October 2020 Newsletter

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is always reserved for the promotion of Breast Cancer Awareness.  In Canada, it accounts for approximately 25% of news cases of cancer and 13% of all cancer deaths among women.  One out of 8 women will get it and 1 in 33 will die from it.  

Breast cancers are not all the same.  There are so many varying factors such as: what part of the breast did it begin, what the cells look like under microscope, the grade and stage of the diagnosis, the genetic makeup of the cells, and if the cancer cells are fueled by hormones.  All of these component form a very complex, specific diagnosis.  The treatments available vary based on all of those factors.  

Many people enroll in clinical trials.  If you were to research all of the available clinic trials available to breast cancer patients, you would find hundreds of them for the very reasons listed above.  For the sake of time and boring you completely, we would like to highlight a couple of new advancements.

Circulating Tumor DNA in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – TNBC has limited treatment and prognosis options for patients.  A clinical trial was recently done to find out the effectiveness for determining recurrence and prognosis for patients with TNBC.  The results showed that recurrence could be predicted and the physician can utilize this information to identify who might be at higher risk for recurrence early on.  On the flip side, it can also identify which patients will have a good prognosis so they can apply de-escalation therapy, the reduction of exposure to therapy and its adverse effects, for some patients.  This positive research prompted a second clinical trial to refine how liquid biopsy can inform treatment for TNBC patients.  

Genomic Testing – For many years, breast cancer patients have received chemotherapy, something that has severe side effects such as hair loss, neuropathy, weight loss, fatigue and nausea.  A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in July 2018 showed that chemotherapy would not benefit 85% of patients over the age of 50 whose breast cancer was HR+, HER and had not spread to the lymph nodes.  This study looked at 21 different genes in the patient’s primary tumor.  The goal was to determine whether they’d be responsive to chemotherapy or if a better choice would be a less invasive treatment such as Tamoxifen.  The study concluded that patients scoring in the low to mid range could safely skip chemotherapy.  This is a huge game changer for many breast cancer patients as it omits the need to subject them to a more toxic treatment.

For clinical trials and treatments pertinent to your kind of cancer, always consult with your physician.

World Spine Day

October 16th marked World Spine Day.  This is celebrated every year on every continent to highlight health and well-being with physical activity, good posture, healthy working conditions and safe lifting.  Spine pain affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide and is the biggest, single cause of disability.  

This year, challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic have lead to a lack of physical activity by being on lock downs, loss of work that might otherwise keep you up and moving and gym closures. This can make your spine more susceptible to pain or disability.  World Spine Day 2020’s focus was about getting people ‘Back’ on Track.  They have highlighted the importance of spine health and created resources to keep your spine active and healthy. 

For tips on how to prevent back pain, download the Straighten Up Canada app for exercise videos that you can set goals on and monitor progress.  To download the app, visit Android App or Apple App.or, the videos can be seen here.  

For more information on the 2020 Back on Track campaign, go to their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages for the latest news and ideas.

 

 

We celebrated Thanksgiving this month.  This year especially, we’ve been tested on what really matters.  Family, friends and faith.  As Maya Angelou said “Be present in all things, and thankful for all things” 

Tips For a Faster Joint Replacement Recovery

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Tips For a Faster Joint Replacement Recovery

Joint replacements used to leave people in agonizing pain taking weeks, sometimes months to recover.  It was not uncommon to be hospitalized 3 to 7 days.  Now, newer techniques allow for the patient to be up and walking right after surgery and to be released from the hospital on the same day.  The goal in getting someone up and moving right away benefits the patient in a huge way.  They are less likely to develop blood clots, experience increased pain and lose muscle mass.

Do not mistake this for an easy ride though.  There is still a lot of work that goes in before, during, and after the surgery.  The more prepared you are, the better  your outcome will be.  Keeping everyone involved, ie. support person, facilitator, surgeon, nursing staff and anesthesiologist, all on the same page will only benefit you.  Here are some things you can do to make your recovery go faster:

  • Set realistic expectations on your recovery BEFORE you even have the surgery.  Go in to it knowing it will take time for you to heal.  Research shows that even though you feel great and are able to get around fairly easy, the muscle tissues and bone still take a full 6 weeks to heal properly.  For some, it can be even more than 6 weeks.  Keeping that in mind will prepare you mentally to accept that you will not be running a marathon within a month’s time after your joint replacement.  
  • Eat a healthy diet, stop smoking and continue a strengthening exercise routine before the big day.  Doing this will have you fit and healthy for surgery.  By continuing the exercise or physiotherapy prior to the surgery, you will be that much more ahead of the game when you start the routine back up.
  • Prepare your home ahead of time before the surgery.  Making some meals you can keep in the freezer will make eating time less stressful and easier.  Get your sleeping area set up.   For example, if your bedroom is in an upstairs area, it might make more sense to set something up downstairs for a couple of days until you feel like you can safely climb stairs.  Clear away any unnecessary items on the floor to prevent the chance of tripping over them.
  • Most importantly, ALWAYS do what your doctor has instructed and follow through with any preparation required or limitations they have set for you. 

