'Major crisis' facing P.E.I. blood cancer patients as another oncologist prepares to leave

With P.E.I's only full-time blood oncologist leaving at the end of November, Health P.E.I. was planning to transfer his patients to Dr. Philip Champion, but now Champion says he intends to retire in the spring.

P.E.I.'s only oncologist specifically trained in that field, Dr. Pierre Whitlock, is leaving Health P.E.I. at the end of November. Champion is now the only doctor left on P.E.I. with experience treating blood diseases and cancers.

"I'm anticipating fully retiring in the next year, depending a little bit on the details of how we do with replacing doctors," Champion told CBC News. "A lot of logistics need to be worked out in a hurry to be able to avoid interruptions of people's chemotherapy for sure." 

Last month, Health P.E.I. said current blood cancer patients would be taken care of on the Island, but new patients would potentially need to travel off-Island to get a treatment plan.

That's still the case for now. But if Health P.E.I. can't find a hematologist before both doctors leave, there will be no one on P.E.I. to treat new blood cancer patients.

Champion said he will consider working part time, but that won't be enough to look after all P.E.I.'s blood cancer patients. 

"We still have a major crisis if I cut back at all," he said. 

"It's unfortunate that there are two, kind of in a row," said Dr. Richard Wedge, Health P.E.I.'s acting chief medical officer.

He said Health P.E.I. is actively recruiting to replace both of those doctors, and is also trying to attract locum or temporary blood oncologists.

Wedge said that over the winter, before Champion retires, eight to 10 blood cancer patients per month will have to travel to receive assessment and treatment plans in Moncton or Halifax. He said most of those patients will be able to receive their actual treatment on P.E.I. 

"Until we have another hematologist oncologist, they'll continue to travel off-Island." Wedge said. 

When Champion does retire, the patients he took over from Whitlock will have to travel off-Island, Wedge said. His current oncology patients will be assigned to other oncologists on P.E.I.

"We're certainly doing our best to ensure there is a path to a timely treatment program, and our neighbouring provinces are being very co-operative in terms of trying to make sure that they have capacity and understand our needs… Our ultimate goal is to return the services to P.E.I. so [patients] don't have to travel," said Wedge.

Health P.E.I. says there are currently two radiation oncologists and two medical oncologists on the Island, and it is in the process of recruiting two more medical oncologists — doctors who treat cancers other than blood diseases. Those two doctors, who are still in training, are poised to arrive next year, Wedge said.