Join us on World Cancer Day

This week on Health Matters, the MUHC Foundation is taking action to create a world where fewer loved ones are lost to cancer. Guest host Kelly Albert speaks with Dr. Anthony Zeitouni about an innovative research project to detect head and neck cancers in a less invasive way. Tara Simonetta Mann shares the stories of our World Cancer Day patient ambassadors. Dr. Simon Tanguay explains how philanthropy helps fund kidney cancer research. And, Becklake Fellow Dr. Everglad Mugutso discusses her “prehabilitation” research for patients with lung cancer. 

Cette semaine à Questions de santé, la Fondation du CUSM prend des mesures concrètes pour aider à créer un monde où nos proches seront plus nombreux à survivre au cancer. Kelly Albert, notre animatrice invitée, discute avec le Dr Anthony Zeitouni d’un projet de recherche novateur pour détecter les cancers de la tête et du cou de façon moins invasive. Tara Simonetta Mann raconte l’histoire de nos patients ambassadeurs de la Journée mondiale contre le cancer. Le Dr Simon Tanguay nous explique comment la philanthropie aide à financer la recherche sur le cancer du rein. Et la Dre Everglad Mugutso, lauréate de la bourse de recherche Becklake, nous présente ses recherches sur la « préhabilitation » des patients atteints d’un cancer du poumon.

Transcript

Kelly Albert: 0:00

Hi there. Thank you for joining us. Tarah is off this week. I'm Kelly Albert and this is Health Matters on CJAD 800. Cancer affects all of us. We all know someone who has fought cancer. And we all know someone who has died. Not one person is untouched by this devastating disease. World Cancer Day took place this week. And on today's show, we share how the MUHC Foundation is fundraising to End Cancer as a deadly illness. From sharing patient stories to speaking with researchers who are looking to find better treatments and diagnostic tests, you will hear firsthand how we are taking action to create a world where fewer loved ones are lost to cancer. To begin, there are many cancers that affect the head and neck. These kinds of cancers can have a huge impact on a patient's life, as they often affect how you eat, how you drink, even how you speak. Dr. Anthony Zeitouni is a head and neck surgeon at the MUHC. Dr. Zeitouni, thank you for joining us.

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 0:52

Thank you very much for having me on the show.

Kelly Albert: 0:54

As a head and neck surgeon, what are the kinds of conditions that you see?

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 0:59

We see cancers that involve the head and neck that involve the ability to eat, speak to swallow. We see cancers inside the mouth, cancers at the back of the throat where the tonsils are, and cancers of the voice box. In addition, and things that are very interesting in my specialty is that we will often work as a team with other specialists. So we see dermatologist referring us advanced skin cancers. We work with endocrinologist that send us patients with thyroid cancers. We work with neurosurgeons that have tumors that involve the skull base, the area between the head and neck and the brain. Mostly, we see a lot of cancers involving the throat and all these cancers, because as you said, involves swallowing and speech really affect the patient's quality of life and have a great risk for their well-being.

Kelly Albert: 1:56

Because I assume, specifically throat cancers for instance. If you have a very severe case, I imagine it could make you no longer able to eat through your mouth or no longer able to speak, is that correct?

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 2:12

That's correct. And a lot of the work we're doing now is trying to find ways to treat the cancers to make sure that the patient survives, but also to improve their quality of life and make the treatment less toxic, less morbid.

Kelly Albert: 2:27

Absolutely. We're in conversation with Dr. Anthony Zeitouni, who is a head and neck surgeon at the MUHC. While it's easy to say that there are a lot of signs and symptoms and signs and symptoms of cancer can be quite vast. Are there some that are particular for the cancers that you see? Are there some things that we should pay attention to?

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 2:45

That's a good question and a very important one. Indeed, what we're seeing is lesions that don't heal inside the mouth. Somebody who has a sore doesn't heal- inside the mouth or somewhere else in the throat. That's something very important that you would want to talk to a doctor about right away. The other important sign is a lump in the neck. So we've all seen kids that have very swollen nodes after a tonsil infection. For example, we have smaller nodes but they're painful, and then they tend to go away. But in adults, nodes or masses or lumps in the neck that don't go away and that are not painful are particularly worrisome. So again, to something that you would want to consult about and get a medical opinion.

