Are Canadian provinces playing God?

I was 14 when my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable cancer of the plasma cells. Her prognosis was grim. Three to five years was the typical life expectancy for a newly diagnosed patient. Her oncologist prescribed thalidomide. As a very expensive drug, she was fortunate enough to receive it for free through a clinical trial.

Fourteen years later, we still celebrate our birthdays and family events. She has watched her children get married and her grandchildren grow. But what if she didn’t qualify for the clinical trial? What if the Ontario provincial government made the executive decision that this drug therapy was too expensive? Would my mother still be alive today?

Drug therapies are expensive and the provinces don’t want to pay. Correction, some provinces don’t want to pay. Unequal access to cancer drugs is a prevalent issue for Canadian patients and oncologists. I believe that if a drug has high quality clinical data to support success in increasing life expectancy, then it needs to be accessible to all Canadians. Postal codes should not dictate a patient’s treatment. What’s considered standard protocol treatment needs to be just that – standard.

Doug Currie, P.E.I. health minister was quoted saying, "We are making inroads and we're going to continue to work at providing equitable, fair access to drug care for all Islanders. But the reality is, it's going to take a little bit of time.” Unfortunately time is not a luxury for people with cancer. They are dying. We need to give all Canadians equal access to life saving treatments today.