Health Vantis

www.healthvantis.ca

877-344-3544

info@healthvantis.ca

Wait Times Proving To Be Longer Than Expected

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Wait Times Proving To Be Longer Than Expected

We all knew, or highly suspected, that with the cancellation of non-urgent surgeries back when the pandemic broke, there would be consequences.  But how far deep has Canada dug a hole with regards to wait times?  According to the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF), it’s so far deep that it will take innovative thinking and more resources to mend the broken system.

Documents from the Ministry of Health show that between March 18 and July 27th, the number of surgeries and diagnostic procedures performed had dropped significantly when compared to the same time period in 2019.  Earlier reports for Ontario estimated 100,000 surgeries had been delayed, however, this was greatly underestimated.  Actual reports showed the number was 168,498 fewer surgeries done during that same 19-week period.  

If you look at it from a percentage point of view, this is where it faired:

– Pediatric surgeries dropped by over 75%

– Non-Oncology surgeries dropped by over 74%

– Oncology surgeries dropped by 24%

– Number of MRIs dropped by 43%

The numbers have not been evaluated since July 27th. To date, hospitals are still not performing surgeries at 100% capacity in anticipation of a second wave of COVID.  That means the backlog will grow even more.

The interesting thing in all of this, if you use Nova Scotia as an example, is that they cancelled 3,200 surgeries out of the 25,000 waiting to free up beds for COVID.  Since the pandemic began in NS, there were only 49 people who contracted the virus that were sick enough to need hospital care and only 12 of them needed ICU treatment.  So why were there 3,200 surgeries cancelled when the number of actual beds needed was so low?  

Per Gregory Hirsch, the senior medical director for surgical services network for NS, about 70% of the 3,200 cancelled surgeries have been caught up. That, however, doesn’t account for all of the postponed appointments with specialists and GP’s.  So the 3,200 number in reality is more like a back log of 12,000 as some of those cases have yet to emerge.  Even more discerning is that prior to COVID, only 60% of surgeries were being done within the standard amount of time it should take to begin with.

This pandemic has no doubt put the health care system in even more delays.  Were they necessary?  One could say yes, because they wanted to prepare for the unknowns to this virus.  But when you look at the actual numbers of how many people got postponed to free beds up to the number of people that actually needed them, were are still scratching our heads.

 

Health Vantis

www.healthvantis.ca

877-344-3544

info@healthvantis.com

Ruling On Private Health Care In British Columbia

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Ruling On Private Health Care In British Columbia

What had been a decade long battle and litigated case came to a close in September.  Dr. Brian Day, owner of the private clinic Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver, unfortunately lost the constitutional challenge of public health care rules.

The Cambie Surgery Centre was legally opened in 1996 by Dr. Day to provide more OR time for surgeons that were unable to get it in the public hospitals. In 2009, he filed action against the B.C. government over sections of the Medicare Protection Act. This act requires doctors to opt out of billing the government for services provided for in the public system if they are also earning income in a private clinic.  According to the courts, Dr. Day’s facility has been in violation of this act since 2003.  He has maintained that under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, patients who have waited too long in the public system for timely care should have the right to private treatment.

The argument has always been that by allowing a two-tier system, only wealthy patients would be able to pay out of pocket, therefore, allowing them to ‘queue jump’ for faster access.  This was thought to be unfair to those who didn’t have the means to pay for a quicker surgery or diagnostic test. 

In our experience, the customers that have come to us in search of private facilities have reached their tipping point of not being able to withstand the pain any further.  Their frustration levels are through the roof due to a system that was failing them.  Very few clients that have come to us over the past few years were weathly. In fact, the majority of them have been middle class or lower income earners who are willing to do anything just to feel better because the system has let them down.  In our experience, that argument is not validated.

It’s hard to say what will happen to the Cambie Clinic as Dr. Day did not comment on the ruling.  It is suspected he may try to appeal the decision.  In the meantime, Canadians will have one less option for access to private health care.

 

Health Vantis

www.healthvantis.ca

877-344-3544

info@healthvantis.com