Study finds 18% of northeastern Ontario cancer patients die before seeing specialist

A new study reveals some cancer patients die in northeastern Ontario without ever meeting with a medical specialist.

Researchers examined 6,500 cancer patients in the Sudbury-Manitoulin area over five years. They found just over 18 per cent never met with an oncologist or got palliative care.

Patients who were older or who lived in a rural area were significantly less likely to have had a consultation, the study found.

"We do know that in terms of palliative care there's a lot of opportunity and need for improvement," said Mark Hartman, one of the researchers and the regional vice-president with the North East Regional Cancer Program.

"So that's really what the focus of this study was about, how we could improve access to palliative care services," 

Hartman said the North East Regional Cancer Program at Health Sciences North in Sudbury has already made improvements based on the study's findings.

The results are probably consistent across the province, he added.

The primary purpose of the study was to estimate the percentage of cancer patients who died without ever having a medical or radiation oncology consultation.

It also looked at factors associated with never having received one of those specialised consultations.

The study indicates some people could have received a more timely referral to a palliative care clinic if they had been able to meet with a specialist.