Kelly Albert: 3:34

And how long would the nodes be swollen for? Is this something that if it goes away after a few days, it's okay?

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 3:42

Exactly. If after a few days, you've had a fever, you've been sick; the nodes have reacted that's very appropriate. The nodes are like filters in our body. They fight infection, they fight bacteria and they fight viruses. They'll swell but they will hurt, they'll be painful. But if it's not the case, you're not having a cold, you're not having a fever. You're shaving, for example, a gentleman is shaving in the mirror and notices a lump in his neck. It doesn't hurt when he touches it. But definitely there's something there -that's very important. It's a very important thing to consult about.

Kelly Albert: 4:16

I think that's a really great tip. Obviously, there are patients or listeners right now who maybe don't have a family doctor, who maybe are on the waitlist to see the GAP clinic or things like that. So if you see a lump in your neck, if it's unusual, if there's no pain, but it's lingering, should you start with calling 811? Should you try to get an appointment at a walk-in clinic?

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 4:40

I would try to get an appointment so somebody can actually physically examine you. And yeah, it's always difficult when you don't have a family doctor, for sure. But it's something that you wouldn't want to wait for a long, long time. You want to deal with it right away.

Kelly Albert: 4:55

That's great advice. We're speaking with Dr. Anthony Zeitouni, a head and neck surgeon at the MUHC. Now one of your specialties is also research. You do quite a bit of research into cancers that affect the head and neck. So how quickly is this research evolving for this area? Let's say in the last five to 10 years.

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 5:11

I think that head and neck cancer is a very exciting field in terms of research. Basically, we're discovering a lot of new things about the cancers themselves. We've come to realize that cancers are not only associated with smoking and drinking, which they definitely are. But there are some cancers in people who don't smoke and don't drink. Cancers that involve tonsils in the back of the throat, we've come to realize that it's related to a virus, the human papilloma virus. There are hundreds of types of papilloma virus, but there are a few dangerous ones that some people have. And they get these viruses. The viruses lay dormant; they sleep inside the body, inside the cells for 10-20-30 years. And then for some reason the cell transforms into a cancer in a very few patients. It's the only cancer that we know about that can be prevented by a vaccine. So by all means, I would advise your listeners to think about getting vaccinated for themselves and their family. So it's only a cancer that can be prevented by a vaccine. But a lot of people that have been infected with this virus; they're fine and nothing will ever happen. And in a very few small percentage of cases, the virus can cause transformation. The same virus that gives women cervical cancer; it also causes cancer in the head and neck as well as the tonsils and the back of the tongue.

Kelly Albert: 6:41

And I've heard you speak about this vaccine before. It's really wonderful in terms of prevention. This is something that can prevent this transformation from happening in your body, which is miraculous.

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 6:53

Yeah, it's exciting that it is available, and more people should look into it, for sure. Even adults, I think that the indications have changed over the years and now this vaccine is available to more and more people. That's one of the exciting things. We've been trying to find ways to detecting to this small number of people who do have these cancers and try to detect it earlier. And make sure that if we do treat them that the cancer does go away and doesn't come back. We've been looking at ways of looking at the DNA as it exists in cancer cells. And that, fortunately for us is different than the DNA of normal cells. When cells break down, the DNA comes out of the cell and goes into the bloodstream or into the saliva. A couple of years ago, collaborator at the MUHC, Dr. Julia Burnier, we started a study trying to find out can we measure this variant abnormal DNA from these cancer cells? And can we detect these cancers earlier? And if patient has been treated for cancer, can we make sure to detect any recurrences that occur early. To understand, these cancers occur at the back of the throat where the tonsils are or even further down in the back of the tongue. They are hard to see, hard to biopsy, a biopsy involves taking a scalpel and taking out a piece of tissue. We want to find an easier way to do biopsies. We found that, we can measure the circulating DNA. So they use a technique that takes a little bit of blood or a little bit of saliva. And then they use like a chemical microscope that amplifies and makes this very small, tiny amount of DNA visible. And then we know if the patient has the cancer or not. And if they've been treated, we can follow and do many times this the same study with the same blood test or the saliva test to see if the cancer wants to come back or not. And that's a lot easier for the patient than having another biopsy what we're looking at and taking a piece of tissue.

