Seven cancer research teams from across the country will get $10.1 million in federal and provincial funding over five years to study ways to ensure quick and fair access to quality care for patients.

Treasury Board Minister Vic Toews made the announcement Friday during a news conference hosted simultaneously by health officials in Winnipeg and in Halifax.

The studies will look into the quality of treatment, from diagnosis through surgery and follow-up care.
(CBC)

"The projects being funded today will build on the work of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, announced by Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper in November 2006 and designed to have the very best out of our knowledge today to plan for and improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment tomorrow," he said in a release.

The initiative through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will see projects conducted on various aspects of cancer care in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The CIHR is the government of Canada's agency for health research.

Teams in Halifax and Winnipeg will focus on colorectal cancer, which is a leading cause of cancer deaths in Canada, with 700 people developing the disease each year in Nova Scotia alone.

The studies will look into the quality of treatment, from diagnosis through surgery and follow-up care.

The Manitoba component will also look at access to the cancer-care system for aboriginal peoples, while in Nova Scotia researchers will also focus on two potentially vulnerable groups: adults with mental illness and young people.