Annette in wonderland over cancer patients
The Health Minister's denials that patients are waiting longer than 12 weeks for radiation treatment, when the clinical
guideline is four weeks, unfortunately won't make the problem go away, says National Health Spokesperson Dr Lynda Scott.
Several patients are opting to go to Australia for treatment because many in Wellington are waiting more than three
months for postoperative radiation treatment.
"These delays are unacceptable when a new international study shows that patients waiting months for radiotherapy have
significantly higher recurrence rates. The Journal of Clinical Oncology metanalysis of 46 studies found much higher
breast cancer recurrence rates within five years, in those who received radiation treatment more than eight weeks after
surgery.
"The Minister cannot ignore these statistics and pretend that women are not waiting far too long in Wellington and
Christchurch.
"Annette King severely criticised the Government in 1998 for sending patients to Australia for radiation treatment to
assist New Zealand through a crisis. Today she has swung from those criticisms of the temporary use of radiation
treatment in Australia, to relying on it for a long-term solution.
"It costs $16,000 per patient for this treatment when we should be able to provide these services here through
private-public partnerships. Sending patients to Australia is a temporary stopgap but not all patients can go, which
leaves many women waiting weeks and months for treatment. "The Minister has failed in her promises to reduce cancer
waiting times. She should listen to patients like Marlborough woman Margaret Morice, who are desperate for treatment but
so fed up with waiting that they are going public, rather than being written off and bullied by this Minister," Dr Scott
said.