Cancer Centre needs to be properly maintained
Over the several weeks and more we have daily read, viewed or heard stories concerning problems with our health care system.
They have dealt with doctor shortages and burn out, lack of specialists, ER closings, long wait times for mental health treatment, medically assisted death, approach to hospice care, overcrowding of ER rooms, mortality ratios, midwifery and more.
This cannot but have an effect on someone diagnosed with a serious illness. Some will not have a high level of confidence that their illness will be handled properly and in a timely manner.
A diagnosis of cancer, more than many other diseases, can come with fear, anger, worry, guilt and anecdotal stories of how bad it can be. To have to cope with this on top of lacking confidence in the system can be traumatic and not at all helpful to getting better.
Not too many years ago anyone needing cancer treatments had to go to Halifax. For radiation therapy it could mean a stay Monday through Friday and to do this for several weeks. For those getting chemotherapy it meant regular trips spaced over a year or more. The physical, mental and financial toll on the patient and family could be significant.
Most of that can now be done locally. In the Cape Breton Cancer Centre, patients from eastern Nova Scotia will find an excellent group of health care professionals and support staff treating the whole patient, timely and competently, always pleasantly and close to home.
The experienced professionals at the centre provide needed chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments, services of a social worker, dietitian, patient educators and a patient navigator to assist the patient and family in getting through the system.
Talk to someone who has been through the centre for care and you should go away knowing that the Cape Breton Cancer Centre is a high point in what many see as a problematic health care system.
Health is determined by many complex and interacting factors including the age of the population, geography and the economy. In Cape Breton, we have an aging population, many living in rural areas, an economy that is struggling, access to health care a much publicized problem and historically high cancer rates.
On the positive side we have a population with a culture of helping each other and a willingness to share resources. This was demonstrated in the mid-1990s when some dedicated doctors and community leaders led a successful campaign to fund and build the Cape Breton Cancer Centre.
We must not overlook the centre in the focus of publicity and concern primarily directed towards family physician shortages. We need to keep this local gem properly equipped, staffed and able to handle the increasing patient load. Built to handle a patient load of 7,000 patients a year it now sees that many in only 10 weeks. John Shaw Sydney