based on alberta cancer registry data, parliament noted that
prostate cancer diagnoses dropped by 14.1 per cent in 2020, breast and colorectal cancer by 11.1 per cent and bladder cancer by 4.5 per cent.
“we have not seen a recovery period, defined as higher-than-usual case volumes, accounting for the patients we had expected in 2020,” said parliament. “evidence suggests there remains a cohort of undiagnosed patients.”
other specialists note that delays in treating cancers make them more complex further down the road.
since the beginning of the pandemic, tens of thousands of surgical procedures have been cancelled or delayed in alberta to free up resources for tackling covid-19.
dr. david keegan, a calgary family physician, is seeing backlogs build up and conditions worsening as a result.
“i had a guy who we confirmed had cancer,” keegan said. “i understand it can be surgically corrected, even though it’s only stage one. maybe by the time he gets to surgery it’ll be stage two or three? we’re condemning thousands of albertans to higher stages of cancer because of delays.”
cardiology patients are also at risk of complications from surgical delays, howlett explained.
“we see our waitlists growing. bad things happen to people on waitlists. if you need open heart surgery and you don’t get it there’s a known risk of heart attacks while you wait. there’s a psychological cost to waiting. it’s very stressful and affects your quality of life,” he said.