This veteran ER doctor says his own cancer diagnosis has given him 'a whole new perspective'

A Chatham-Kent emergency room doctor has gone from being a cancer patient to now advocating for better patient care on Parliament Hill. 

Dr. Anthony Dixon visited Parliament Hill on Tuesday in his role as a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society. 

Dixon used his visit to call on the federal government to improve cancer care. 

Dixon spoke with Windsor Morning's Amy Dodge about the trip and what he's learned about being a cancer patient since being diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago.

First, let us know a little bit about your time in Ottawa? What had you going there and what were you able to express?

I was invited there by the Canadian Cancer Society. It's part of my role as a patient advocate. Monday was a day of education for cancer survivors in terms of moving forward and hearing about each other's stories and the challenges and successes that we've all had. 

Windsor Morning9:07Veteran emergency room Doctor learns from his own cancer diagnosis

Doctor Anthony Dixon is a cancer doctor and former cancer patient.

On Tuesday we got to meet with selected members of Parliament and discuss with them some of the strategies from the Canadian Cancer Society and moving forward some of the goals that the Cancer Society was hoping to achieve. It was a great day. 

Can you expand on what it means for you to have a new perspective on cancer treatment?

I'm an emergency medicine physician, I've done that now for over 15 years. I've worked with many patients and their families who have cancer and, unfortunately, I've had to share that news with people on many occasions. 

I knew the medicine of cancer, but until I was told myself that I had cancer, that put things in a whole new perspective — the emotional toll that that brought on both myself, family and friends, the challenge of navigating a system that I knew how to navigate, the challenge of advocating for myself when I knew who to advocate with — just in terms of accessing treatment and tests and resources.

It was a world that I was unfamiliar with and really underappreciated the challenge that people have. 

What was the most surprising thing for you and what was the most challenging?

The most challenging was really accessing information. There was a massive amount of information available on the internet from different resources with different opinions, [so it's finding] what you need and [picking] out what's best for you.

That's what led me to the Canadian Cancer Society to seek their advice in terms of making difficult decisions for myself. It was overwhelming.

I had the knowledge to make some of those decisions, so how people who don't have that background, maybe not familiar with the medical system, maybe can't read English or read French, how they navigate was a real eye opener.

What are some of the associated costs that were a surprise to you when you became a patient?

I had a massive cost related to my own rehabilitation. I had surgery related to prostate cancer and one of the complications related to that was my lack of ability to be continent — being able to control one's bladder and/or bowel of their own accord — on a daily basis, so a recovery that should have taken six weeks took six months. That was one of the main things that prevented me from going back to work. 

I had significant expenditure related to physiotherapy, to continence products on a daily basis, to medication that I needed that wasn't covered. 

For cancer survivors, they have significant costs related to medication that may not be covered for them — specialized clothing, ongoing treatment, food costs, transportation costs, and also the cost of taking time off work. So, it can be devastating for lots of people. 

What could we be doing to prevent cancer in the first place? 

One of the major pushes in terms of education is that significant alcohol use — more than three drinks a day — can significantly increase your cancer risk.

For example, if you look at breast cancer, the baseline cancer risk for females is about one in eight women will have a challenge with breast cancer across their lifetime.

If you consume significantly more alcohol, that risk increases to about three out of eight women. One of the goals this week was to raise that as a point of knowledge and a point of awareness, so people can make an informed decision.

How can someone who's been recently diagnosed better access the Canadian Cancer Society?

The Canadian Cancer Society is there to help you from many different angles. If you're newly diagnosed yourself or if you have a family member or a loved one who's newly diagnosed, their website, which is www.cancer.ca, is an excellent resource of information available in both English and French.

Also, if you're struggling for resources, there are advocates with the Canadian Cancer Society who can help you navigate the system. They can drive you to appointments, they can make sure that you get the help you need. 

I was overwhelmed with the help that they provided to me. They are an amazing resource and I would recommend that if you're in that situation to reach out to them and they can help you.