Kelly Albert: 9:06

Absolutely, we've talked about it on the show. It's the liquid biopsy technology. And it's so fascinating. Dr. Zeitouni, unfortunately we're running out of time. But thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters. We'll have to have you back because you do quite a bit of MUHC. So we can talk to you for several segments about all the incredible work you're doing.

Dr. Anthony Zeitouni: 9:23

Thank you very much for having me on the show.

Kelly Albert: 9:25

Thank you so much. That's Dr. Anthony Zeitouni, a head and neck surgeon at the MUHC. If you are interested in the cancer research that Dr. Zeitouni is doing, you can contribute to the MUHC Foundation's World Cancer Day campaign. Just go to www.muhcfoundation.com/stopcancer. Coming up on Health Matters, six cancer patients are sharing their experiences with you to make a difference. Tarah is off this week. I'm Kelly Albert. Welcome back to Health Matters on CJAD 800. Everyone is touched by cancer whether it is a loved one who has gone through treatments or you yourself have survived it. We all have a story to share about how this devastating disease has impacted our life. This year for World Cancer Day, we have partnered with six patient ambassadors who shared their stories with the MUHC Foundation and with you at home. Here to discuss some of these stories is Tara Simonetta Mann, the senior writer at the MUHC Foundation, Tara, thank you for joining us.

Tara Simonetta Mann: 10:20

Thanks for having me, Kelly.

Kelly Albert: 10:22

What was it like to hear the six patients recount their treatment journeys to you?

Tara Simonetta Mann: 10:29

I feel incredibly privileged to have been entrusted with their stories. All of them are harrowing, they've been through a lot. And I'm just privileged to have been entrusted to write about them. And I want our patient ambassadors to know that by sharing their stories, they're helping us raise important funds for cancer research and care and that it's really going to make a difference.

Kelly Albert: 10:52

Absolutely. And I think it's so they're also grateful, which is something that is so powerful, because they were inspired by the wonderful care they received to give back in this way. Was it powerful to hear how grateful they were for the care they received?

Tara Simonetta Mann: 11:06

Absolutely. Cancer is one of the scariest things that any of us can think of, and to see how well taken care of the ambassadors were at the MUHC and how grateful they are to their doctors is really inspiring. Both because we're seeing how well taken care of they are and just seeing like, you know, how they've come through such a difficult thing.

Kelly Albert: 11:31

Yeah, the support that they received from their own networks, from their loved ones is really powerful. And then, you know, to hear how wonderful the nurses and the doctors and the PABs were and all the healthcare professionals that they work with is really something special.

Tara Simonetta Mann: 11:46

Absolutely.

Kelly Albert: 11:47

So let's get into some of these stories. Claire Trottier is our breast cancer patient ambassador. She recently finished treatments for breast cancer. Can you tell us a little bit about her story?

Tara Simonetta Mann: 11:59

Sure. So I had the pleasure of meeting Claire a few months ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2022. And leading up to her diagnosis, she noticed that something wasn't quite right. She was a bit itchy under her arm. Her bras felt like they didn't fit properly. And like any of us would do. She just dismissed these signs. You know, maybe I'm allergic to my deodorant. Maybe I just need a new bra. And then she was doing a breast self-exam. And she found a lump. And immediately she knew what it was. And her diagnosis was confirmed a few weeks later. She learned that her cancer was very treatable. And this is fortunate but I think it's important to remember that even though cancer is treatable; it's still really impacts lives. So Claire had to go through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation. As she put it, she put her life on pause for a year, so that she could go through treatment. And even though she's doing better today, she still has to live with physical scars and psychological scars from having gone through that treatment. So I think it's really important that we remember that even though breast cancer is more survivable today that we still need to raise money to improve care so that fewer women go through this terrible ordeal.

