'Accessibility is crucial': Cancer patient fights for preferred parking at hospital

A woman who is fighting stage 3 ovarian cancer is also fighting to get preferred parking spots in front of the St. John's cancer treatment centre.

I look at these people and they're sick. I see it in their face — I'm sick myself.- Susan Glynn

Susan Glynn was first diagnosed with cancer two years ago, when she was 48, and going to the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre for chemotherapy treatment made her realize how hard it could be to find somewhere to park.

"Accessibility is crucial for us," Glynn says of patients undergoing chemo and radiation. 

Glynn and a group of about 15 others held what they called a peaceful rally outside the Health Sciences Centre Tuesday morning.

They want Eastern Health to create 25 designated parking spots, painted red and marked with a C, outside the cancer centre.

One time, Glynn said, it took her 45 minutes to find a parking space. By the time she got inside the cancer treatment centre, she was no longer able to get her bloodwork done, and had to go to a different park of the hospital.

"I talked to some people in the clinic after and I asked about parking and they said it was a real problem and so I came back and thought maybe I should do a petition and see if we can try to address this," she told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

'A very stressful time'

"A cancer diagnosis is a very stressful time in an individual's life, physically as well as emotionally and the stress of parking was just something I thought is not something a patient should have to be dealing with," she said.

Since starting the petition in 2015, Glynn has gathered more than 4,000 signatures, and now she has renewed her fight.

In April, Glynn found out her cancer had come back. Going in for another round of treatment reminded her of how vulnerable patients are.

"When I sit in the chair and I'm getting hooked up to chemo, I look at all the beds and I look at all the chairs and the majority of the patients that I see is older people," she said.

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"That tugs at my heart, because I'm young. I try to stay active, healthy — mind, body, soul — but I look at these people and they're sick — I see it in their face. I'm sick myself."

More blue spaces

"We think the cancer group has identified significant issues," Eastern Health CEO David Diamond said, adding discussions have been held over the past year or so. 

"But we have to look at the needs of all of our patients."

Diamond said the solution identified is to add more blue spaces, the kind used by drivers with disabilities. 

"We have added 15 spaces over the last year ... We're looking at eight more that we'll add in the next two weeks."

He said the health authority is also working with a company to develop 57 spaces near the Janeway Children's Hospital, and will designate a percentage of those spaces — about a dozen — for disabled parking.

"We've really been reluctant to designate specific parking for disease groups," Diamond said.

"We don't want to have a certain part of our space that's for cancer patients and another part of our parking lot that's for cardiac patients, and if you're recovering from surgery you go somewhere else. We don't think that's the most efficient way."

He said cancer patients can get a special parking pass to use the blue spaces on the recommendation of clinic staff.