The perils of Canada's "free" "health" "care".

Most former patients experienced a "difficult path" through [cancer] treatment, from experiencing booking errors to finding themselves a "go-between" among professionals, the report found. Only a small minority reported that their care had lived up to expectations.

"Currently, there is no co-ordinated system of care," said Sharon Wood, executive director of the foundation's Ontario chapter.

"Women were surprised, because they expected a co-ordinated system of care and didn't find it."

Ms. Noble said she found it difficult to navigate her way through the health-care system when she was first diagnosed with the disease in 2004.

She underwent chemotherapy treatments on Friday afternoons, only to find that when the extreme side-effects of the treatment kicked in, the cancer centre she relied on for her care was closed for the weekend.

When things didn't work, like pain medication, it could take days before the problem could be rectified, she added. She once had to wait two days to obtain a much-needed drug, because it wasn't available in her city.

I buried two parents because of cancer. It is one of the ugliest ways to die, and I wouldn't wish is on anyone. By the time they were diagnosed (in the case of my father it was his fault for waiting, in the case of my mother the doctors didn't detect it when there was still time to do something about it) it was already terminal for them. Any treatments they endured were mostly of a palliative nature. Very little effort was put into saving them. In my father's case, that was his choice. He wanted to die. In my mother's, nothing we could have done would have saved her - even a miracle would have been hard pressed to make a dent in her illness. But if we'd been in a situation where recovery was our goal, I cannot imagine how frustrating it would be to have to go through all be bureaucratic to-and-fro that this report describes.

Even the diagnosis step is falling short:

It also suggests that women 40 to 49 be included in the province's breast screening program, which currently targets women 50 to 79.

That recommendation is key, said Nancy Noble, a 47-year-old cancer survivor from London, Ont.

"Women under 50 are really comfortable with technological change and would line up," the mother of two said. "I mean, I have friends I know who would pay to have one done if it was accessible to them."

However, earlier scientific studies have questioned the merits of introducing breast screening programs for all women 40 to 49. In particular, there is less evidence that screening mammography significantly reduces mortality in those under 50, compared with screening in older age groups. [emphasis mine]

I went to the doctor this afternoon - routine stuff, yet she still had me waiting for an hour past my appointment time - and on my way out, waiting for the elevator, I overheard two old men talking on a bench in the hall. I don't know which doctor on the floor they were waiting for, but one was saying to the other that even with an appointment, he always factors three hours before being seen. I couldn't believe it. I turned to him and said "Yet there are some in the US who think we have it great here!"

He answered, "Well, we do, considering we don't pay for it."

As the elevator doors opened for me, I said "Sir, we're getting what we're paying for."

Labels: Canadiana, Health