Dr. Charmaine Blanchard

Charmaine Blanchard is a South African researcher whose work advances equitable cancer care across the continuum, from early detection to palliative support. Her scholarship is closely aligned with public sector health systems in South Africa and engages global oncology platforms to address structural barriers affecting patients in low- and middle-income settings.

Her research centers on patient-reported outcomes, financial toxicity, mental health, and culturally responsive tools for symptom assessment. She has led validation of locally adapted instruments for chemotherapy toxicity and distress, and explored the intersection of HIV and breast cancer, highlighting psychosocial and inflammatory dimensions of comorbidity.

Blanchard also contributes to health systems research and policy, including consensus work on lung cancer management, undergraduate palliative medicine education, and multisector collaborations in oncology. Her recent scholarship calls for decolonizing pain relief policy and strengthening spiritual and community-based care, underscoring a commitment to context-sensitive, patient-centered cancer services.