A program that sent breast and prostate cancer patients to Washington state for faster radiation treatment is coming to a close at the end of next month, almost two years after it was implemented, B.C.’s health minister said.
Josie Osborne said in a statement Monday that the province can “safely” wind down the temporary program, which was intended to address a backlog, and focus on getting patients care in B.C.
She credited progress made over the past two years in addressing radiation therapy wait times to meet national benchmarks.
As of the end of February, about 93 per cent of patients in B.C. are waiting less than four weeks to start their radiation treatment — just above the benchmark of 90 per cent within four weeks.
That’s a 24 per cent improvement over the 69 per cent of patients who were starting treatment within four weeks in May 2023, according to the Health Ministry.
Since May 2023, B.C. Cancer has offered eligible patients the option to travel to one of two clinics in Bellingham, in Washington state, for radiation therapy treatment.
A total of 1,107 patients have completed radiation treatments in Washington through the program. At the peak in the fall of 2023, an average of 50 patients were being treated in the U.S. each week.
Nine patients are scheduled to complete their treatment in the U.S. before the end of the contracts on May 11 and May 31.
In B.C., it costs $3,854 for five rounds of radiation therapy, according to the Health Ministry.
The cost of patients accessing that treatment in Bellingham, including travel and accommodation, was about four times that at $16,000.
B.C. Cancer is reporting a steady decline in the number of patients choosing to go to the U.S. for their radiation treatments.
Based on current participation rates, the Health Ministry estimates approximately 104 patients would access the program over the coming year if it were to continue — 0.6 per cent of the 16,900 patients currently projected to need radiation treatment in 2025-26.
Those patients can now be accommodated in B.C., said the Health Ministry.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
