A Vancouver Island cancer patient who gave up on the provincial healthcare system in favour of life-saving treatment in Washington State, will get to spend Christmas with her family and ring in the New Year.
Campbell River鈥檚 Kristin Logan suspects that would not have happened if she had stuck with British Columbia鈥檚 backed-up system.
鈥淚鈥檓 coming out (of rounds of treatment) and surgery just in time for the holidays,鈥� Logan said from the University of Washington Medical Centre in Seattle. 鈥淢y husband and my daughter will be down here as well. My brother and my niece will be here. So, we鈥檒l have a big, kind of, family Christmas.鈥�
In the middle of her ongoing struggle for cancer treatment, Logan is urging British Columbians to speak out for change and demand better of what she considers the province鈥檚 poorly-managed system.
Logan sought treatment for her stage-4 ovarian cancer which was diagnosed back in September. This after six months of reporting symptoms to her doctor. Chemotherapy was ordered, and she was informed there would be a three-to-four-month wait for surgery and six weeks before chemotherapy could start. Then, a few weeks after the diagnosis, she was informed that there was no record of the referral.
Because of the delays and because Logan is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen and a veteran, she decided to go to Washington where her parents live and secure medical treatment there under her veteran benefits.
Logan would have been happy to get treatment in B.C., where she wouldn鈥檛 have had to endure the emotional impact of getting treatment out of the province and enduring it alone.
鈥淚t would have certainly been helpful to be at home,鈥� Logan said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e going through cancer, you know, there鈥檚 the emotional impact of that and, I mean, there were moments through this process 鈥� I came down here because I was very far advanced 鈥� that I was not sure I was going to live and to continue to go through that and have that scare without my husband and daughter by my side was brutal.鈥�
Logan has managed to garner public and media attention for her situation and will continue to do so because she knows she鈥檚 not the only one endangered by what she calls systemic problems.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time for us to really make our voices heard in every way we can to get these problems resolved. Quickly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is mismanagement, it鈥檚 bureaucracy, it鈥檚 too many layers of red tape and not enough looking at what鈥檚 going to be efficient and effective in terms of how we鈥檙e managing and spending on our health care.鈥�
Her case came to the attention of B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.
鈥淭he healthcare system doesn鈥檛 always get it right, and that鈥檚 why we have this set up and people can, as well, raise these issues 鈥� and this has been done in this case publicly,鈥� he told Global News.
His answer infuriated Logan.
鈥淭o suggest that the system merely 鈥榙oesn鈥檛 always get it right鈥� is a gross understatement, bordering on denial. Our healthcare system isn鈥檛 tripping over minor hurdles; it鈥檚 plummeting off a cliff. We鈥檙e not dealing with 鈥榦ccasional misses鈥�; we鈥檙e grappling with a chronically diseased system where inefficiency and neglect have become the norm.
Just 75 per cent of cancer patients are receiving radiation therapy within the Canadian benchmark of 28 days, according to B.C. Cancer Agency data, a drop from 77 per cent in May. The national average is 97 per cent.
Logan鈥檚 case has connected her to others in similar situations. She also drew attention to the case of Dan Quayle, a Victoria man with a Campbell River stepdaughter. Quayle chose medical assistance in dying (MAiD) because he didn鈥檛 receive chemotherapy and treatment in time.
鈥淭he stepfather, was just, he couldn鈥檛 wait anymore. He ended up electing MAiD because he was suffering for so long.
It has also caught the attention of the provincial opposition. BC United鈥檚 Shirley Bond, shadow minister for health care, has been critical of current developments, including B.C. contracting two clinics in the United States for British Columbians to receive radiation treatment.
鈥淭he crisis is so dire that we are sending patients to other countries for treatment 鈥� and even then, some patients are choosing to fund their own care in the U.S. because they cannot get through BC Cancer fast enough, 鈥� Bond said.
Meanwhile, Logan鈥檚 treatment at the University of Washington has been encouraging. Chemotherapy is having a big impact on her tumour markers, dropping to levels that have everyone encouraged. She has more treatments to come and will be going in for surgery in two weeks.
Logan and her husband Donovan James are both self-employed business owners. Besides the medical challenge Logan faces, the family鈥檚 economic stability and security is in jeopardy because they have lost her income.
鈥淕etting the cancer and having to come down to the States has been extraordinarily financially disruptive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been an enormous financial strain.
鈥淥ur daughter鈥檚 in university now. The three of us are completely separated. She鈥檚 in Nanaimo, he鈥檚 in Campbell River, I鈥檓 down here. We鈥檝e seen each other very little. So, you know, emotionally and financially. It鈥檚 been a huge strain.鈥�
A account has been set up to help with the ongoing medical expenses not covered by benefits. If you want to help, search for 鈥淪upport Kristin鈥檚 Aggressive Stage 4 Cancer Fight.鈥�
鈥� with a file from Wolf Depner
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