Today I am writing to share the sad news of the passing of Andrea Redway, who served admirably as a patient representative on OICR’s Board of Directors and as a patient partner on an OICR Window-of-Opportunity Network clinical trial.

Andrea brought her skills and experience as a lawyer and her passion for advocacy to the Board and helped the organization maintain its focus on the most important aspect of our work – those with cancer. Andrea was sharp-minded and knowledgeable but also apparent was her kind, calm and empathetic demeanor. She will be missed by those of us at OICR who had the pleasure of working with her as well as many others within the Canadian cancer research community.

Andrea was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in 2015 and was subsequently treated with immunotherapy, which was novel at the time. This experience provided her with a deep personal understanding of the significance of cancer research. This compelled Andrea to direct her energy into pushing for improvements in cancer research and care. She was also involved in patient support and education initiatives. In addition to OICR, Andrea worked with Lung Cancer Canada, the Canadian Cancer Survivors’ Network, The Ottawa Hospital, the Canadian Cancer Society, Merck Canada, RETpositive and the Happy Lungs Project.

While today the news is of Andrea’s death, it is through her life that she made a remarkable impact on cancer research and those around her. I know that the OICR community will be forever grateful for her contributions and that future generations will benefit from her legacy. On behalf of OICR I extend our deepest condolences to Andrea’s family, friends and colleagues.

Dr. Laszlo Radvanyi
President and Scientific Director
OICR