Lack of pathologists leaves Quebec cancer patients in limbo
People on Quebec's North Shore waiting months in some cases for biopsy results
Sept-Îles resident Arlène Beaudin was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time this summer, but still doesn't know how doctors will treat it.
For many cancer patients on Quebec's North Shore, the gap between diagnosis and treatment can take weeks, if not months, and Beaudin is no different.
She says she has started taking sedatives to calm her anxiety, finding it hard to cope with everyday life not knowing what to expect.
"I haven't started taking pills to treat my cancer. Right now, I'm taking pills to wait," she said.
No improvement
For the mother of two, little has changed since her first experience with cancer in 2012.
Beaudin underwent a partial mastectomy in June of that year.
The biopsy samples were sent from Sept-Îles to a private clinic in Ontario.
The results arrived six weeks later. They were inconclusive, so she had to have another operation in August and then wait another five weeks for those results.
Months later, her doctor eventually prescribed chemotherapy treatment.
'I think everyone in Quebec should have the right to the same medical care, regardless of their postal code.- Arlène Beaudin, Sept-Îles resident
Sylvie Bellavance's story is similar.
As a cancer patient, Bellavance also had to go under the knife twice for the same biopsy.
As a nurse, she's seen the effects losing Sept-Îles's only pathologist has had on the medical staff's efficiency.
''Three weeks, six weeks, it's really difficult not knowing what's ahead… chemo, radiotherapy or the whole package,'' she said.
Biopsies sent to Ontario
Quebec's North Shore hasn't had a pathologist since 2012, which has forced doctors and surgeons to send lab tests elsewhere in the province.
Dr. Marion L'Espérance is a surgeon at the Sept-Îles hospital and is on Beaudin's medical team.
Because pathologists are a rare commodity, Quebec hospitals prioritize their own patients, she said.
''Something has to be done so that in Quebec every surgeon and every patient has the right to get their pathology analyzed in Quebec, and promptly,'' she said.
Baril recognizes the situation isn't ideal and that the Health Ministry and the Quebec association of pathologists need to work together to find a solution to the pathologist shortage.
"Clearly, if I am negotiating where my tests end up sample by sample, there is a problem," she said.
Thinking outside the box
Health Minister Gaétan Barrette acknowledges Quebec has seen a shortage of pathologists for several years.
He says the solution to the delays in Sept-Îles lies with Optilab, Quebec's plan to centralize laboratory testing. It is expected to be implemented in the area some time in the next year.
''Optilab is the answer. Optilab will guarantee efficiency and speed,'' he said.
Under the Optilab program, Sept-Îles would send its samples to Chicoutimi. But L'Espérance says even if the Chicoutimi hospital can take on more work, it won't replace having a real pathologist in the operating room.
L'Espérance also suggests using tele-pathology, a telecommunications system Sept-Îles used when they lost their pathologist.
Under the system, information was digitized and sent to a pathologist in Rimouski.
L'Espérance says the infrastructure for that system is still in place, but the agreement with the regional health authority in Rimouski ended in 2015 and hasn't been renewed.
A request for comment from the Quebec association of pathologists was not returned.