Persons with cancer speak out: reflections on an important trend in Canadian health care.

In this paper I have described some of the recent developments in the growth of a patient/survivor movement in Canada. Arguments for the value of increased patient participation include providing a needed balance to the traditional medical perspective, addressing patient needs free from other vested interests, providing insights available only to cancer survivors, and facilitating empowerment. A number of current and potential difficulties related to increasing cancer survivor involvement have been raised, ranging from deliberate opposition from health administrators to disapproval from professionals of survivors' emotional expression to patient unwillingness. The greatest challenge is to move beyond token patient representation to substantive participation.