Cancer surgery wait times improving

Re Now, health care is failing me, Letter, June 26

Waiting for a diagnosis or cancer treatment is very stressful, and Cancer Care Ontario and its hospital partners care very much about ensuring that patients receive timely access to high-quality cancer care.

Working with clinical experts, Cancer Care Ontario has established maximum wait time targets for all types of cancer surgeries to help patients receive timely access to treatment. These wait time targets include four priority levels which range from immediately life-threatening, where a patient should be operated on within 24 hours, to slower growing tumours where the urgency to operate is less and the maximum wait time target is 84 days (12 weeks) from the decision to operate.

The surgeon who is part of the patient’s care team determines the urgency for each patient based on many factors, such as the risk of malignancy, the type of cancer, how far the cancer has spread and the symptoms.

Over the last 12 years, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has made significant investments in cancer surgery. In gen- eral, the wait times for cancer surgeries have improved steadily and we are close to meeting the goal of 90 per cent of all cancer surgeries being completed within target. We are working with hospitals to improve the wait times for gynecology oncology surgeries from the current level of 76 per cent completed within target.

We understand how difficult it is for patients and their families when they are faced with a cancer diagnosis. We remain committed to working together with our hospital partners to ensure access to high-quality care for current and future patients.

Dr. Robin McLeod Vice President, Clinical Programs and Quality Initiatives, Cancer Care Ontario