Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Cancer is a word we hear all too often. Whether we’re just more aware of why people are getting sick now or whether there actually is more cancer amongst our people, it is ever present in our lives and none of us here in this room or elsewhere in our territory, none of us have remained untouched by cancer. It’s a scary business being diagnosed with cancer, and patients are often left to their own devices after a diagnosis.
Over the years, volunteers with the NWT Breast Health/Breast Cancer Action Group have worked very hard to provide supports for breast cancer patients. One of the programs put in place and funded by them was a position at Stanton Territorial Hospital called patient navigator. For a number of reasons that position became vacant, and it has remained vacant for several years now. The one position identified to assist patients with navigation through the health system after a breast cancer diagnosis has been left unfilled.
Of course, it’s the patients who suffer the consequences the most. At a point when patients and families are facing the biggest challenge of their lives, they’re left to navigate and manage the system without assistance.
In the spring of 2014, the NWT Breast Health/Breast Cancer Action Group published a report. It was the findings of research from 2013, with recommendations to, as they put it, improve the breast cancer journey. There are 18 recommendations in their report and all 18 are clear and timely.
One recommendation, number eight in particular, states, “establish regional cancer care coordinator and breast cancer system navigator positions. Cancer care coordinators will be health care professionals who will coordinate a patient’s cancer treatment and after-care. System navigators may be laypeople who understand and can help patients navigate the breast cancer pathway, respond to questions and act as the support person for the patient and her family.” I could not agree more.
Yet the one navigator position in whole of the NWT remains empty, and from what I can tell, it is being re-profiled to a coordinator position, a position further removed from patient care than a navigator.
At this time, cancer patients are diagnosed without the vital medical, emotional and personal support a navigator can provide…
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Not only do the breast cancer patients need a cancer system navigator but patients diagnosed with any kind of cancer need the special help a navigator can provide. Staffing the one position we’ve identified should be a top priority. The Minister of Health and Social Services must find a way to ensure that all cancer patients get the support they need immediately after diagnosis.
I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
