Months-long waits for breast biopsies 'unacceptable,' says B.C. doctor
Three months after Kristina Tanner was told she needed a biopsy to determine if she had breast cancer, the procedure finally happened this week.
But the wait for the 69-year-old Vancouver resident, whose mother died of breast cancer three years ago, has been stressful.
“It’s very upsetting because it’s always hanging over you,” she said.
“You can’t help but think, what if it’s spreading as I speak?’”
Waits like the one Tanner faced have prompted Dr. Paula Gordon to sound the alarm – though it’s not something B.C.’s Ministry of Health appears interested in addressing.
Gordon, a clinical professor in UBC’s Department of Radiology, says wait times for breast biopsies are “unacceptable.”
“Of the biopsies I did this week, most of them were (waiting) in the 12- to 13-week range,” she said.
“It’s really unbearable for some women to wait any length of time, but months?”
While she said that for most women, a couple months doesn’t make a difference, for some, the time gap is critical.
“If people are waiting this long to get a necessary test when they might have a cancer – and it might even be a fast-moving cancer – then we clearly don’t have enough resources dealing with it,” she said.
Gordon is calling for more resources and more clinics to offer biopsies for patients waiting to rule our or confirm a breast cancer diagnosis.
“We’re really in trouble now, like so much else in the health-care system. They need to start working on a fix.”
CTV News began contacting the Ministry of Health Wednesday regarding the wait times. To date, the ministry has provided no response.
It’s expected that more than 4,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in B.C. this year. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
Last year, Tanner needed surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells.
A mammogram in January raised new concerns and she’s been waiting for answers ever since.
Late Friday afternoon, Tanner finally received some good news: The biopsy determined the cells are benign.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.