate in the cancer area, with a personal desire and commitment to championing positive change in the areas of oncology, especially for improvements in legislation allowing for increased access to health care and medicines.