Sara Gillooly, a 40-year-old mother of two from Port Moody, B.C., is advocating for faster cancer care after experiencing an eight-month wait to see an oncologist, which she believes allowed her Stage 4 breast cancer to spread. Despite improvements, British Columbia still struggles to meet national benchmarks, with only 63% of new patients seeing an oncologist within four weeks. Gillooly questions if earlier intervention could have changed her prognosis, as her cancer metastasized to her lungs while she waited. B.C. Cancer officials acknowledge the issue, noting staffing shortages contribute to prolonged wait times for crucial diagnostic tests and treatments.