Kelly Albert: 13:18

Absolutely. And we have wonderful programs at the MUHC, the Breast Clinic Wellness Program, which offers support for patients. It's something that we fundraise for the MUHC Foundation. It gives you access to nutritionists, sexologists, psychologists. It helps you with workout plans, it's all of these resources that can help these patients who are going through such a rigorous treatment schedule and journey. It's really something important to see firsthand when you see how we try to support patients going through these cancers as well. And what's interesting about Claire story is that it's just something that she noticed, I find. It's the same thing with Suzanne Sauvage. Her story is very similar where she didn't really have any major symptoms. They were kind of vague. And then one day it all sort of came to a crux, can you tell me about her story?

Tara Simonetta Mann: 14:11

Yeah, Suzanne was driving home one day, and she began to have a terrible pain in her abdomen. So from zero to 100 right away. And 12 hours later, she was diagnosed with kidney cancer, which was a huge shock. She had one of her kidneys removed. She continues to be monitored by her care team today. But one of the really inspiring things about Suzanne story is that throughout it all she says she had hop. She felt really well taken care of at the MUHC. And she was hopeful that even though it was a long battle, she would get through it.

Kelly Albert: 14:43

It's really wonderful. And Nathan Boidman is also a cancer patient sharing his story. He went through bladder cancer. Well, this his treatment journey like

Tara Simonetta Mann: 14:54

The treatment for bladder cancer is incredibly difficult. And I don't think people realize how common a cancer it is. He first knew something was wrong when he saw blood in his urine, which is a big warning sign for bladder cancer. He went through three months of chemotherapy, and he eventually had to have his bladder removed, which as you can imagine, was really difficult. And not only did he have to go through this, but bladder cancer has a really high recurrence rate. So he spent years worrying that his cancer could come back. And this year marks 10 years since he had a surgery and he started to finally feel that he has overcome this cancer.

Kelly Albert: 15:32

It's such an inspiring story that he's sort of feeling more comfortable now. We're in conversation with Tara Simonetta Mann, the Senior Writer at the MUHC Foundation, my colleague at the MUHC Foundation. We have many, many patients' stories, but I'll ask for one more. Tell me about Pascale Charbonneau story.

Tara Simonetta Mann: 15:54

Pascal actually had endometrial cancer. But the interesting thing is that it runs in her family. Her grandmother at age 62 had cervical cancer. Then her mother, also at age 62, endured uterine cancer. So Pascal knew she was at risk all her life and monitored her health. And sure enough, at 62, she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. But the fortunate thing about this is that Pascale was followed by the MUHC's Dr. Lucy Gilbert. And Dr. Gilbert developed a test called the DOvEE test that can detect ovarian and endometrial cancers early. Often the cancers are found too late and they're not treatable. Because Pascale knew about her family history; she was able to have her health monitored, take the DOvEE test and find the cancer right away to make it more treatable. She's now fundraising specifically for the DOvEE Project to ensure this test will be available to all women one day. And this is really special to her because she has a daughter and a granddaughter who could go on to also have cancer.

Kelly Albert: 17:03

We've spoken about the DOvEE Project on the show before and it's so inspiring that this test was created right here in Montreal and is in the last phase of the clinical trial, which means that once the trial closes, it goes towards Health Canada approval. Once it gets Health Canada approval, it will be readily available, just like a regular Pap test for women which is incredible. As you mentioned, detecting ovarian and endometrial cancer early means it's more treatable. And often the symptoms are so vague, and so easily dismissed that many women don't know that they have this cancer until it is too late; until it is in the later stages. So it's something really special. And so we have a World Cancer Day campaign going on right now. If you would like to know more about the World Cancer Day campaign, you can go to MUHCFoundation.com/stopcancer. There you will see all of the patients' stories that Tara helped work on. And you can find out more information about each of them. You can give to each of these patients. So you can go through and read Claire story, Pascale's story, Nathan's story, Suzanne's story, we have other patients that you can see. And you can find out about the cancer research that speaks to you specifically or you can give to the general World Cancer Day campaign. That's MUHCFoundation.com/stopcancer. Tara, thank you so much for joining me on the show. I really appreciate your time today.

