Breast cancer survivor, health-care expert call on Sask. government to share surgeon recruitment plan

A breast cancer survivor and a veteran Saskatchewan health-care expert want the province to be transparent about its plan for dealing with a projected demand for breast cancer surgeries in Regina — and specifically, what progress it's making on recruiting specialized surgeons.

In October, CBC Saskatchewan reported that potential cancer patients in Regina were waiting months for breast biopsies. One woman, who had two lumps and a history of breast cancer in her family, waited about 15 weeks for a biopsy. She was initially told that the normal waiting period is two weeks. 

In late November, the province announced an out-of-province breast cancer diagnostic procedures initiative. It is contracting Clearpoint — a private health company in Calgary — until March 2025 to offer 1,000 scans to eligible Saskatchewan patients on an urgent wait list.

It's a welcome short-term solution for many, but there is more to be done, advocates say.

"Now that all these women are now able to go to Calgary — which I think is totally wonderful, and I'd like to thank the government for doing that — they're going to come back to Saskatchewan, and many are going to need to see a surgeon," said Cheryl Harvey, a breast cancer survivor and advocate in Regina. 

In a statement to CBC in November, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency said that in 2018, there were seven surgeons in Regina who performed surgeries for breast cancer patients.

Of these, four are still practising in Regina, two now focus on other surgical specialities and one has retired, the agency said.

A Friday statement from the Saskatchewan Health Authority said one of the four surgeons practising in Regina is expected to go on temporary leave.

"Now we're going to be backlogged for those surgeries," said Harvey, who recently got surgery for her cancer. "That's my concern. So now, again, we will have the lives of women waiting."

Harvey was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. In August of this year she had an irregular mammogram result. She waited five and a half weeks for her biopsy, despite being a cancer survivor and having been monitored by the Allan Blair Cancer Centre at Regina's Pasqua Hospital for over a decade.

Harvey was once again diagnosed with breast cancer. She said she was lucky enough to get surgery for the cancer in mid-November. 

"I'm praying to God that a lot of those [out-of-province] biopsies come back negative," she said. 

"But if there is this increase of surgeries needed, are these women going to get the same care and attention that I got? That worries me. We need more people that specialize in these surgeries."

The Saskatchewan Health Authority told CBC on Friday that it and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency have developed recruitment and retention strategies and are working with the provincial health-care recruitment agency to fill vacancies.