Two women from Regina have one thing in common: Cheryl Harvey and Lindsay Rogers both say the wait-list for a biopsy in Saskatchewan is long.
Rogers is 35 years old and has a family history of breast cancer. She is currently waiting for a biopsy. Harvey is a 59-year-old breast cancer survivor who has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer again.
These two women have been closer as they’ve joined together to voice the same concern: that Saskatchewan’s wait-list for biopsies is astounding.
“We’re going through the same thing. And we were brought together by a mutual friend after she was telling me a story about her friend and what her friend was going through,” Rogers said. “I told her, ‘Hey, that sounds like my story.’”
In April, Rogers found a lump on her left breast. Her doctor examined her in June and found a lump in her right breast as well. She was sent for an ultrasound and received her results in August. Due to her results, Rogers’ new family doctor sent a referral for her to receive a biopsy and to this day, she is still waiting for an appointment for a biopsy.
“I was first told one to two weeks, then three to four, then five to six and two months, two and a half months. Now we’re at three-plus (months) for the third or fourth week in November,” Rogers said. “Based on past experiences, every time I get close to a date, it gets extended. So, we’ll see if that’s actually a reality.”
Harvey was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. She started treatments at a cancer clinic and was even invited to join clinical trials, which she accepted. One of the policies for that particular clinical trial is that they follow you for 15 years after. So, every year since, Harvey has met with the team every October and she would receive a mammogram every August.
“Since then, I’ve been clear. Except for this year, any regular mammogram came up, and the very next day the cancer clinic contacted me and said, ‘We’re going to send in a requisition for a biopsy,’” Harvey said.
Harvey has waited for five and a half weeks to get her biopsy done and now, she has her surgery slated for Nov. 15.
“The cancer clinic had contacted me and said, ‘Did you go for your biopsy yet?’ No, (I told them). So, they looked into it for me, and I was starting to get really frustrated.”
Harvey said the oncologist spoke with one of the radiologists that does the biopsies, and suggested she get an MRI. After receiving the MRI, results indicated that Harvey needs a biopsy.
“I was told that they would get a hold of me whenever,” she said. “I was sharing with (a) mutual friend how frustrated I was waiting this long. I already know that there’s something there. And it’s enough that the cancer clinic and the radiologists are worried about that.
“When I heard Lindsay’s story about how long she’s waited, I became even more frustrated.”
The two women met with Saskatchewan Health Minister Everett Hindley on Monday. They were informed that Hindley had met with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), the CEO of the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency and others to try to find resolutions.
Choking back tears, Rogers told Hindley how this has been impacting her and her family.
“I never want to hear my mother tell me ever again that she prayed to Jesus to take her, not me,” she said. “I can wait. I can stay strong. But my mom is probably suffering more than I have right now. That’s not OK.”
The women said Hindley assured them that he was going to reach out with the number of biopsies performed every week, the number on the waiting list and the progress that has been made.
“I really, really hope that Health Minister Hindley keeps his word and keeps us informed of the progress that’s going on,” Harvey said. “He doesn’t have to contact me, but he needs to contact somebody and let them know what’s going on so that we can make sure that our government is held accountable…. Now’s the time to act. Now’s the time to do something.”
After last week’s question period, Global News sat down with Hindley to ask about the biopsies wait-list in Saskatchewan and the steps that are being taken to shorten it.
“To those women and any other woman in Saskatchewan right now that may be waiting for a mammogram or waiting for a biopsy or the results of that biopsy and the potentially the surgery, we want to ensure that those wait times are as short as possible. That’s the ultimate priority for us,” Hindley said. “The SHA is implemented, and they’re using a couple of locums right now to try and manage that list of patients.”
The ministry did not give a timeline of when the wait-list for biopsies will start to shorten.
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