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What Is The Issue?
People with advanced hormone-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer (a common type of breast cancer) are often treated with a combination of hormone therapy and newer medications called CDK4/6 inhibitors. While clinical trials show these treatments work, researchers wanted to know how well they work in real life, outside of controlled trials.
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Key Methods
The team looked back at medical records of 75 patients treated between 2015 and 2022 at Windsor Regional Hospital. They focused on two CDK4/6 drugs: palbociclib and ribociclib, each taken with hormone-blocking therapy. They tracked how long patients lived without their cancer getting worse (called progression-free survival) and overall survival time.
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Results
This local study looked at how two breast cancer treatments were used at Windsor Regional Hospital. Here’s what they found:
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| Overall, both treatments—palbociclib and ribociclib—helped delay cancer progression with no major difference in survival. Ribociclib was more often used in younger patients, and side effect rates were similar between the two drugs. | | |
Why Is This Important?
This study shows how two breast cancer treatments are working for real patients in Windsor-Essex, not just in large international trials. By using local data, it helps physicians make better treatment decisions based on the needs of our community. It also highlights how factors like age may influence which medications are prescribed.
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What Is The Issue?
Canada's opioid crisis continues to take a devastating toll, driven by toxic, unregulated drug supplies, and unpredictable drug markets. In response, to reduce overdose deaths and other harms, safer supply programs have been implemented to provide a regulated alternative to people who use drugs. However, as these programs expand, diversion continues to be a growing concern. Diversion is a term used when prescribed medications are taken by someone who is not the intended patient, whether that was through sharing, trading, selling, or misplacement.
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Key Methods
In 2021, researchers conducted interviews and surveys with 52 patients and 21 healthcare providers (including doctors, nurses, and support workers) from 4 safer supply programs across Ontario (Toronto and London), to determine when and how diversion occurs. Diversion was found to exist on a spectrum, where different patients experienced or did not experience diversion for different reasons. This study focuses on providers engaging in honest and nonjudgmental conversations with patients. This is to properly tailor care plans to reflect their patients' individual circumstances. Researchers identified these honest conversations as a helpful way to identify people in their patients' networks who might benefit from safer supply programs.
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Results
The study revealed the following:
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Diversion exists along a spectrum, from no diversion at all to occasional sharing, or selling all doses (rarely).
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Most patients consumed all or most of their prescribed medications and were aware that some diversion happened, often for the following reasons:
| | Compassionate sharing with partners or friends at risk of overdosing. | | Trading or selling a small amount to meet survival needs or manage their own withdrawal if doses were too low. | | Medication loss due to homelessness, theft, or unstable living conditions. | | Programs responded using non-punitive, supportive approaches - like adjusting doses, enrolling partners, using urine drug screenings to monitor use (not to punish), and creating safety plans with patients. | | |
Why Is This Important?
This Ontario-based study provides critical evidence to support the expansion and adaptation of safer supply programs, with important implications for communities like Windsor. Researchers emphasize the need for sustained investments in program capacity, staffing, and multi-sector collaboration. Locally, the findings highlight the urgent need for stable housing and income support as foundational elements in reducing diversion and improving health outcomes. These insights are especially relevant as Windsor continues to respond to the impacts of the opioid crisis and can be used to inform both local and national policy.
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What Is The Issue?
Elite athletes with type 1 diabetes (T1D) often find it difficult to maintain stable blood glucose levels, as competition can cause unpredictable fluctuations. Anxiety related to high blood glucose may impact both performance and diabetes management, but research on this connection remains limited.
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Key Methods
Researchers conducted virtual interviews with 10 elite athletes (individuals training over 10 hours per week and competing at the highest level) to uncover their management strategies and identify gaps in support and technology.
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Why Is This Important?
For Windsor’s active and athletic community, these insights can help individuals with T1D navigate the balance between peak performance and health. Increasing awareness and expanding access to tools like CGMs can improve both their quality of life and athletic potential.
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Results
Athletes reported using various techniques to manage hyperglycemia-related anxiety including:
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Insulin and Nutrition Adjustments: Carefully planned insulin doses and meals to stabilize glucose levels.
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Social Support: Input from healthcare professionals, family, and peers.
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Technology: Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps help track and manage glucose levels.
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Mental Preparation: Meditation and stress management techniques improve focus and reduce anxiety symptoms.
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401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor ON N9B 3P4
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(519) 253-3000 x 4394
wesparkhealth@uwindsor.ca
Support WE-SPARK: wesparkhealth.com/donate
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