When will there be a real plan to fight cancer in Quebec?
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This is essentially the question that was posed to our elected officials last week by the Coalition Prioritize Cancer in Quebec, which made a public outing as part of the election campaign.
She pinpointed our main problem in this file, the importance of which is obvious: we have never really succeeded in mobilizing against cancer with an implacable determination.
As we did for COVID-19, for example.
The Quebec government, like many others around the world, has gone to war against the pandemic. Figuratively, but also literally. At the height of the crisis, soldiers were even dispatched to CHSLDs in the province.
The response was vigorous.
We don’t need soldiers to fight cancer.
Still, imagine if we invested, in Quebec, even a fraction of the political will and resources deployed in the context of the pandemic!
Many things would change quickly.
First, there would be a real disease control plan.
Such a strategy would make it possible to set objectives to reduce the impact of cancer on Quebec society. And to struggle to reach them. Because there would be an obligation of result.
Others have. France, for example, which has had a detailed strategy against cancer since 2003.
Last year, when it published its most recent plan, the country set itself the goal of reducing the number of preventable cancers by 60,000 per year (out of 153,000 currently) by 2040. We also hope, in particular, to increase the number of screenings and reduce the percentage of patients who suffer from sequelae five years after their diagnosis. In total, the strategy comprises nearly 240 measures.
If Quebec fought as vigorously against cancer as it did against COVID-19, we would also care much more about prevention. Reducing the risk of cancer would become a priority.
We would also focus on research with more enthusiasm. We would increase funding, but also the number of patients who have access to clinical studies. There is an urgent need to speed up and simplify the process of access to research projects, doctors specializing in oncology will tell you.
The last hoped-for major change — but certainly not the least — is a major shift in data availability.
It’s still amazing to see, year after year, many experts shouting at each other to try to make the Ministry of Health understand that the lack of data on cancer in Quebec is as harmful as it is embarrassing.
Our journalist Ariane Lacoursière revealed last June that the Quebec Cancer Registry is not yet fully functional, 12 years after it was set up.
How do you want to fight a disease adequately if you don’t have data that allows you to know precisely the state of the situation, but also the impact of your various interventions, both for treatment and for prevention?
Under the impetus of Minister Christian Dubé, we have long been disseminating, on a regular basis, numerous reliable data on COVID-19.
When will the same for cancer?
We took COVID-19 seriously because of the threat it posed to Quebec society.
Need we remind you that cancer is now the leading cause of death for both men (35.5% of deaths) and women (31.9%)? This means that approximately 20,000 people die of cancer each year in Quebec.
And it should not go on improving, alas, given the aging of the population.
There will be no shortage of ideas between now and the end of the campaign to improve our healthcare system. The fight against cancer must be a priority.