Tara Simonetta Mann: 18:31

Thanks for having me, Kelly. And I want to say thank you to all of the ambassadors who shared their stories with us to help us raise funds World Cancer Day.

Kelly Albert: 18:39

Absolutely. It's a really special experience to read through these stories and to see how having been through so much turmoil and physical and mental and all of these effects, they're able to give back and see the bright side in this and really push forward to help other patients that are going through what they went through.

Tara Simonetta Mann: 19:02

Thanks Kelly.

Kelly Albert: 19:03

Thank you. Next step on Health Matters, more than 8000 Canadians were diagnosed with kidney and renal cancer last year. What are the signs and symptoms you need to look out for? Tarah is off this week. I'm Kelly Albert and this is Health Matters. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, an estimated 8100 Canadians were diagnosed with kidney and renal pelvic cancer last year. Every cancer diagnosis is one to many. In Montreal, we have some of the world's best researchers working to find better treatments for cancer of all kinds. Dr. Simon Tanguay is one of those doctors working to make a difference. He is a urologic oncologist at the MUHC. Dr. Tanguay, thank you so much for joining us.

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 19:42

My pleasure.

Kelly Albert: 19:43

So I mentioned off the top, 8100 Canadians were diagnosed last year. How prevalent is kidney cancer in Canada?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 19:51

It represents maybe one of the tenth most common cancer that we see. I would say it's one of the important cancer that are diagnosed in our patients.

Kelly Albert: 20:05

We have a patient's story, Suzanne Sauvage who experienced kidney cancer and went through treatment for that. Her symptoms were she just had abdominal pain one day. Is this a very common sign and symptom of kidney cancer? Are there others that we can look out for?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 20:20

I would say the most common symptoms for kidney cancer is blood in the urine. And sometime it happened only once. And very often patients say, it happened and disappeared, so it must be okay. So I would say this is the most common symptoms, patients experience and one time is too many. So if ever it happens people need to seek medical attention. Other than that, there's all kinds of vague symptoms, like patients may have discomfort, pain, weight loss can be symptoms of presentation. And I'd say very often nowadays, it's discovered incidentally. People get ultrasound for other reason and they find that they have a mass in their kidney, and referred to us after.

Kelly Albert: 21:03

Oh my goodness, and these signs and symptoms, are they different for men and women? Are there some that are primarily for men and others for women? Are they across the board the same?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 21:10

No, it's about the same for both. What we know is a kidney cancer is more common in men. So there'll be maybe twice more men affected with kidney cancer than women. But the presentation and symptoms are really the same.

Kelly Albert: 21:23

We're in conversation with Dr. Simon Tanguay, who is a urologic oncologist at the MUHC. When it comes to these types of cancers- kidney cancer, renal pelvic cancer, are there some risk factors that we should know about that make us more at risk for this type of cancer?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 21:38

That's a very good question. So we know some cancer where there's a direct, very strong link with habits; for example, tobacco use and lung cancer, or bladder cancer. In kidney cancer is not that obvious. There are some links with smoking; it's a milder link. There are some links with obesity. But other than that, it's very difficult to pinpoint what people have done that lead to kidney cancer. There's a rare form that comes from your gene transmitted from one generation to the other, but that represents a very small subset of all patients.

Kelly Albert: 22:13

So it's important to know your family history, of course, but it's not necessarily the link that will help make you have kidney cancer in the end

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 22:21

Exactly.

