Cancer patient unsure about condition

Hamilton health centres are dealing with fallout from an equipment issue

Tami Norton, one of 25 women whose cervical cancer radiation treatment might have been compromised by an equipment issue, says she is trying to “stay positive.”

But, she adds, “sometimes I think I’m not as upset as I should be.”

“I’m confused. I’d been feeling well,” she said. Her tests through spring 2017 and late 2018 were clear, after radiation in early 2017. “But here’s the here and now, and since (Dec. 27), I have more questions.” Dec. 27 was when she met with cancer centre staff to learn that a guide tube used in the brachytherapy (BT) she re- ceived for cervical cancer was the wrong length, possibly resulting in side effects.

The Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC), through Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), divulged in a news release on Wednesday that during 2017 and 2018, a faulty guide tube might have incorrectly targeted radiation intended to treat cervical cancer in as many as 25 women.

The Spectator carried a story on the front page of its Jan. 2 edition, noting in it that side effects of incorrectly targeted radiation could conceivably, though far from necessarily, include injury to the vagina.

“There was one piece they put in, as a barrier between the cervix and the colon, I think, and I wonder now if it put radiation on the colon,” Norton said. “Maybe it was causing problems in other areas.”

She added that all of her many MRIs and Pap tests since her BT radiation treatment in early 2017 have been “clear.” And she has been feeling well, she said.

In the last week, she’s been undergoing further tests, as part of the JCC’s response to the possibility of side effects. She hasn’t received those results yet.

In an email to The Spectator after the story ran, Norton wrote: “I have felt very alone at being one of 25. Although I met with the doctors and didn’t have many questions at the time, I feel this may be way more serious than an oops to go along with my apology.”

As part of their overall response to the issue, which includes an exhaustive review of the BT treatment system, HHS and JCC notified — and apologized to — “all” of the patients and their families, according to the news release.

The Spectator story reported that “all” 25 were undergoing tests, but HHS spokesperson Lillian Badzioch emailed that it would be “more accurate” to say “some” patients are undergoing tests.

Because of confidentiality, the HHS cannot discuss why some patients would not be undergoing tests, nor could it confirm that all 25 are still alive.

Norton said she was diagnosed with cervical cancer on her birthday, Nov. 14, in 2016. By the first week of January 2017, she was receiving treatment, consisting of radiation with chemo as a “boost.” The BT radiation was introduced a few weeks after.

Her treatments concluded in mid-February 2017, and ever since then, as mentioned, her results have been good.

Norton said she’s surprised that a length irregularity could have gone unnoticed. “Everything was always done with precision and computer and they’re watching everything on the screen. It seems weird to me” they wouldn’t notice a discrepancy.

She got a call from JCC on Dec. 10, 2018. “Then there followed a week of telephone tag, and the following Thursday we spoke.”

An appointment was made for Dec. 27. “It started to freak me out,” she said, because there was a whole team there, not just from JCC, but HHS, including a member of the board of directors.

Norton described her overall experience with her cancer treatment at JCC as “50/50.”

Cervical cancer brachytherapy has been suspended at JCC and cases are being referred to London, Ont.