Advocacy

"You have cancer." The words alone are frightful enough. But now imagine that you are told there are long waiting lists for patients with the disease, and only a few hospitals in the country you can go to get proper treatment. That waiting for your treatment may cause you to die unnecessarily. Perhaps you are forced to go to the United States for treatment. But how are you going to pay for the care and traveling expenses? And how are you going to afford the cot of paying for medicines that you need to save your life? Who do you turn to for help? These problems are a continuing reality for many Canadians coping with cancer.

The Challenge

Cancer is an incredible challenge for Canada. While progress has been made, our growing and aging population will mushroom the cancer burden in the years ahead, putting even greater pressure on Canada's health system.

The simple facts are:

Cancer continues to be the leading cause of premature death in Canada - an estimated 136,900 new cases of cancer and 66,300 deaths in 2002.
Cancer is responsible for almost one third of all potential years of life lost.
The incidence of cancer will increase by as much as 70% over the next 15 years.

Virtually every day you hear stories of from family, friends and co-workers about medically indefensible waiting times, gaps in the supply of specialized human resources, gaps in prevention and support (especially where financial assistance is needed), lack of cooperation across provinces, and unequal access to cancer treatment, depending upon geographical location. The number of Canadians diagnosed with cancer is climbing dramatically. Due to trends in population growth and aging, by the year 2015 new cancer cases will likely be 70% greater than today. Because about one-half of those diagnosed will die of the disease, within eight years cancer will become Canada's leading cause of death.

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