New cancer centres more about prevention than treatment, Thornhill MPP says
By: Michael Power
Expect to see a lot more cancer cases over the next decade as York Region?s population grows, Cancer Care Ontario?s president and CEO Terrence Sullivan said.
But a three-year road map released by the provincial agency outlines steps to reduce those numbers and improve the care patients receive, Dr. Sullivan said during a visit this week to Southlake Regional Health Centre.
Roslyn FitzPatrick can attest to the importance of early testing. The Thornhill resident was diagnosed with colorectal cancer six years ago, at 42. But because of early screening, her condition was successfully treated.
She applauded the move to push for screening for colorectal cancer, especially given the disease is 90-per-cent curable if caught early.
?It?s extremely important ? it saved my life,? she said. ?I?m just so happy that Ontario has jumped on board in getting that going.?
The plan focuses on several areas of cancer care, including reducing cancer?s impact through screening and early detection of the disease, speeding up diagnosis and translating research into improvements in cancer control and services.
The plan highlights four areas that will have the greatest impact on cancer in the next three years:
- boosting screening rates;
- improving the time to diagnose;
- raising the quality of regional cancer services; and,
- introducing tests to predict people?s response to treatment and cancer risks and allow for individualized therapy.
The province is focusing on screening for several types of cancer, Dr. Sullivan said, with the three main areas being breast, cervical and colorectal. Now, only about 63 per cent of women in York Region and South Simcoe get mammograms, a number that should be closer to 75 to 80 per cent.
?Despite the controversies, breast screening saves lives and major improvements in mortality and survival for breast cancer. About half of that is attributable to screening,? he said.
There is a push as well to encourage people to get screened for colorectal cancer, with about 25 per cent of Ontario residents submitting to tests as compared to other areas. Of the 6,000 Ontario residents who will develop the disease, 90 per cent of patients can be cured if diagnosed in the earliest stages.
?The gains that can be made there are enormous compared to some other areas,? Dr. Sullivan said.
The plan also calls for targets for the wait time between when a patient is referred by a family doctor to when the patient sees a specialist for tests.
Patients face delays between each test that might be needed to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan.
The plan calls for streamlining the process so several tests are performed at one diagnostic clinic, rather than several places over many weeks. That process helps cut the time, rather than sending the patient to several places over the course of several weeks, Dr. Sullivan said.
?Instead of spending six to eight weeks, or in some cases 15 or 16 weeks, it can be done in a matter of two or three days,? he said. ?You can improve survival by doing it fast at the front end.?
Diagnostic centres would help catch and treat disease faster, agreed Conservative Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman.
But the government could also tighten spending within the health care system, he noted. The money saved through efficiencies could then be used to help pay for health services, such as operating the diagnostic facilities.
The move toward diagnostic centres would also move cancer care toward ?prevention rather than treatment mode?, Mr. Shurman said.
?And what you?re talking about when you talk about diagnostic centres is exactly that,? he said.
Under the plan, regional services will also be strengthened. That means increasing the use of intensity modulated radiation therapy, which can better deliver radiation around a tumour so as not to damage other tissue or organs, such as the heart and lungs.
As well, the province is now consolidating certain cancer treatments at fewer centres, Dr. Sullivan said. For example, thoracic surgery (the area between the neck and abdomen and includes the heart, lungs and esophagus) is now done at close to 40 centres across Ontario.
That number should be about 13 or 14, he said.
Having fewer centres specializing in procedures has been shown to improve outcomes, he said.
?If you needed to have brain surgery, you wouldn?t be going to a local hospital,? Dr. Sullivan said. ?Thoracic surgery is in the same category of complexity. We?re slowly consolidating thoracic surgery across Ontario.?
Here?s what you can do to help prevent cancer:- Be physically active. Being active helps reduce the risk of certain cancers such as breast, colorectal and, most likely, prostate;
- Be sun smart. Cover yourself while in the sun. While some skin cancers are relatively manageable, melanoma remains a serious disease. Don?t use tanning beds.
- Eat more plant food and less red meat. Go especially for leafy and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale and cauliflower.
- Drink in moderation. That means no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.