Kelly Albert: 22:22

Is it a difficult cancer to treat?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 22:25

It depends when it's discovered. Today, a lot of the kidney cancer are discovered very early. And these patients still need to undergo treatment. Most of the time, it's surgery, but there's different techniques of ablation by freezing or heating the very small tumors. And for those patients, the cure rate is very high. When patients are discovered at a later stage, then it's a more difficult battle. There's been tremendous improvement in the treatment we can offer these patients in the last 15 years. We've drastically changed, the outcome of for the patients that present with more advanced disease, but there's still a way to go before we can claim we can cure all of them.

Kelly Albert: 23:11

In conversation with Dr. Simon Tanguay, a urologic oncologist at the MUHC, I like that you mentioned that treatments have changed drastically in the last 15 years. What is it like to be in this field, and to see these changes happen fairly rapidly sometimes?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 23:27

So it's very exciting, actually. Because for many years, there was very little change, very little new treatment that we could offer our patients. And now, there's been an explosion of discoveries that lead to new treatment options. So in kidney cancer has been a very exciting time for the last 10-15 years, actually. Two of the drugs that are being used right now for kidney cancer were awarded a Nobel Prize in the last five, six years. So it's a very rapidly evolving field and very exciting for us. And obviously, for patients involved with kidney cancer.

Kelly Albert: 24:05

I'm sure because we have the Research Institute of the MUHC, which is affiliated with the MUHC. There's projects going constantly to try and find more personalized treatments, more innovative treatments, it's really something that must be from your perspective so exciting to see all of these projects that are being worked on and these different techniques that are being used.

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 24:27

There's great progress that are being made. As I mentioned, there's still a way to go. I think we developed a significant research group in our institution that work on kidney cancer that involve researchers, clinicians, pathologists, and everything is in place to contribute to the field. So it's an exciting time indeed.

Kelly Albert: 24:51

Absolutely. And with regards to this, you are hoping to create a Kidney Cancer Centre of Excellence here in Montreal, at the MUHC. Can you tell our listeners why it's so important to have something like this here in Montreal to help patients?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 25:06

If you have the expertise here, it's better to develop it here. Whatever discoveries that are made here will attract more research, more discoveries. Often it leads to earlier access for our patients to new treatments, new diagnostic tools. I think it provides excellence all-around in the research but also in the clinical care. At the end of the day, in any field, if you have the excellence around you, people benefit from it. Earlier access to novel treatment, novel discovery, so it's very, very important to keep the expertise and promote the research here.

Kelly Albert: 25:49

It's really wonderful. Dr. Simon Tanguay, we're fundraising for Dr. Tanguay and for kidney cancer research at the MUHC with our World Cancer Day campaign. As we mentioned in a previous segment, Suzanne Sauvage is a kidney cancer patient who is sharing her story to help fundraise for kidney cancer research. You can find out more about her story at MUHCFoundation.com/stopcancer, Dr. Tanguay, how do donations and how does philanthropy help fund research like yours? Help fund better treatments for patients as well?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 26:24

Philanthropy today plays a huge role in what we do in research. We obtain support from different grant agencies that support researchers. But really, if you want to be competitive and move fast in this field and stay at the forefront, you need the help of philanthropy because it allows you to go faster with your projects, grow your team, expand your international collaboration and be more competitive. And I would say there is no small donation. Every amount helps in this field. I think it's a great initiative to help support, you know, cancer research and in every tumor site.

Kelly Albert: 27:07

We have a wonderful matching donation for kidney cancer research for World Cancer Day. So if you donate any amount, as Dr. Tanguay said, they will be those donations will be doubled, up to $100,000. So it's a really wonderful way to have your money go twice as far as it would. Any donation of any size is really important. $5 will do a tremendous amount of work. And I think Dr. Tanguay, it's interesting to point out too, because philanthropy helps get you to the part sometimes where the government can step in. The government generally needs a little bit of proof of concept, before they fully-funded something. We don't have much time left. But is that the case where philanthropy can help get you to the part where you can meet sort of a benchmark?

