More Than a Name

The Vision Behind the Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program

 

For more than four decades, Dr. Margot Burnell has dedicated her life to caring for cancer patients and their families in New Brunswick.

As a medical oncologist, educator, leader, and advocate, she has championed an approach to cancer care that recognizes healing extends far beyond medical treatment. Her belief that patients deserve support for their physical, emotional, and personal well-being helped inspire a model of care that continues to make a lasting difference in the lives of patients and families today.

That vision lives on through the Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program.

Officially named in her honour, the program recognizes Dr. Burnell's compassion, leadership, and commitment to more holistic, patient-centred cancer care. More importantly, it celebrates a community-built program that has become a lifeline for cancer patients and their loved ones across Greater Saint John.

A Philosophy of Compassion

For more than four decades, Dr. Margot Burnell has dedicated her life to caring for cancer patients and their families in New Brunswick. Since joining the Saint John Regional Hospital in 1986, she has become known not only for her clinical expertise, but for her compassion, leadership, and unwavering belief that caring for people means supporting them far beyond their medical treatment.

Throughout every stage of her career, whether caring for patients, mentoring future physicians, or advancing cancer care, one principle has remained at the heart of Dr. Burnell's work: cancer care is about caring for the whole person.

Dr. Burnell believes compassionate relationships between physicians and patients are fundamental to healing. Her approach recognizes that cancer affects much more than physical health. It impacts families, relationships, confidence, emotional well-being, and every aspect of daily life.

That philosophy became the foundation for something much bigger.

A Vision That Continues to Grow

Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Burnell helped champion a new way of thinking about cancer survivorship.

What began as the Stay Strong program, a 12-week rehabilitation initiative designed to help cancer survivors regain strength and confidence, has grown into the comprehensive Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program.

Today, administered by Horizon Health Network and funded through the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation, the program provides free, holistic support for cancer patients and their loved ones through hospital-connected, community-based care. Working alongside trusted community partners including the YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation, and Look Good Feel Better, the program supports patients in mind, body, and spirit.

The program offers physical rehabilitation, emotional support, peer connection, education, wellness programming, and survivorship services, all at no cost to patients and families. It exists because of a shared belief that cancer care should not end when treatment does.

Since its beginnings, more than 1,000 patients and family members have accessed these services, finding strength, connection, and hope during one of the most challenging times in their lives.

A Living Legacy

Recognizing Dr. Burnell's leadership and the values that continue to shape this model of care, The Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation chose to honour her by naming the program after her.

Their visionary founding gift, together with Irving Oil, helped transform an early vision into a sustainable, community-based program that remains free for every patient and family who needs it.

While the name recognizes one remarkable physician, the program reflects what is possible when clinicians, donors, community organizations, volunteers, and patients come together around a shared purpose.

As Dr. Burnell reflects:

"This program represents what health care can be when compassion, evidence, and community come together. It has been deeply humbling to see how far it has come, made possible by so many dedicated partners, clinicians, and patient advocates along the way, and to know that patients are finding strength, trust, and connection through it."

An Impact That Continues Every Day

For Dr. Burnell, medicine has always been about more than treating disease.

• It is about building trust.
• Creating dignity.
• Listening.
• Supporting patients long after treatment ends.

Today, her vision continues to guide the program that bears her name. Every exercise class attended, every support group joined, every conversation shared, and every moment of confidence rebuilt reflects the philosophy she helped champion.

Thanks to the generosity of donors and the strength of community partnerships, more patients and families are finding strength, connection, and support throughout their cancer journey.

The Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program is a powerful reminder that when compassionate health care, community partnership, and philanthropy come together, patients receive the support they need not only to face cancer, but to live well beyond it.

None of us knows when cancer will touch our lives or the lives of those we love. Because this program is 100% donor funded, your support helps ensure compassionate care is here, free of charge, whenever it's needed.