Canadian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

Lynn Cooper, Therese Lane and Swapnil Shaw share their experiences at the Canadian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting in Quebec City.

Lynn Cooper

Co-Chair of CPN’s Training and Capacity Building Committee 

 People with Lived Experience Leadership Award Acceptance Speech

Thank you Jennifer, it’s a pleasure to receive this award from you.  I deeply value your leadership in the pain community.

I’d like to express my gratitude to the Power Over Pain Portal Team with whom I’ve worked for 4 years. Patricia P, Yaad S. Etienne B, Elyse P. and Natalie Z. your nomination means the world to me.

Thank you to the CPS Awards Committee for this honour and the opportunity to share a snapshot of what is possible through people with lived experience leadership.

I told my story of living with pain for the first time in 1989. My goal that day was to be seen and heard by the health professionals in the auditorium and just be brave enough to survive five, vulnerable minutes at the microphone.  I survived, however I knew I could and should do more to help others like me whose voices were silent. Since then, my story always comes with a call to action.

Over the years, I’ve pursued my journey to live well with persistent pain in tandem with volunteer and recently paid work in the pain space. I work to empower people with lived experience to take back their personal power and live their best life through knowledge and action.  I continue to model and seek equal partnership of PWLE in all activities toward improved pain care. Nothing about us without us.

In 2002, I joined CPS president Celeste Johnston to create the Canadian Pain Coalition. It provided a national voice of people living with pain until 2017.   As CPC president, I served on the CPS Board for 7 years. During that time, we collaborated on projects such as awareness campaigns, the 2012 Canadian Pain Summit, and establishing the Pain Resources Centre – It was the first online resource for people living with pain. Fun fact, we launched it in 2009 at AMS here in Quebec City.

In leadership, good mentors are important – I found them at CPS. They modeled challenging the status quo and quiet strong leadership. They advised me to take a pause in the red zone, believe in my purpose, and recognize the strengths of others. Many thanks to Celeste Johnston, Judy Watt-Watson, Joel Katz, and Manon Choiniere for your council.  I hope that I am doing this now for people who call me mentor and friend.

What brings me joy today?

• My ongoing work with Chronic Pain Network, in research and guideline development teams, and being a first author
• Celebrating the incredible strides forward in the pain space
• Seeing in the audience tonight researchers, trainees and clinicians with whom I’ve worked over the years and many I’d like to work with…
• Looking into this audience and seeing people like me, with lived experience as colleagues, co-presenters, organizers, and advocates who are enriching the work of the pain community by their experience and expertise.

My call to action: We need to fully embrace all perspectives and to raise all voices toward solutions for persistent pain.

My Personal Motto: “See the need, rise to the challenge, take action to help.” When we do this together, we will see what is possible!

Receiving the People with Lived Experience Leadership Award on April 29, 2026, felt very special to me.  Thank you to the Canadian Pain Society’s Awards Committee for this honour, and to the Power Over Pain Portal team for their nomination.

Since 1989, I’ve pursued my journey to live well with persistent pain in tandem with volunteer and recently paid work in the pain space. I work to empower people with lived experience to take back their personal power and live their best life through knowledge and action.  I continue to model and seek equal partnership of people with lived experience in all activities toward improved pain care. “Nothing about us without us.”

It has been and continues to be a great pleasure to work with dedicated clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. We are raising our voices to challenge the status quo in pain management. We are sharing our perspectives and applying our expertise within pain research, knowledge mobilization, and pain care systems improvements.  Yet, we know there is more work to be done.

My personal motto, “See the need, rise to the challenge, take action to help,” drives my work. Let’s do this together and we will see what is possible!

Therese Lane

Co-Chair of CPN’s EDI Committee & CPN’s Patient Engagement Committee Member 

Reflections from Canadian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting

The recent annual meeting of the Canadian Pain Society in Quebec City was a meaningful experience for me, both professionally and personally. One of the things I always appreciate most about these conferences is the opportunity to reconnect in person with people I usually only see on Zoom throughout the year. There is something special about finally sharing conversations, meals, and laughter face-to-face after months of virtual meetings.

Over the years, I have also noticed a positive and encouraging shift in the inclusion of people with lived experience of pain within the conference and the broader pain community. It was encouraging to see more lived experience voices present, contributing to discussions, sharing perspectives, and being recognized as valuable members of the pain ecosystem. While there is always more work to do, the progress feels meaningful and worth acknowledging.

One of the highlights of the conference for me was the session on pain, addiction, and the trades. I thought it was an incredibly important initiative that brought attention to a group of people who are often overlooked or misunderstood when it comes to pain and substance use. The session highlighted how physically demanding work, injury, chronic pain, and stigma can intersect in complex ways. I left feeling hopeful that conversations like these can help reduce stigma and create more compassionate and supportive approaches for people working in the trades who are living with pain.

Overall, I left the conference feeling encouraged by the connections, conversations, and growing recognition that lived experience belongs at the table in pain research, care, and policy.

“I would also like to sincerely thank the Chronic Pain Network for providing the financial assistance that allowed me to attend this year’s conference. Opportunities like this make a real difference in ensuring people with lived experience can be present, connected, and part of these important conversations.” 

Swapnil Shah

CPN’s Patient Engagement Committee Member 

Reflections on Transforming Perioperative Pain Care: From Evidence to Implementation

I had the privilege of attending the 2026 Canadian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting which was a meaningful continuation of my engagement in pain research and advocacy. Among many excellent sessions, one stood out for me. Rachel Bosma’s presentation – Transforming Perioperative and Critical Care Pain Management: From Evidence to Implementation – was very impactful.

I have experienced first-hand what it means when the follow-up doesn’t happen, when the discharge prescription doesn’t match the conversation, or when the next provider in the chain doesn’t know what the last one did. And these gaps happen when a patient is already overwhelmed – processing their diagnosis, fears, logistics of surgery, and the weight of what comes next. Their call to embed patient education across the entire surgical pathway, not just at the end, reflects exactly the kind of thoughtful, patient-centred design that those of us with lived experience have long advocated for.

It is also important to recognize that not every setting has a transitional pain service. Adapting to these real-world constraints means that we need to meet people where they are, with the resources they have. I also learnt about another striking gap: one in four Canadians lives with oral pain that affects their quality of life and that dentists are among the highest prescribers of first-time opioids. Yet, clinical guidance in this space is limited. The partnerships with PainBC, Power over Pain Portal and Canadian Dental Association would go a long way in building that coordinated ecosystem that responsible pain care requires.

The pain care community is moving in the right direction and patient voices need to be part of designing those systems, not just informing them after the fact. I am grateful for the opportunity to be in that room and look forward to continuing this work alongside the Chronic Pain Network.