The Heather Cutler Foundation is a Canadian charity headquartered in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador. Established in 2024, the Foundation is a volunteer-led organization dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for Canadians diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was founded in memory of Heather Cutler, a registered nurse whose transition from nurse to patient revealed firsthand the systemic gaps in access to care for Canadians facing pancreatic cancer.
The Foundation operates at the intersection of public policy, precision medicine, and lived experience, with a mandate to advance national conversations on clinical trial access, drug and research funding, molecular profiling, and support for Canadians living with pancreatic cancer. Through coalition building and policy engagement, the organization works to improve visibility around systemic gaps in care, particularly in provinces outside major urban centres.
In 2024, the Foundation initiated e-petition e-5186, the first federal petition in Canadian history focused exclusively on pancreatic cancer. In 2025, it launched e-petition e-6492 (Health), the first pancreatic cancer petition in Canada to trigger an official government response. Sponsored by Member of Parliament Tom Osborne (Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador), the petition calls for national action to improve clinical trial access; the establishment of national guidelines that incorporate precision medicine - including somatic testing - and clinical trials; expanded research funding; the removal of geographic and financial barriers; and support for the modernization of clinical trial infrastructure through Health Canada’s clinical trial modernization efforts and the Canadian Remote Access Framework for Clinical Trials (CRAFT), led by the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (3CTN).
In 2025, the Foundation established ‘Pancreatic Cancer Policy Builders of Tomorrow’, a national policy research and training program for undergraduate students at Memorial University of Newfoundland. The program engages students in applied policy research focused on the complex challenges facing Canadians with pancreatic cancer, with particular attention to issues of access and equity outside major urban centres. It includes a stakeholder speaker series and integrated mentorship from professionals in health research and policy. The program culminates in an annual public report and a formal policy submission to the Standing Committee on Health.
The Heather Cutler Foundation is a member of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition, Cancer Action Now, CanCertainty, CanReview, Volunteer Canada, and Imagine Canada. Its collaborations span Canada’s cancer advocacy, research, and nonprofit sectors. As a volunteer-led organization, the Foundation continues to advance national efforts to improve survival, access, and outcomes for Canadians facing pancreatic cancer, with a focus on ensuring equitable care for rural, remote, and underserved communities.
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The Heather Cutler Foundation is a registered Canadian charity based in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness, patient support, and advocacy in Atlantic Canada. This summer, we are launching the HCF Pancreatic Cancer Support Hotline - the first service of its kind in NL - and we are recruiting our founding cohort of trained volunteer responders.
About The Role
As a Support Line Responder, you will take calls from pancreatic cancer patients, caregivers, and family members across Newfoundland and Labrador. You will listen, provide plain-language information, help callers navigate available resources, and connect them to the supports they need - all within a clearly defined scope. This is not a clinical role. You will not provide medical advice. What you will provide is a knowledgeable, compassionate, and steady presence at a moment when most people feel completely overwhelmed.
Responsibilities
- Answer calls and voicemails during your scheduled coverage window
- Complete a warm intake and create a case record for each caller
- Provide information on pancreatic cancer, treatments, clinical trials, financial supports, legal planning, and community resources in plain language
- Send approved resource packages to callers by email following each call
- Document calls accurately and escalate to a supervisor when required
- Attend monthly virtual check-ins and debrief sessions
Qualifications
No medical or clinical background is required - only a commitment to showing up consistently for people in one of the hardest seasons of their lives. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are especially interested in hearing from individuals with experience or training in social work, counselling, nursing, healthcare navigation, crisis lines, or peer support, as well as students in health sciences, social work, psychology, or related fields. People with lived experience of pancreatic cancer - as a patient, caregiver, or family member - are warmly encouraged to apply.
Training
Every volunteer completes a comprehensive 38-hour training program before their first live call, covering pancreatic cancer education, call flow and documentation, privacy and PIPEDA compliance, empathy and active listening, financial supports, legal documents, caregiver burden, clinical trials, and genetic testing. A certificate of completion is issued upon passing the final assessment. Annual recertification is required.
Please note one session - Trauma-Informed Care - is delivered in person by NLHS and attendance is mandatory. All other training is fully remote.
Time commitment
Volunteers should expect approximately 38 hours of training in late June or July 2026, one mandatory in-person session in Newfoundland and Labrador (date and location to be confirmed), and regular scheduled call coverage shifts following launch. Monthly virtual check-ins are also required.
What We Offer
Volunteers receive a certificate of completion, verified volunteer hours for professional development or academic portfolios, meaningful founding cohort status, and ongoing supervision and debrief support from the HCF team.
Important Volunteers must be based in Newfoundland and Labrador or able to travel to NL for the mandatory in-person training session.
