Nova Scotia has launched a screening program for people at very high risk of developing lung cancer.
For Dr. Daria Manos, it was an announcement years in the making.
“What a momentous day,” she said during a news conference in Halifax on Friday. “We need this program. Lung cancer kills more Nova Scotians than colon, prostate and breast cancers combined.”
Manos, a radiologist and medical director of the lung screening program, said the news follows years of research, consultation, planning and advocacy.
Dr. Daria Manos of the Nova Scotia Health Lung Screening Program welcomed the announcement Friday. (Communications Nova Scotia)
The program includes clinical assessments and CT scans.
Nova Scotians aged 50 to 74 who have smoked daily for 20 years or more at any point in their lives can contact the program and have a nurse assess their personal risk of lung cancer to determine if they would benefit from screening with a chest CT scan.
People will be able to refer themselves to the program and do not need a family doctor.
Dr. Madelaine Plourde, Nova Scotia Health’s chief of thoracic surgery, said early detection of lung cancer is vital to a positive outcome. Three-year survival rates can be greater than 80 per for people diagnosed at Stage 1; the number plummets to just eight per cent when someone reaches Stage 4.
“Unfortunately, about 70 per cent of the patients we see will be found to have advanced-stage lung cancer at the time of their diagnosis. This means that they will not be offered the chance for curative treatment,” she said.
“The truth is, if you are presenting with symptoms of lung cancer, it’s already too late.”
Dr. Madelaine Plourde, the head of thoracic surgery at Dalhousie University, speaks about the importance of the new screening program. (Communications Nova Scotia)
Along with screening, the program is also focused on confronting the shame that can be associated with people who smoke and get lung cancer. There will be education about lung health and support and resources to help people quit smoking. Free nicotine replacement therapy will be provided.
“Smoking is an addiction,” said Manos. “We are here to help. It is never too late to benefit from quitting smoking.”
Education is something Kendra Slawter is pleased to see included in Friday’s announcement. The patient advocate lost four members of her family in the last decade to cancer.
Slawter said she’s hoping the new program can help spare others the pain her family has experienced. It’s important to acknowledge that people don’t always have the ability to make lifestyle changes on their own, she said.
Making these tools available, and putting a particular emphasis on marginalized communities that have experienced systemic barriers to accessing care, is an important step, said Slawter.
“My hope for the program going forward is for people to see the benefit in quitting and understand that it’s not too late and that there’s supports there to help you.”
Variety of factors drive high cancer rates
Health Minister Michelle Thompson said the time was right to launch the screening program because of the advocacy work and professional expertise that’s pushed for it for years.
“Fixing health care means we have to improve cancer screening and the care,” she said.
“Simply put, this program will help prevent and detect lung cancer earlier. It will help save lives.”
Friday’s announcement follows others in recent months aimed at improving cancer care.
The government has announced funding for new forms of therapy and treatments and a major push to expand the use of technology for more individualized treatment options that in many cases mean less invasive procedures for shorter periods of time.
It also comes at a time when updated statistics show Nova Scotia has the highest incidence rate for cancer in the country.
Eastern provinces historically have had higher rates of cancer due to factors such as aging demographics, environmental considerations and lifestyle factors such as higher rates of smoking, drinking, obesity and chronic disease than the rest of the country.
Putting an increased focus on prevention
Dr. Helmut Hollenhorst, the senior medical director of the province’s cancer care program, told CBC News in a recent interview that about 45,000 Nova Scotians today live with cancer. That number is expected to grow to 200,000 by the end of the decade as the population ages, he said.
While that can sound startling, Hollenhorst said there can be a good quality of life beyond a diagnosis with early and timely access to the right treatments and therapies. It’s also why there needs to be more focus on prevention, he said.
Hollenhorst estimates that between 30 and 50 per cent of cancers can be prevented if people avoid smoking and drinking, maintain an active lifestyle and make fruits and vegetables a regular part of their diet. People should also be mindful of environmental factors such as arsenic in water and radon gas in their home, he said.
Enhanced prevention efforts will require help from a variety of partners across the health-care system and government more broadly, said Hollenhorst. The benefit of positive health and lifestyle choices will not only reduce the risk of cancer, but also the risk of other chronic diseases, he said.
“This is something where we don’t see impact quickly. We are in for the long haul and we need to change the trajectory of health in general and primary prevention is key and it needs to be addressed to make a difference in the long term.”
Lung screening program starts in central zone
The new lung screening program is available in the province’s central health zone by calling 1-833-505-5864.
It will be rolled out across the province over the next two years. The provincial government will spend $3 million a year on the program when it is fully implemented across Nova Scotia.
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has contributed $350,000 to the program and is also committing nearly $1 million over the next three years to develop strategies to reach diverse and vulnerable populations.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
