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MLA’S CORNER: Rural BC tired of cancer care inequality

Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson’s column to the Tribune
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Lorne Doerkson is the Liberal MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin. (Black Press Media file photos)

Every year, thousands of British Columbians get the life-changing news that they have cancer. Just receiving such a diagnosis is one of the most stressful moments a person can experience . Now imagine also being told that you have to travel hundreds, or possibly thousands, of kilometers to receive the treatment you need. Away from your family, your loved ones and your support system.

The NDP government’s recent announcement they will begin sending B.C. cancer patients to private clinics in the United States came as a shock to many. It was a stunning admission from the government of the dire state of health care in our province and the realization of what many health professionals have been warning about for years now — our health care system is on the brink of collapse.

While this announcement left many people on the Lower Mainland considering for the first time the reality of having to travel long distances to receive care, it prompted a different reaction from rural British Columbians.

For us, this is closer to what we already experience. We are all too familiar with having to travel extremely long distances, often at great personal cost, to access cancer care.

For rural British Columbians, what was shocking about the health minister’s announcement was not that patients would be sent so far from their homes for treatment, it was that government was promising to pay for all of their travel expenses and accommodations along the way. Now, that’s not to say that people don’t get any support for expenses, however, the Travel Assistance Programs available to rural cancer patients are nowhere near as comprehensive as what is being offered to those who will be going to Bellingham for treatment.

This has raised many questions and concerns, including how patients will be chosen for this new program. Additionally, will there be more compensation available for those already receiving care in the province? And when is the government actually going to start delivering the cancer care centres they’ve been promising for years in places like Kamloops to help increase capacity?

We know that rural communities have been hit particularly hard by B.C.’s health care crisis — and yet there appears to be little help on the horizon to improve outcomes and access for those of us that live outside large urban centres.

And while I’m certainly glad that B.C. cancer patients will be able to access more timely care through this new program, it’s still disappointing that it needs to happen in the first place.