Since 2000, cancer has been the main cause of death in Quebec (Institut de la statistique du Québec, 2003). However, the standardized death rate due to cancer, like most other causes of death, has been declining steadily since the early 1990s (ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, 2003; ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, 2004), while life expectancy at birth of the Quebec population has increased in recent decades. With the number of seniors growing steadily and the risk of cancer increasing with age, there is a parallel increase in the incidence of cancer. In addition, as a result of earlier diagnoses and more effective treatments, cancer patients are surviving longer, leading to a high demand for health care as follow‑up for these individuals.
A number of...