Listen to the stories of patients, caregivers and doctors to learn more about how this is impacting Canadians and their families. Some of these challenges are experienced by patients in a few provinces, while others affect patients in many provinces.
Alberta
Patients are forced to take less effective drugs while waiting for a new one to be covered, and then no longer qualify for the new drug because of what they took while waiting.
Hear from mBC patient Katherine Landry, about challenges regarding access to drugs in Alberta.
mBC patient Katherine Landry’s Testimonial
I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in early 2016. The drugs my oncologist was recommending for me were not covered by Alberta and I had to use my private insurance to cover the preferred treatment. A single 3 month treatment cost approximately $23,000.
I have just received the amazing news that this treatment seems to have eliminated any signs of my cancer. I am the fortunate one because I had access to private insurance. But it breaks my heart to think that there are mothers raising children or women without benefits for whom this treatment is simply out of reach.
Access to effective drugs is crucial for those of us living with breast cancer, especially at the last stages (3&4). Sign CBCN’s petition to help ensure that everyone diagnosed with this disease can get the drugs they need.
Katherine Landry
British Columbia
During the long process of waiting for drugs to be covered by the province, patients are forced to pay for those treatments out-of-pocket.
Hear from mBC patient Patricia Stoop, about challenges regarding access to drugs in British Columbia.
The longer someone lives with stage IV breast cancer, the more treatments they will have taken which often makes them ineligible to receive new drugs that are funded by the province.
New Brunswick
Drugs that have been useful in treating stage IV breast cancer are being taken off provincial drug formularies as new drugs are added, even though there’s no evidence to support this.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Restrictions for provincial drug funding force stage IV breast cancer patients to use private insurance to pay for their drugs, if they have it. But many private insurance companies have their own set of strict rules that often leave patients paying out of pocket.
Nova Scotia
A drug that is available to stage IV breast cancer patients in every other province in Canada is not available to patients in Nova Scotia.
Hear from Drug Access Navigator Mary Lou Robertson, about challenges regarding access to drugs in Nova Scotia.
Medications that are administered through an IV in the hospital are always covered by the province; however, some cancer medications come in a pill or capsule format and are not always covered by the province.
Hear from Medical Oncologist Dr. Sandeep Sehdev, about challenges regarding access to drugs in Ontario.
During the long process of waiting for drugs to be covered by the province, patients are forced to pay for those treatments out-of-pocket.
Saskatchewan
The longer someone lives with stage IV breast cancer, the more treatments they will have taken which often makes them ineligible to receive new drugs that are funded by the province.
Hear from mBC patient Jordana Buchan, about challenges regarding access to drugs in Saskatchewan.