Sask. cancer patients are angry at Premier Scott Moe and the unvaccinated

Andrew Hanna was diagnosed with bladder cancer in the middle of the pandemic last year. He had his surgery in early fall 2020 and was subsequently put on a regimen of treatments.

Now the province has disrupted his treatments due to hospitals being packed with COVID-19 patients.

Hanna, a resident of the Nutana neighbourhood in Saskatoon, was put on a treatment schedule that involved cystoscopy appointments every three months followed by Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment.

"In BCG treatment, they infuse my bladder with live tuberculosis bacteria. For some reason, this works wonders on bladder cancer, so I go in once a week," Hanna said.

The 70-year-old said the BCG treatment hardly takes 15 minutes.

Hanna was also recently put on a six-month schedule where instead of getting scopes done every three months, they would be conducted bi-monthly. But before the transition was complete, his treatment was disrupted. His last scope was on Sept. 24.

"As I walked out the door of the outpatients department that day, they were shutting it down. I was not scheduled to have my next scope and treatments until December. I've already been told they've had to cancel it all and that they have no idea when I'll be getting mine next," he said.

He said his urologist is as in the dark as him on when the treatments will resume, as both the department and unit that were involved in the treatment have been shut down due to nurses being reallocated. 

"I do know that bladder cancer is one of the easier cancers to control and cure, but it's also a cancer with among the highest rates of returning," Hanna said. 

He said the wait means he will not be able to get his cystoscopy, which is supposed to reveal whether or not his cancer is spreading. Since that detection is delayed, his treatment for a potential recurrence is also delayed. 

"I'm pissed off. I'm angry with the situation. But worrying does no good whatsoever," he said.

Hanna said he has no options but to wait. He can't travel to other provinces or even nearby cities, as his bladder control has been affected.

He said Premier Scott Moe should have paid heed to the modelling data and advice of medical health officers, and not lifted COVID-19 restrictions on July 11.

"The accountability is shared between those that have refused to get a vaccination and Scott Moe. I would just say to Moe to quit posturing and get us out of the situation," he said.