British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix was in Kelowna on Thursday to provide an update on the province’s 10-year cancer action plan.
“Demand for cancer care is, of course, always high and is expected to increase as our population grows,” Dix said outside the cancer clinic. “This year alone, 34,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer in British Columbia and that number in 10 years will be 10,000 more people.”
Last year, the province announced a ten-year plan to improve cancer care services.
Since then, Dix said progress has been made.
“We are building four new cancer centres, British Columbia Cancer Centres, to bring cancer care closer to home in our province,” the Health Minister said.
These new centres will be located in Kamloops, Nanaimo, Surrey and Burnaby.
The story continues below the advertisement.
Reading through 27 pages of notes, Dix provided a lot of detailed information about the improvements being made in cancer care in British Columbia.
“We have hired 92 new doctors and oncologists this year, we have hired 32 new radiation therapists this year and it is confirmed that 18 more will start at the end of this year,” he stated.
1:44
Former BC Premier John Horgan announces new cancer diagnosis
She added that cancer detection and prevention services have also been expanded, providing some concrete figures.
The email you need to receive the top news stories from Canada Day and around the world.
“We have completed 27,326 more mammograms, colon and lung exams this year. We made 565 more hereditary cancer screening appointments,” Dix said. “We performed 1,566 PET CT scans this year, an increase of 10 percent. “We have increased PET CT capacity by expanding hours here in Kelowna and Victoria.”
“We are ramping up treatments like radiation, chemotherapy and surgery faster than last year. We will keep our cancer centers open longer hours to provide more care,” Dix said.
The story continues below the advertisement.
“This year we are administering radiotherapy to 856 more patients, an increase of 6.4 percent in one year. This year we have administered intravenous chemotherapy to 801 more patients in cancer centers. That’s an eight percent increase. “
Dix also said that in some cases, the government also covers radiation treatment in the United States.
“We are, as everyone knows, offering radiation treatment to patients at one of two clinics in Bellingham, Washington, to connect more people to the cancer care they need.” he said.
Dr. Michael Humer, a retired surgeon, questioned the motivation behind the news conference just months before the election.
“I’m not sure what the announcement was today. I commend the minister for coming to Kelowna, it seems like it was a political announcement and I’m not sure what the announcement was today,” Humer said.
Dix, however, denied there was anything political about it.
“It’s absolutely contrary to that,” Dix said. “This is a 10-year cancer plan that we delivered in our budget. We made a very significant investment and we’re adding services all the time, including here, but what this says to people is, if you make a 10-year announcement about cancer, people deserve to know what’s happened.”
Dix promised that if he remains health minister, a similar update on the cancer action plan will be provided again within a year.
Story continues below ad.
3:08
HPV vaccine also prevents cancer in men
