Boundless Cancer Care
- 230+
- clinicians trained in our CALM psychotherapy program, now a national standard of care
- 700+
- frontline clinicians trained in serious illness communication through The Conversation Lab
- 1st
- The Caregiver Clinic is Canada’s first cancer centre program dedicated to supporting caregivers
Providing Whole-person Care to Every Patient
At The Princess Margaret, we believe survival is only part of the story. The future of cancer care must help people live better during treatment, recover more fully after treatment, and maintain dignity, independence, purpose, and connection throughout their journey.
Increasingly, science confirms what patients have always known: emotional well-being, symptom management, rehabilitation, social support, caregiver health, and the care environment itself can profoundly influence quality of life, treatment adherence, recovery, and long-term outcomes. Cancer care must be both life-saving and
life-enhancing. That is the vision of Boundless Cancer Care.
Boundless Cancer Care: Signature Initiatives
Cancer impacts every part of a person's life, not just their physical health. As pioneers of global supportive care standards, we're now scaling these innovations while reimagining the entire cancer journey. By uncovering the intricate connections between the brain and cancer, advancing cancer mental health and health equity, and ensuring every patient who could benefit has access to clinical trials, we're improving outcomes and quality of life for both patients and their loved ones.-
Cancer Mental Health
Cancer impacts far more than the body. It can bring anxiety, depression, trauma, uncertainty, and emotional distress that affect every aspect of a person's life and can influence treatment, recovery, and quality of life. Yet mental health needs often go unrecognized or untreated during the cancer journey.
Headquartered at 522 University Avenue, the Cancer Mental Health Centre, a first-of-its-kind initiative globally, will redefine how cancer and mental health care are delivered. Building on The Princess Margaret's internationally recognized leadership in psychosocial oncology and palliative care, the Centre will integrate psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, discovery research, and clinical innovation to provide specialized support for patients facing complex mental health challenges alongside cancer.
Through a multidisciplinary team of mental health and cancer care experts, patients will receive timely, coordinated, and personalized care tailored to their unique needs. The Centre will also advance groundbreaking research, develop innovative new therapies, and train future leaders in cancer mental health.
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Cancer Connectome
Cancer does not exist in isolation; it arises within complex human beings who come with multiple conditions – mental health disorders and stress, obesity, heart disease, sedentary lifestyles. The Cancer Connectome explores how cancer interacts with the whole person, including the brain, the heart, the immune system, and the many signals that flow between them. Neuroscience is at the forefront of this work.
We are uncovering why some patients experience cognitive changes like “brain fog” after chemotherapy and how stress and anxiety signals influence tumour growth and treatment response. By mapping these interconnected networks, we can design smarter treatments, anticipate complications before they arise, and support the whole patient as we treat their tumour. This new understanding of the cancer connectome will drive a deeper, more integrated approach to care that truly transforms patient outcomes.
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Cancer Rehabilitation & Survivorship
More people are surviving cancer than ever before – one of medicine's greatest achievements. But survival is only the beginning. Many patients continue to face fatigue, pain, cognitive changes, emotional distress, and loss of physical function long after treatment ends, making it difficult to return to work, care for loved ones, and fully reclaim their lives.
At The Princess Margaret, our wholly donor-funded Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship initiative is redefining recovery through a personalized, multidisciplinary approach that helps patients restore strength, function, and quality of life. Through comprehensive assessments, specialized rehabilitation and exercise programs, and healthy lifestyle education, patients receive coordinated care tailored to their unique needs.
Our integrated team addresses the physical, cognitive, and emotional effects of cancer and its treatment, helping patients regain independence, confidence, and hope while advancing the future of survivorship care. Because the future of cancer care is not measured only by survival — it's measured by how well people live afterward.
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Care Without Walls
Cancer care doesn't stop when a patient leaves the hospital. Through Care Without Walls, The Princess Margaret is transforming how care is delivered by extending expert support beyond clinic walls and into patients' homes and daily lives. Using virtual care, remote monitoring, and digital symptom tracking, patients can stay connected to their care team throughout treatment.
Through technology-enabled monitoring, patients can report symptoms, access personalized self-management resources, monitor changes over time, and receive guidance about when to seek additional support. This allows care teams to identify concerns earlier, intervene sooner, and help prevent symptoms from becoming more serious.
For patients and families, the impact is profound. Fewer trips to the hospital mean less disruption, reduced stress, and more time spent with loved ones. Patients gain greater confidence in managing their care, feel more supported between appointments, and can receive timely assistance while remaining in the comfort of their home.
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Transformational Cancer Experience Fund
A cancer diagnosis changes everything. Treatment can be physically demanding, emotionally overwhelming, and deeply isolating. This is the human crisis in cancer. This fund supports programs, amenities, and technology that care for the whole person, not just the disease, creating a more comforting and restorative environment at The Princess Margaret.
From art and music programs to healing gardens and refreshments, these thoughtful touches help reduce anxiety, foster connection, and support emotional well-being, which are critical when someone is facing a life-altering disease. And for in-patients, bedside technology to order their own meals, communicate with nursing staff, and access entertainment and the internet enhances not only efficiency of care, but also a sense of autonomy and comfort during hospital stays – a unique offering for patients, only at The Princess Margaret.
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Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Lodge
For many patients, cancer treatment means leaving home, travelling long distances, and spending weeks – or even months – away from the people, places, and routines that bring comfort. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Lodge helps ease that burden. Located minutes from the hospital, the Lodge provides affordable accommodations for patients travelling from outside the Greater Toronto Area.
More than a place to sleep, it offers a welcoming community where patients and their families can rest, share meals, connect with others who understand their experience, and stay close to the care they need. Thoughtfully designed to support patients throughout treatment, the Lodge features comfortable private rooms, accessible accommodations, daily shuttle service to treatment, nutritious meals and inviting shared spaces that foster connection while easing the practical and emotional challenges of being away from home.
Each year, the Lodge welcomes more than 1,100 patients and provides over 18,000 overnight stays, reflecting the growing need for affordable accommodations close to life-saving cancer care.
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Magic Castle Childcare
The Magic Castle provides a safe, welcoming, and free childcare space for children up to age 12 while their parents or guardians attend appointments or visit loved ones at The Princess Margaret. It also offers young cancer patients a comforting environment where they can play, learn, and simply be children during a difficult time.
Guided by a dedicated Early Childhood Educator, children enjoy age-appropriate activities including arts and crafts, imaginative play, storytelling, games, creative learning, and special programs designed to foster connection, confidence, and joy.
By reducing a common barrier to care and easing stress for families, the Magic Castle helps create a more supportive cancer experience for everyone.
Real Stories, Real Impact
Read the personal stories of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre patients and the donors who are helping to ignite tomorrow's cancer breakthroughs.
See how mental health services at The Princess Margaret helped Amalia support Michael throughout his cancer journey.
Carley’s Angels is on a mission to give more patients and families access to integrative cancer care, supporting the whole person throughout their cancer journey.
Explore More Areas of Impact
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Stage 0
Preventing, intercepting, and detecting cancer in its earliest stages.
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Beyond Chemotherapy
Delivering the right therapy, at the right time, with fewer side effects.
Join us in creating a world free from the fear of cancer.
Looking to get involved with The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation? We’d love to hear from you.