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 27:51

To receive large funding from the government agencies, you need to have results that show that your research is promising, and it's worth funding. Without financial support to get this data produced and show that your idea is something that is worth funding, it's very difficult to be competitive. The philanthropy helps us move faster in some of the most important project, but it also helps us to take an idea and try to get enough information to show that it's a valid idea, and it's very likely that it will succeed and help patients. So this is how we make money with the money we receive. Normally we can say that, researchers will generate four to five times more revenue for research from every dollar donated. So philanthropy is very important.

Kelly Albert: 28:46

It really shows the impact Dr. Simon Tanguay, thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters.

Dr. Simon Tanguay: 28:51

My pleasure.

Kelly Albert: 28:51

That's Dr. Simon Tanguay, a urologic oncologist at the MUHC. Next on Health matters, a physician from Zimbabwe shares why she is pursuing her passion in Canada at the Montreal Chest Institute. Tarah Schwartz is off this week. I'm Kelly Albert, and you're listening to health matters on CJAD 800, the Montreal Chest Institute has been treating patients with respiratory illnesses for well over 100 years in Montreal. The MCI has an extensive list of physicians, clinician scientists and researchers who are all caring for patients to find innovative treatments. One of the ways that MCI supports up and coming researchers is the Dr. Margaret Becklake Fellowship. This is awarded to a trainee in respiratory research every year and pays their salary as they conduct research under the supervision of the scientists at the MCI. Dr. Everglad Mugutso is one of this year's Becklake fellows. Originally from Zimbabwe, she is completing her Master's degree here in Montreal. Hi, Dr. Mugutso.

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 29:49

Hello, Kelly, thank you for having me.

Kelly Albert: 29:51

Thank you so much for joining us. So you're studying for your Master's degree at McGill? What are you studying?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 29:58

Yes, that's right. I'm studying in the Department of Experimental Medicine, under Dr. Nicole Ezer, who's my supervisor and mentor. She focuses on studying lung cancer. And my research focuses on improving patient outcomes in lung cancer using real world data. Especially for people who have early disease and are treated by surgical resection.

Kelly Albert: 30:22

It's really wonderful because you are in Zimbabwe, you are a physician by trade, and the process to be recertified to practice medicine in Canada is a lengthy one, I'm sure. So you're completing your Master's as you're working on this recertification as well. What has this process been like of immigrating here to Canada and working on your Master's degree and getting recertified to practice medicine?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 30:48

Well, thank you for that question. Kelly. You're right. I worked as a physician in Zimbabwe. And actually, it's a difficult question to answer as everyone's process differs widely. We have the general reality that for internationally-educated physicians, it can be an incredibly complex ride. I started my process as soon as I came into Canada in 2021. And I have taken and passed the mandatory exam. I have been very fortunate to have a sound support system and exceptional mentorship. If the process of relicensure for internationally-educated physicians in Canada could be more structured and standardized, like how it is for nurses. I think there will be better accessibility.

Kelly Albert: 31:31

Of course, you picked up and moved your whole life here. And you have all of the background training and becoming recertified is a huge process that you have to undergo, as you said. But you're doing really wonderful, innovative research. It's so important that you are this year's Becklake fellow because I think this is really helping you support this research and get it going as you're here with the Montreal Chest Institute. You mentioned it off the top a little bit that you work with lung cancer patients. You're working with Dr. Ezer. So tell me a little bit about your research and what you hope to find out here.

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 32:10

My overarching goal of my research is to improve survival and quality of life in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. And through this research, I hope that better risk stratification of patients will be done and a more personalized approach to management will make possible. I believe that each patient's experiences with lung cancer is unique. And therefore everyone deserves to be managed uniquely.

Kelly Albert: 32:37

We're in conversation with Dr. Everglad Mugutso who is one of this year's Dr. Margaret Becklake fellows at the Montreal Chest Institute. You mentioned that you want to use data and artificial intelligence. How can these technologies help you in in the pursuit of your research?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 32:56

Using the wealth of data that has been collected already reduces the cost of research. But it provides a wealth of knowledge that if you can mine it, you will be able to come up with predictive models that can help you to stratify patients according to their risk, according to what kind of treatments will be better for them. So that you can put these into guidelines. In that regard, you can essentially and effectively improve outcomes for patients who have lung cancer.

