Premier David Eby says the money will go to expanding service and screening programs. It will also support cancer research, Indigenous patients, and those who must travel for care from rural communities.
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The B.C. government has announced it will spend an initial $440 million on a 10-year-plan to expand cancer care to address the needs of a growing and aging population.
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“Nearly every British Columbian has been affected by cancer in some way, through their own diagnosis or that of a family member or friend,” said Premier David Eby, at a news conference with Health Minister Adrian Dix on Friday.
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Over the next 36 months, the government pledges to expand cervical, lung and hereditary cancer screening, improve vaccination initiatives to eradicate cancers caused by HPV, and expand cervical cancer screening to include more at home tests.
It also plans to modernize paediatric cancer services, expand treatment hours, and better connect people to palliative care.
Eby said the money—which is on top of the annual $971 million budgeted for cancer—will also go to equipment, higher pay for oncologists, and to support Indigenous patients and those who must travel for care from rural communities. Details on many of these initiatives will be released in the coming months, the government said.
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“In this province, we will not accept people’s cancer care being compromised by long wait times,” said Eby. “I’ve asked our health minister to do what it takes so that no British Columbian has their cancer care compromised by long waits. That’s why in the coming months, we will build off this investment with additional funding to support our goals and to deliver care.”
Included in the $440 million is $170 million for a grant for the B.C. Cancer Foundation to support cancer research and attract cancer-care providers needed to provide specialized treatments at B.C. Cancer.
Dix said the plan will help achieve a cancer-free future for more people, accelerate treatment for patients diagnosed with cancer and help thousands more survive their cancer diagnosis. He blamed the waiting time crisis for cancer patients on underfunding by the previous government.
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In 2021, more than 30,000 people in B.C. were newly diagnosed with cancer and more than 11,000 died from the disease, according to the B.C. government.
The government says its 10-year-goals include: securing a cancer-free future for more people, including the elimination of cervical cancer in B.C.; help thousands more people survive their cancer diagnosis and extend the duration and quality of life for those living with cancer; and ensure B.C.’s cancer system delivers modern, evidence-based care.
Meantime, construction for a new cancer centre in Surrey should start this summer. It will be located at 5500-180th Street and will include an oncology ambulatory care unit with 50 exam rooms, 54 chemotherapy treatment spaces and room for six linear accelerators for radiation therapy.
More to come….
B.C. government announces $440-million plan to expand cancer care - Vancouver Sun
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