Face of Saint John hospital foundation campaign devastated by equipment dispute

A woman who served as the face of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation's campaign that raised more than $1 million for DNA cancer testing equipment says she's in disbelief the provincial government is blocking the purchase.

"My stomach dropped. My heart came up in my throat. It was just like someone had punched me," said Gwenn Bartlett, a breast cancer survivor whose treatment was customized with the help of such genetic technology.

Bartlett says she put her reputation on the line, allowing her personal story and photo to be used on posters, pamphlets and advertising for the campaign — a cause she dearly believed in.

Now, she says, it's like the government is stomping on people like her, who acted in good faith to contribute.

"There was popcorn sales, there were teas, there were luncheons, there was suppers. I mean, a lot of people did a lot of stuff. And a lot of people that knew me, did a lot of things," said Bartlett.

I don't understand why the government would block something they can't afford to give.- Gwenn Bartlett, campaign contributor

"And now, to think that it won't happen, it's just heart-breaking. Heart-breaking."

Last week, Health Minister Victor Boudreau directed the Horizon Health Network not to accept the foundation's campaign funds because the same equipment is already available in Moncton, and the province can't afford two testing centres.

But Bartlett says it took several weeks for her Saint John doctors to get results back from an outside laboratory.

"As you can imagine, time is of the essence when you're fighting cancer — every day counts."

Having the equipment in the city would help reduce delays in diagnosis and personalized treatment for others, she said.

She contends the government should be grateful the community rallied behind funding the equipment, which tests tumour biopsies to determine the DNA of the cancer and the best course of treatment.

"I don't understand why the government would block something they can't afford to give," she said.

"I mean, one in every two or three people are going to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, so that hits pretty close to home."

Foundation will offer full refunds

Some of the campaign donors have said they want their money back if it's not going to be used for the DNA sequencing lab.

But foundation president and CEO, Jeff McAloon, is asking them to wait a bit longer.

"We are still having productive conversations with government," he told CBC News on Wednesday. "There's many questions, there's many concerns. What we're saying to our donors is, 'Please be patient with us.'"

"We have been around as a foundation for 35 years, and our donors have known to trust and respect that we'll do the right thing with our donors' intentions at heart," said McAloon, noting the organization has raised more than $80 million to support the hospital over the years.

"In time, as all the details are in the public eye, I'm absolutely confident that our donors are going to be proud with how we've handled this."

Once a final decision on the money is made, all donors will be contacted, said McAloon.

"We have a moral obligation to our donors. Our donors, if you will, are our shareholders. So if the project that we had promised them is not able to be fulfilled, we will be contacting every single one of them and offering them the opportunity to have their dollars back."