New Calgary cancer centre back on Tories? radar

As the province puts the finishing touches on an Alberta cancer-care strategy, the simmering debate over a new cancer centre to ease Calgary?s treatment space woes is once again on the Tory government?s radar.

Health Minister Fred Horne confirmed a new facility to replace the strained Tom Baker Cancer Centre is one of the options under discussion to deal with Calgary?s capacity crunch, but was coy about details.

?I?m very, very aware of the need in Calgary, both with respect to the Tom Baker and renovating that facility, but also the need to expand,? Horne said.

Asked whether a new facility was in the works, the minister said: ?There are many options and that is one of them.?

The Tom Baker centre ran out of room nearly a decade ago as Calgary?s population surged and the number of cancer patients increased.

The saga over whether to build a new clinic ? and how to pay for it ? has dragged on ever since.

In 2005, then-premier Ralph Klein promised $1 billion to build new or expanded cancer facilities in the province?s two biggest cities, and it seemed a Tom Baker replacement was in the works for Calgary.

In December 2010, however, as the province struggled with consecutive budget deficits, the Calgary plans were shelved.

Instead, the government announced $141 million for Calgary cancer-care expansion, including renovations at the Tom Baker, and promised to boost space to 700,000 square feet from 400,000 square feet by 2015.

Now, it appears a new cancer-care building could be back on the drawing board.

The Alberta Health Services board, which met in Calgary last week, had discussions on the provincial cancer strategy on its private agenda.

Following the meeting, AHS chief executive Dr. Chris Eagle said the medical superboard has no concrete commitments from government on a new building, but is ?very interested in what the future possibilities may be.?

Eagle said the $141-million expansion has been helpful, but more capacity is clearly needed.

?There was a lot of work done on the free-standing cancer facility in Calgary. There was a reason for that,? Eagle said.

?That?s one of the options that?s being looked at. It?s not the only option being looked at. It?s one of the options.?

The government and the superboard have been crafting a new provincewide framework for all of Alberta?s cancer-treatment services.

The strategy is expected to examine Alberta?s needs for at least the next 15 years and look at the role played by therapy centres in smaller cities such as Grande Prairie and Lethbridge.

Horne said the plan could be complete within months.

While debate over a new cancer centre in Calgary has raged for almost 10 years, a new clinic isn?t the only possibility.

Further expansion at the Tom Baker site, or services at the new South Health Campus have also been bandied about as options.

New real estate on the Foothills campus, the current home of the Tom Baker, is generally considered a favoured idea considering the proximity to the hospital and the University of Calgary medical facilities.

Wildrose health critic Heather Forsyth said while more cancer care is certainly needed in Calgary, she?s concerned about the price tag.

The Tory government should publicly release its infrastructure priorities and show it has the cash for the centre before making promises, she said.

?I think it?s up to the government to tell Albertans if they have the money for the infrastructure for the cancer centre and where it is on the priority list,? Forsyth said.

Further delays on how to expand services will only make it more complicated to finally execute the cancer plan, noted Dan Holinda, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society?s Alberta/NWT division.

Calgary has immediate needs, but serious long-term ones, too, he said.

?The problem is, with the aging boomer population, they?re predicting one in two Albertans will get a cancer diagnosis,? Holinda said.

?We needed the centre yesterday to meet today?s needs. What are we going to need 10 years from now??

Holinda said he is looking forward to the long-awaited provincial strategy and hopes to see plans to deal with early detection and improving care.

Liberal health critic Dr. David Swann said Calgary patients and cancer-care health professionals have had to cope with fragmented care, as many services squeezed out of the Tom Baker are provided off-site at the Holy Cross Centre.

The most recent AHS figures show Calgary patients waiting 6.3 weeks for their first radiation therapy consult ? up from six weeks a year ago, and longer than the four-week time frame the superboard set as a target.

The province hasn?t properly planned for Calgary?s needs, Swann contended.

?Everything I hear from the cancer folks is they are struggling to keep it together. It?s lost efficiency and in some cases effectiveness, and in some cases delayed cancer care.?

jkomarnicki@calgaryherald.com

? Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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