BC government expands cancer screening and treatment with $440 million

BC government to expand cancer screening and treatment services with $440 million in funding

Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-PET imaging. (BC Cancer Foundation)

“Nearly every British Columbian has been affected by cancer in some way, through their own diagnosis or that of a family member or friend,” said Premier David Eby.

For that reason, Eby announced today the Government of BC will provide an initial $440 million operational investment to expand cancer-care teams and service hours, which will enable the improved and more timely screening, detection, and treatment of cancer illness.

The funding will revise pay structures for healthcare staff to better ensure the province remains attractive and competitive for oncologists and cancer-care professionals.

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“This action plan will help achieve a cancer-free future for more people, accelerate treatment for patients diagnosed with cancer and help thousands more survive their cancer diagnosis,” said BC Minister of Health Adrian Dix.

There will also be some specific investments to improve the access to services for residents who live in rural and remote communities, including increased funding to support the costs for people who need to travel to a cancer-care centre. The provincial government is also working on adding more cancer centres across the province and providing more research and treatment funding to BC Cancer Foundation, which recently hired over 325 full-time equivalent positions to implement a new team-based care model in all six existing regional cancer centres.

Of the $440 million in new funding, $270 million will go towards BC Cancer’s care-team expansion for enhanced and more timely screening and treatment services, and $170 million will go to BC Cancer Foundation to support cancer research and attract the skilled cancer-care providers needed to provide specialized treatments.

Also recently, the province’s 4,000-person wait list for the Hereditary Cancer Program was eliminated, and a lung screen program and the first at-home HPV cervix screening pilot project were launched.

According to the provincial government, in 2021, over 30,000 people in BC were newly diagnosed with cancer and more than 11,000 died because of the illness. The investment coincides with growing cancer diagnosis rates and BC’s rapidly aging population.

The risk of being diagnosed with cancer over a lifetime for Canadian residents has increased to a one-in-two chance, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Recent studies also show there is now a dramatic increase in cancer for people under 50.

“This will be the most significant investment in cancer care the province has ever seen. It will save lives and address the growing demand for cancer care we have today and for the next 10 years as our population grows and ages,” said Dr. Kim Chi, chief medical officer of BC Cancer.

Separately, construction is expected to begin this year on a new $1.7 billion hospital in the Cloverdale area of Surrey. The new hospital for the Fraser Health Authority network will be integrated with a new regional cancer centre. The facility is expected to open in 2027.

In 2021, the Canadian Cancer Society opened a new and expanded patient lodge facility next to BC Cancer’s treatment hub in the Vancouver General Hospital campus. It has 62 beds for out-of-town patients within 32 rooms.

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