BC mother with stage 4 cancer says months-long wait to see oncologist put her at risk
A mother of two with stage 4 breast cancer has spoken of the months-long wait to see an oncologist, which she fears will cost her precious time.
BC Cancer data provided to CBC News shows that while wait times for care are improving, British Columbia is lagging behind other provinces.
Sarah Gillooly, a 40-year-old woman from Port Moody, B.C., is hesitant to talk about her chances of surviving stage 4 breast cancer. She doesn’t want to scare her 11-year-old daughter Alina or four-year-old son Tag.
“When you have metastatic breast cancer, you’re down to 25 percent less likely to make it for five years,” Gillooly says, her voice cracking.
Gillooly was speaking from the legislature where she was joined by her close friend, Penticton-Summerland independent MLA Amelia Boultby.
Gillooly is looking back on the eight months since a lump was first found in her breast and is questioning whether quick action could have prevented the cancer from spreading to her bones and lungs.
“I felt like our system was letting me down a little bit. Even though the doctors and surgeons have been amazing, the wait times really made me nervous.”
Gillooly was diagnosed with breast cancer on July 1, after feeling a lump in her breast the previous May. He still remembers the nurse who went to work on a state holiday to give him the results. On July 28, he had surgery to remove the tumor.
It was still two months until her first visit to an oncologist – much longer than the national standard of four weeks.
“The system kept telling me I wasn’t a priority. They said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s a good thing you waited two months to see a doctor. That means you’re OK.'”
She says that delay meant key clinical trials could not start, including one The genomic test is called Oncotype DX test, which determines the likelihood of cancer recurrence.
When Gillooly finally got the results, they indicated a high chance of the cancer returning.
In early November, tests revealed that her cancer had spread to her lungs.
“I always wonder, would those months have made a difference?” she asks.
BC struggling to meet benchmarks
BC Cancer data shows the province is still struggling to meet the four-week benchmark between referral and seeing an oncologist.
Only 63 percent of new patients saw a medical oncologist within that time frame. Patients who required radiation therapy had worse outcomes. AR was seen in only 51 percent of new patients.Radiation oncologist within four weeks.
New data from BC Cancer shows how many British Columbian patients are taking advantage of a government program that provides coverage for rapid radiation therapy in Bellingham. Although the numbers are not as high as the government initially anticipated, BC Cancer insists the program is running at full capacity and is helping to reduce cancer wait times. Katie DeRosa reports.
Dr. Paris-Ann Ingledeau, BC Cancer’s chief medical officer, says in a statement that, although she couldn’t speak specifically about Gillooly’s case, “we know that any wait is too long for someone with cancer.”
Ingledew says patients’ cancer journey “begins long before they are referred to BC Cancer. Most cancer surgeries and diagnostic imaging are performed by regional health authorities. Once a person’s cancer diagnosis is confirmed, they are referred to BC Cancer.”
The head of the union representing more than 23,000 health care professionals who work in hospitals says she is disappointed by Gillooly’s story.
“As heartbreaking and incredibly challenging as this specific situation is, the unfortunate reality is that it is all too common,” says Sarah Kooner, president of the Health Sciences Association.
Kooner says some of the delays are due to a shortage of professionals in diagnostic imaging, especially for PET scans — a crucial test necessary before some patients can proceed with treatment.
“There are less than 30 PET technologists working in all of BC,” says Kooner. “And thousands of British Columbians need to get to them. That creates a terrible problem.”
A mother of two with stage 4 breast cancer talks about the wait to see an oncologist. He fears that a delay of two months may spoil his future. As CBC’s Katie DeRosa reports, B.C.’s premier says things are getting better, but more improvements are needed.
Dr. Robert Carruthers, president of Consultant Specialists of BC, leads a campaign called Every Number One Story that draws attention to health care wait times.
“I’m very sad for (Gillooly). Her situation is not unique and unfortunately many other patients are experiencing similar delays,” says Carruthers.
He says the ongoing shortage of specialists such as urologists can delay a patient’s cancer diagnosis.
“It’s my worst nightmare that this kind of delay would have such an impact on a person’s life,” he says.
For the past year the province has been sending cancer patients to Bellingham, Washington, for treatment because wait times for radiation therapy in B.C. are among the worst in the country. One of those patients is Don Helgeson of Nanaimo. And he recently completed 20 sessions of radiation treatment at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham.
BC Cancer says this has reduced the wait time to start cancer treatment.
More than 90 percent of new patients are starting radiation therapy within four weeks. That’s up from 75 per cent in December 2023, when a backlog forced BC to send some cancer patients south to Bellingham, Washington, for treatment.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which tracks health care wait times across the country, BC’s wait times for radiation are still the worst in the country, based on data from 2024 to 2025.
Premier David Abiy says things have improved since last year. He pointed to the hundreds of doctors and technicians that have been hired and four new cancer centers scheduled to open in Nanaimo, Kamloops, Surrey and Burnaby in the coming years.
BC Cancer says it has hired 85 full-time medical staff through April 2023, including 38 medical and radiation oncologists and 25 general practitioners in oncology.
Despite this, “there is still a huge pressure on the system,” says AB.
