Cancer patient ‘not hopeful’ survey on women’s health care in Maritimes will bring change – Halifax
An IWK Foundation survey is being shared far and wide, as women in the Maritimes express their frustrations with the quality of women’s health care.
The issues raised include dangerously long wait times, miscommunication, and a lack of patient follow-up.
The regional health survey is seeing a strong uptake and according to the IWK Foundation, “aims to gather real, lived experiences to help close the persistent gap in women’s health care.”
The data collected will be used in a report with “actionable insights for policymakers, health leaders and community organizations.”
But some patients are skeptical of what real change will come of it.
“I’m not hopeful. I’d like to be. But I just don’t see real action within the provincial government on health care,” said Pamela McEwing.
McEwing first found out she had two types of breast cancer in April of last year following a routine mammogram.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.
A surgeon in Truro, N.S., could have performed the mastectomy, but reconstruction wait time would be four to five years.
She ended up transferring to the IWK and in doing so, found out she had another tumour that hadn’t been originally detected.
“It says to me that the diagnostic tools aren’t working,” she said.
“So if you’re going to offer a woman a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy you better be sure that you’ve seen all the cancer and you know what’s in there.”
She says her new surgeon told her it was urgent she receive surgery within eight weeks to mitigate spread.
“Nothing happened. I didn’t hear from her office. I didn’t get a date scheduled. Four weeks go by, five weeks go by, six weeks. I haven’t gotten a phone call,” she said.
In August of last year — four months after her diagnosis — she finally received her mastectomy but found out the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
From there, she says she experienced delays in getting referred to an oncologist and receiving her lymph node dissection.
“How are you supposed to live your life? How are you supposed to go on vacation? How are you supposed to make plans for the future? How are you supposed to do anything?” she said.
“When you’re just waiting for the phone to ring, that’s life. And that’s the expectation.”
The survey closes on July 30 and findings are expected to be released in early October.
For more on this story, watch the video above.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
link