Kelly Albert: 33:35

Interesting. So it's using the database that you have with different patient information. And seeing if your patient hits the same qualities as another patient to find a treatment that works better. Is that right?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 33:51

Yes, that is absolutely right. At the moment, my research is focusing on the concept of prehabilitation, which is the improvement of the patient's functional status before they go into surgery. So it's to make them fit so that they can withstand the surgery, and therefore they can recover faster. I also have interest in other biomarkers, which are essentially chemicals that are found in the blood, which are able to predict which patients benefit from what treatment. All this data is available in the data warehouse with the MUHC and I cannot wait to mine it and be able to build these predictive models.

Kelly Albert: 34:41

That's amazing. Dr. Everglad Mugutso is one of this year's Becklake fellows. I really liked the concept that you just mentioned'prehabilitation' so it's getting the patient in a preventative way to a strong steps so once they have the surgery, they have a better outcome. Is that right?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 35:01

Yes, that is absolutely right.

Kelly Albert: 35:03

Wonderful. So it's like the rehabilitation, but beforehand.

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 35:07

Yes, it's just a concept that has been flipped on its head.

Kelly Albert: 35:11

I really love that. And so what does it mean to you to be selected as a Becklake Fellow? To have this scholarship?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 35:20

Being a Becklake fellow is one of the greatest honors that I've been afforded. And it's also a huge responsibility, especially considering what Dr. Margaret Becklake herself was able to achieve in the area of environmental pollution and occupational exposure in relation to lung health. She was also made a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of all her work. So I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of giants, actually.

Kelly Albert: 35:49

Yeah, it must be pretty special to know that you're making an impact, and you're continuing her legacy by pursuing your own work and pursuing your own research.

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 35:59

Yes, absolutely.

Kelly Albert: 36:01

I have to ask because I'm sure the temperature in Montreal is significantly different than the temperature in Zimbabwe. So what has your experience been like of living in Montreal? How do you like the city?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 36:12

Well, fortunately, I was in the Maritimes, before coming to Montreal.

Kelly Albert: 36:18

Good, so you had a little bit of an introduction?

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 36:21

I had a little bit of an introduction. I went skiing three times. So I love it. And I'm just tapping into it and enjoying every moment. And Montreal is a vibrant city for students be so much to see and so much to experience.

Kelly Albert: 36:42

Well, I love to hear that Dr. Mugutso. Congratulations, once again, on being a Becklake Fellow. It's so wonderful to hear about your research, and we look forward to hearing how this progresses as you continue your work at the MUHC. Thank you so much for joining me on Health Matters.

Dr. Everglad Mugutso: 36:58

Thank you so much, Kelly. And my final words just to thank the kind donors with the MUHC Foundation for making my sponsorship possible for the Becklake Fellowship. And I hope their beneficium will cascade into positive results for patients who are affected by lung cancer.

Kelly Albert: 37:14

It's a very strong final word. Thank you so much Dr. Everglad Mugutso is a physician. She's completing her Master's degree in at McGill in Montreal and she is working at the MCI under the supervision of Dr. Nicole Ezer for the Margaret Becklake fellowship this year. I'm Kelly Albert, thank you so much for tuning into Health Matters. As you heard earlier in the show, if you would like to give to the World Cancer Day campaign, there's still time. MUHCFoundation.com/stopcancer. That's MUHCFoundation.com/stopcancer and while you're there, you can read all of the incredible stories of what we do. You can hear previous episodes of the podcast; you can find us on social media. That way you can learn more about the MUHC Foundation and the work we do here. You can also get in touch with us to tell us what you would like to hear on the show. Write to me at healthmatters@MUHCFoundation.com. I hope you'll join me again next Saturday. Thank you so much for listening to Health Matters and stay healthy!