Frequently Asked Cancer Questions
Why doesn’t the web site
include information about radiation therapy or chemotherapy?
Saskatchewan’s health regions provide cancer surgery services.
The wait time information on the SSCN web site is based on data
reported to the Surgical Patient Registry. Treatments such as chemotherapy
and radiation therapy are provided by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.
You can visit www.saskcancer.ca or call the Agency’s Quality
of Care Coordinator at 1-866-577-6489 for more information on these
services.
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Why doesn’t the web
site include more information about cancer surgeries done in smaller
health regions?
About 78% of reported cancer surgery is done in provincial hospitals
and about 19% is performed in regions with regional hospitals. With
the exception of Regina and Saskatoon, most regions do not perform
enough cancer surgeries to show wait times for each of the specific
procedures. However, the web site does provide two different perspectives
on wait times in the smaller regions:
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Overall wait times for cancer surgery performed in each
region are shown in the summary table “Surgery for Cancer
or Suspected Cancer by Regional Health Authority.” |
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In the tables on specific (common) cancer surgery procedures,
wait times are shown for the smaller regions as a group when
the numbers are too small to show them individually. |
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I could not find my particular
procedure on the web site. Why aren’t all types of cancer
procedures listed?
The procedures specifically identified as cancer procedures on
the web site are some of the most common procedures performed in
operating rooms.
There are many other cancer-related procedures. However, in many
cases the volumes of cancer cases reported are too small to show
wait times for them at the regional level on the web site. Wait
times are provided on the site only if there are 20 or more cases
in a six-month period. Providing wait times based on fewer cases
would be of limited use and could be misleading. Listing too few
cases could also result in privacy concerns for individuals receiving
services.
If you have questions about a procedure not included on the web
site, you may want to contact a health region surgical care coordinator
for more information.
Not all procedures that patients might consider to be surgical
are done in operating rooms. Many biopsies, for example, do not
require a major anaesthetic and they are often done in other hospital
locations, such as a procedure room in an ambulatory care or clinic
setting. Procedures are not reported to the Surgical Patient Registry
unless they are done in an operating room.
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Why do some people wait months
for their cancer surgery?
About 61% of patients receive their surgery to treat cancer within
3 weeks and about 86% receive it within 6 weeks (surgery performed
January-June 2008). However, some patients wait longer for a variety
of reasons.
First of all, some tumours are slow growing and can wait longer
than a few weeks for treatment with little risk to the patient.
Prostate cancer, for example, is relatively slow-growing in some,
though not all cases. The surgeon will assess how aggressive the
patient’s tumour is and should be able to provide information
to the patient on the urgency of his or her surgery.
Other factors affect how quickly surgery can be done:
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Before undergoing surgery a patient must be healthy enough,
as determined by their physician, to ensure a good chance
of a positive outcome. |
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Sometimes a patient may have to wait for the results of
tests. |
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Patients may choose not to have surgery, or to delay it
for a period of time. |
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Surgery may be delayed because the surgeon is not available
or because beds are not immediately available. All attempts
are made to minimize these kinds of delays but they do occur
and do affect wait times when they happen. |
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Do wait times for cancer
surgery include the wait to see an oncologist?
No. The wait times on the web site reflect the wait
from the surgery booking date to the date that the surgery is performed.
When a patient agrees to have surgery, the surgeon completes a booking
form and documentation relating to the patient’s need for
surgery, and sends them to the region’s booking office requesting
that the patient be put on the wait list. The booking date is the
date that the booking office receives the booking form from the
surgeon.
Some types of cancer may require only surgical treatment, while
others will require the patient to receive chemotherapy and/or radiation
therapy. Often surgery is the first treatment a patient receives.
Surgical services are provided by health regions. Radiation and
chemotherapy treatments, which are performed by radiation and medical
oncologists, are provided by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency. You
can visit www.saskcancer.ca or call the Agency’s Quality of
Care Coordinator at 1-866-577-6489 for more information on these
services.
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Does a patient’s total
wait time include the time they wait for a biopsy, as well as for
surgery?
No. The wait times shown on the SSCN web site are
for one procedure only. There may be a wait for a biopsy and a wait
for treatment of a diagnosed condition. All operating room procedures
are prioritized based on their surgeon’s assessment of urgency.
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If a patient needs a second
biopsy after having surgery, is this booked and recorded as a separate
procedure?
Yes, patients are booked for each procedure that they
require. If the procedure is to be done in the operating room the
patient would be put on the waitlist. It is important to remember
that each procedure is prioritized based on the surgeon’s
assessment of urgency.
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