Manulife Canada has partnered with cancer treatment support provider Osara Health to launch a pilot program that gives eligible Manulife group benefits clients personalized support through cancer treatment and recovery, the insurer announced Wednesday.
The app-based “Cancer Coach” program complements clinical care by providing one-to-one support and education from a health coach on topics like sleep, energy, nutrition, stress and return to work via phone calls, text messages and emails. It’ll begin as a pilot and be available to select Manulife group benefits members with disability coverage.
“A cancer diagnosis changes everything for individuals and their families,” Doug Bryce, head of health at Manulife Canada, said in a statement. “We are closing a meaningful gap by offering practical, personalized support that helps people manage symptoms, well-being, work and family life.”
New York City-based Osara expanded into the Canadian market in early 2026, recruiting local health coaches with backgrounds in nursing, oncology nutrition and exercise physiology, amid an increase of cancer screenings in the country.
More Canadians underwent colorectal and breast cancer screening in 2024 compared with 2017, according to data Statistics Canada released last year. Nearly half (49%) of provincial residents aged 50–74 had a fecal test in the past two years or a sigmoidoscopy in the last 10 years to screen for colorectal cancer, compared with 43% in 2017. Four-fifths (79%) of women aged 50–74 in the provinces had a mammogram in the past three years, compared with 78% in 2017.
As the volume of cancer screenings increases in Canada, Manulife has also been offering eligible life insurance customers a discount to private early cancer detection testing at Medcan clinics in Toronto and Oakville, Ont., since November 2025. The Grail Galleri test can detect 50 types of cancer, such as breast, colorectal and lung cancer, before symptoms appear, and should be used in addition to regular screening.