By L. Kesselmam
Across British Columbia, a cancer diagnosis often arrives with a treatment plan and little else: no one to help manage the fear that keeps you up at night, the fatigue that makes cooking dinner impossible, or the questions your family is too afraid to ask out loud. For nearly 30 years, closing that gap has been the work of InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care.
Drishti readers have met CEO Loveena Chera before, first through her own path to leading InspireHealth, then through the whole-person care the organization provides free of charge to cancer patients across British Columbia and beyond. This time, the story is about where InspireHealth is headed next, and why its leadership in supportive cancer care matters more than ever.
The need is growing quickly. New cancer diagnoses in B.C. are projected to climb from roughly 35,000 to 45,000 a year in the coming years, and about two-thirds of people diagnosed now survive five years or more, a hopeful milestone that also means there are more people living with cancer’s long-term physical and emotional effects. Yet more than half of cancer patients say they don’t have enough emotional support during this time.
InspireHealth is one of the only physician-led supportive cancer care organizations of its kind in Canada, and it has built its reputation by recognizing that patients require care that goes far beyond just the treatment of the disease. Its team, including physicians, counsellors, dietitians, and exercise therapists, supports the whole person, mind, body and spirit, through every stage of the cancer journey. This includes nutrition, exercise and mental health support, stress reduction practices, management of treatment side-effects and cancer education. Every service is free, and no referral is required, because InspireHealth believes cost should never determine who gets support.
That same conviction shapes where InspireHealth grows next. With centres in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops, and virtual programming already reaching more than 200 communities, the organization has spent the last several years dismantling the geographic barriers that once limited this care mainly to people near a major city. The goal is straightforward: no one should face cancer without comprehensive support, regardless of where they live, what they can afford, or what community they call home.
Surrey and the Fraser Valley are a clear illustration of the work still ahead. By 2027, one in three cancer diagnoses in B.C. are projected to come from Surrey and the surrounding
Fraser Health region, one of the fastest-growing populations in the country. Despite that, Surrey remains without a physical InspireHealth Centre, and the organization currently reaches only a fraction as many patients there as it does in Vancouver. It is exactly the kind of underserved, high-growth region InspireHealth’s expansion strategy is built to reach.
Reaching those affected by cancer in communities like Surrey also means listening, not assuming. InspireHealth has been building relationships with physicians, health leaders and community organizations across the Fraser Valley, including Surrey Hospitals Foundation and the Canada India Network Society, to better understand the people it hopes to serve. It is a model the organization uses across B.C.: meaningful impact into any diverse or underserved community starting with genuine partnership.
InspireHealth isn’t ready to share the details of where those Surrey conversations are headed. But Chera is clear about the ambition behind them. “Our job is to make sure that no matter where you live in this province, or what your background is, whole-person cancer support is there when you need it,” she says. “Surrey and the Fraser Valley are a priority precisely because the need is so significant and so immediate.”
For a province seeing more diagnoses and more survivors every year, that ambition carries real weight. Patients who access InspireHealth’s programs report significant reductions in stress and meaningfully better quality of life, and nine in ten say they would recommend it to others. Scaling that impact into underserved communities that have never had access to it before is the work InspireHealth has set out to do.
There are different ways for people to connect with InspireHealth and the work ahead. If its support could make a difference for you or someone you love, the door is already open. InspireHealth’s programs are free and available now, virtually and through one of their four current centres, to anyone affected by cancer. For those wanting to be part of what comes next, the non-profit organization welcomes support from individuals, philanthropists and community partners who want to help it reach further, faster. As InspireHealth grows across the province, communities like Surrey and the Fraser Valley will help shape what comes next.
InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care offers free programs and services to cancer patients and caregivers across B.C., with no referral required. Learn more at inspirehealth.ca.
