Prince George cancer centre will benefit the north in many ways

The travel debate will most likely go on as far as cancer treatment plans for residents of the Northwest are concerned, however the expected opening of a cancer centre in Prince George by 2012 should still provide great benefits for all communities of the Northern Health Authority. At least that's the opinion being offered from Prince George in the days following last weeks announcement by Premier Gordon Campbell.

Aware of the concerns from the farthest away communities about the potential travel problems associated with a trip to Prince George, especially in the winter, proponents of the Prince George centre are boosting the knowledge base benefits that the centre might provide to outlying regions such as Terrace and Prince Rupert.

The Daily News provided details on how the issue is being presented in Thursday's paper.

Cancer centre brings expertise
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Pages one and three

The new cancer centre to be built in Prince George by 2012 doesn't solve the travel issues faced patients, say medical professionals, but it does bring expertise closer to home.

The new facility will provide radiation therapy to patients, eliminating the need for many cancer afflicted individuals to travel south for that particular treatment.

However there are still concerns that some communities won't benefit as much as anticipated from having a centre in Prince George.

"If you listen to the arguments that people give for a centre there, such as being able to get treatment and stay at home, that's fine for the people in Prince George, but those are really the only people," said Terrace physician Dr. Geoff Appleton.

"Everyone outside of there still has the problem of travel. For Terrace and Prince Rupert it will still be easier to access Vancouver by a two-hour flight, and that should still be allowed."

Retired nurse and Prince Rupert resident Peggy Davenport believes that the creation of a cancer centre in the North is going to be helpful for many people, but that it should not take attention away from recognizing the transportation problems that still exist for many rural patients.

"As it stands, there isn't a direct flight available from Prince Rupert to Prince George, and people who are under treatment for cancer cannot tolerate the long bus ride, because it's too long and it's very hard to do," said Davenport.

"If it was easy to do, I'm sure that people from Northern Health who live in Prince George would be riding the bus when they make their trips West."

There are talks between the Canadian Cancer Society and the provincial government of creating a cancer lodge for patients and their families, similar to what currently exists in Vancouver.

Whether a similar lodge will be built to complement the Prince George facility is yet to be determined, but regardless it will still leave many rural patients with the hardship of getting there.

"We've always been concerned with access issues when it comes to cancer services, and we know that people in the North have real difficulties when it comes to transportation," said Barbara Kaminsky, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Cancer Society B.C. and Yukon Division.

"Frankly even to access Prince George from Prince Rupert in the winter months can be a problem."

Aside from physically visiting the Prince George centre, there will still be other ways that rural cancer patients can benefit from the creation of a Northern centre.

Dr. Ronald Chapman is the executive director for the Northern Cancer Control Progam, and notes that communities like Prince Rupert, who have already been administering systemic therapy to cancer patients, will benefit greatly by having local doctors supported by those working at the Prince George centre.

"The most positive development out of this is the centre will supplement the regional cancer centres in all of British Columbia, and it brings a facility much closer to the North than there has ever been before," he said.

"We're getting experts in the North which we previously haven't had, and it becomes a regional resource since those people will also have a responsibility to support community cancer clinics around the region."