Why some British Columbians can't or won't access cross-border cancer care

New data from the B.C. Cancer agency reveals how many British Columbia patients are taking advantage of a two-year government program that provides coverage for faster radiation therapy in Bellingham, Wash.

While the numbers are not as high as the government initially forecast, B.C. Cancer insists the program is operating at full capacity and helping reduce cancer wait times.

Data from B.C. Cancer provided to CBC News shows that 869 patients had a therapy consultation and 801 completed radiation therapy in Bellingham between June 2023 and June of this year. Another 37 are currently undergoing treatment.   

It's a bit more of a complete picture than the figures released by the Health Ministry which showed 599 people had received radiation therapy as of March. 

When the two-year program was announced in May of last year, Health Minister Adrian Dix estimated that up to 2,400 patients a year would skip the queue in B.C. for faster treatment in Bellingham. He said the two clinics had the capacity to provide up to 12,000 radiation sessions a year.

But despite the seemingly large discrepancy, B.C. Cancer chief medical officer Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi insists the program is being fully utilized. 

"The 2,400 number was based on patients getting one week of treatment, so five days of treatment," Chi told CBC News. "But many patients don't just get five days of treatment; They get two weeks or four weeks or longer of treatment. So, in fact, we are using that capacity to what we have planned."

WATCH | Inside cross-border cancer care: 

Is B.C. still over-dependent on U.S. cancer care?

5 months ago

Duration 2:25

Around 600 people with breast cancer or prostate cancer have received radiation therapy in Bellingham, Wash., since the program was announced last May. The figures were released Thursday as part of the province’s one-year update into its 10-year cancer plan. As Katie DeRosa reports, while the province has reduced the waitlist size for radiation therapy, critics say relying on the U.S. is an indictment of the cancer system.

A total of 3,190 patients were referred to one of two Bellingham clinics. Of that number, the data shows that 2,139 patients were not eligible or chose not to receive treatment either because they didn't have the required travel documents, preferred treatment in Canada, were already scheduled for treatment in B.C. or were not clinically suitable for radiation therapy in Bellingham.  

Dr. Chi said it was expected that not everyone would be able to travel to Bellingham. 

"For the most part, we were actually expecting this. We thought more people would not be able to go down. So this was quite well planned in advance in terms of how many would go down to the U.S."    

The B.C. Cancer data also provides a better look at where patients being treated in Bellingham are travelling from. Most patients — 594 — are from Fraser Health, 120 are from Vancouver Island, 42 are from Vancouver Coastal Health, 34 are from Northern Health, and 11 are from Interior Health.      

Chi said that's a reflection of where the wait times for radiation are the longest. For example, there's a significant backlog for treatment in Fraser Health, which is why those patients have been prioritized, he said. 

The B.C. government covers all travel costs for patients plus one support person. 

Dr. Claudine Storness-Bliss, a doctor at Surrey Memorial Hospital and the B.C. United candidate for Surrey-Cloverdale said more needs to be done to address unacceptable wait times that leave people languishing while they wait for care. 

"Halfway through a program like this, you should be halfway through catching up. And we should definitely be at 100 per cent. My prediction is this isn't going to end." 

Storness-Bliss says he doubts B.C. Cancer will be able to adequately address the backlog for cancer treatment within the next year when the Bellingham program is set to end. 

Paul Adams, executive director of the B.C. Rural Health Network, said he's concerned that just 11 patients from Interior Health have received radiation therapy in Bellingham. 

However, Dr. Chi said that's because wait times in Interior Health are better than in other areas of the province. 

Adams said while the Bellingham program is not a long-term solution, those waiting for cancer treatment will take any opportunity to get treatment faster. 

"Especially if you're into later stages of cancer, the ability to get immediate treatment becomes paramount to your survival," he said. 

"From the people I speak to, many are interested in anything that will get them into care faster, get them into treatment faster and give them an opportunity at life."