Evidence of meeting #124 for Status of Women in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was evidence.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
It wouldn't be the first time that patient advocates were part of decisions. They wouldn't be the only people involved, but would you support patient advocates being part of a review of guidelines?
Conservative
As an Individual
I'm an engineer. We have to measure results all the time. I would like the task force to have transparency, measure the results and involve the people who will be affected by the guidelines—patients and experts.
Dense Breasts Canada
We've heard from the task force that the working group did include patient advocates; there were patients involved. However, we heard from those patients that their input was disregarded, that they were essentially window dressing and that they were asked to weigh in on things that were completely beyond their scope of understanding. It reads as a box-checking exercise. When we're talking about accountability and transparency, and the task force comes out and says they consulted with experts and patients, it's really just in name, not actually in function.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Shelby Kramp-Neuman
Thank you very much.
Andréanne, please go ahead. You have approximately two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
We are hearing a lot about the task force and its guidelines.
Ms. White, you brought up something that, I think, goes to the heart of the issue: your struggle to find a family doctor. The task force recommends that women have mammograms done starting at age 50. To what extent does that recommendation reflect a desire to conceal the underfunding of our health care system? To what extent does it reflect the worry that the system unfortunately isn't equipped to provide adequate care and treatment if the recommended screening age is lowered to 40? To what extent have years of underinvestment and insufficient health transfers been harmful to people in this situation?
Today, some try to justify the recommendation because preventive measures targeting women at higher risk can be taken. That's a false argument. Prevention costs less than intensive therapy. We can come back to that.
Basically, what role do you think the financial component plays? Do you think there's a fear of not being able to provide women with proper treatment if screening access is expanded to those 40 plus?
As an Individual
If we don't say what the problem is and we're not talking about the fact that the system is underfunded or that we don't have enough resources, then we can't solve that problem. If we say that it's not necessary and we don't need screening for women who are 40 because it won't help much and might cause harm, then no one is working on that problem; no one is trying to find resources. Maybe there is a more efficient way of screening women, but we won't be pursuing it because it all seems fine. The experts are saying don't worry about it; you don't need to be screened.
Until you call out the right problem, you can't solve it. I think that's an important thing for us to do.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
You also did a good job of illustrating that prevention really does save the health care system money and resources in the long run. Waiting until people are older to screen them for cancer costs the system because the cancer will inevitably be more advanced. Not only do we have to look at the task force and the guidelines, but we also have to revisit the importance of properly investing in the health care system. That way, women can be screened earlier, and if cancer is detected, receive proper treatment.
As an Individual
For me, it's unknowable how much it would have cost if I had gotten my diagnosis two or three years earlier. It's very likely that I wouldn't have required as much chemotherapy, as much immunotherapy or as much radiation, or had as difficult a surgery. It's very likely that if I'd had access to screening when I was younger, I would have had an easier go of treatment. It also would have saved the province money.
Conservative
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
I'm just shaking my head. Every time we've had witnesses come for this study, the stories of people not listening have been horrifying. I want to allow you a chance to finish what you were sharing before because you weren't able to.
Founder, Trust Your Bust, As an Individual
My oncologist wanted me to take injections to help with my white blood count and they were $2,500 a pop, so that would have wiped out my insurance. I did my research and spoke to other survivors, and I chose not to. She was so rude to me it was incredible. I don't know if they get a double-dip on this. I then went to the health food store and got some immunofin to help me with my white blood count and my white blood count was fine.
Another natural therapy that I used was Nature's Aid. I had third-degree burns on my arms, and the doctors were telling everybody that they need another cream. I spoke to two other girls getting radiation who had the cream and they had open wounds from it, so I didn't do the cream. I did Nature's Aid; I applied it every day. I cut my bra so that I could slather it on, almost like vaseline, and kept it like that.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
That brings it to a point. I spoke about other sorts of care, but one thing we just started, hopefully, is a pharmacare program, which we have coming through. The fact that you had to suffer because of costs and couldn't get the medication you needed is horrifying to me. I'm hoping we can see a rapid expansion of pharmacare. Your story is awful. I don't want to be patronizing, but it's grotesque that you had that treatment because you couldn't afford drugs.
Do you support an extension of the pharmacare plan so you can get the medication you need when you need it?
Founder, Trust Your Bust, As an Individual
When you need it, yes.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
I feel a little emotional as well. I'm very lucky in my family. Both my sisters have had breast cancer. I'm indigenous and I'm the only one—knock on wood—who hasn't. I wasn't screened until 50. This is horrifying.
Madam Holland, I know you you spoke about a one-size-fits-all approach. Can you expand a bit on that?
Dense Breasts Canada
For sure I can.
To stay with the task force, the tools they provide for family doctors, or even for women themselves to decide if they want screening, don't take into account additional risk factors. They don't take into account ethnicity. They don't take into account breast density. When you're only looking at the figures that apply to the typical white woman, you're not in a position to make an informed decision, because again, as you said, you're at higher risk for potential incidents in your forties.
If you don't know that, are you going to advocate for screening? If you don't know that, how are you going to make a sound decision? If you don't know your breast density, how are you going to know you're at risk? We know that dense breasts put you at a higher risk of breast cancer, but if you don't have a mammogram, you can't know what your density is.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses.
I wore pink today because cancer has impacted every single one of us here in some form. I can't believe you're 50.