![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.3987011.1529880450!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Plan to send B.C. cancer patients to U.S. for treatment gets mixed reaction
A day after B.C.'s health minister announced that some patients with B prostate or breast cancer will head to the U.S. for treatment, the opposition and a patient are saying this is a Band-Aid solution for a more complex problem.
On Monday Adrian Dix said staffing shortages, a need to upgrade equipment and more diagnoses of cancer necessitated a short-term solution. Starting May 29 and for two years, up to 50 B.C. residents per week could be sent south of the border for no-cost treatment.
Leah Rowntree was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. While on a holiday to the United States, a friend urged her to get scans. Rowntree said those diagnostics revealed how urgent her case is.
"If I survive this one of the reasons will be that I had the scans I needed in an appropriate amount of time," she told CTV News.
She believes timing is critical and although she still has chemotherapy and surgery, she said if the opportunity was there, she'd go back to the U.S. for treatment.
"Absolutely I would do whatever is the fastest because that would give me the best outcome. And at the same time, I'd be crying as I packed my bags to leave my family and friends and my home to go down for treatment," Rowntree, who was choked up at the thought, added.
Data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information shows radiation treatment waits are getting longer. In 2020, 90 per cent of patients got treated within 28 days, the health minister says that's now under 83 per cent. What that means is hundreds of people with a cancer diagnosis are waiting longer than a month.
BC United health critic Shirley Bond said she has raised the issue with the government several times.
"We see long waits to get your diagnosis, long waits to see your oncologist and now you may have to leave the country to get treatment. I think it's a significant indictment of the deterioration of cancer care," Bond said.
At an unrelated event, Premier David Eby disagreed. He said the health minister saw the demand for cancer care growing and so came up with a solution.
"From my perspective, from the perspective of our government – anything we can do to ensure they get urgent care, and the care that is medically recommended for them in the timeframes that are required is essential," Eby added.
Rowntree had a different reaction.
"I just think my God, it shows just how broken our healthcare system is."
In a statement, the health ministry said up to $39 million is available per year to fund the treatment, and that amount includes contingencies for unplanned costs.
This is what the ministry says will be covered for patients:
- Travel by plane, car or ferry
- Meals (per diem in alignment with PHSA’s Travel and Business Expense Policy)
- Accommodation
- Ambulance fees related to their radiation therapy care
- Laboratory and medical imaging tests during the treatment duration, exclusing genetic testing
- Prescription drugs, including supportive care medications required during the treatment duration
- Patient immobilization devices required for radiation therapy treatment
- Services provided by non-physician professionals (e.g. Registered Dietitian, Psychiatry, etc.)
A companion will be also be able to claim travel, meals and accommodation.
Anyone traveling will be responsible for securing documentation like passports and visas.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.3987011.1529880450!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton attacked in prison
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.