She has a high breast cancer risk but has to wait years for preventative surgery

An Ottawa woman says she's frustrated, angry and afraid as she faces a growing wait for a procedure that could spare her from the high risk of breast cancer she faces.

Ashley Ricks, 32, has been assessed as having a greater than 25 per cent chance of developing breast cancer through genetic testing and a medical assessment taking into account her family's cancer history. 

Even with her risk identified and the support of her doctor, she's struggling to get the follow up care she wants – a preventative double mastectomy. 

"While I'm waiting for the surgery, the thoughts keep rolling in my head: Am I going to get it? How long is this going to take? How certain is this going to be? And it's scary," Ricks said in her south Ottawa home.

Ricks also has fibrocystic breasts – which cause pain, swelling and lumps. The condition has required biopsies, a procedure to end bleeding from her nipples and led to her seeking genetic risk screening after speaking with her doctor.

Ricks showed CBC News messages from The Ottawa Hospital where the estimated wait time for her double-mastectomy increased from one to two years in February to two to three years in August. 

She said she understands she's not as high as a priority as people battling cancer, but said she feels like the pandemic has broken the health system.

"Enough is enough. I'm not asking to go ahead of someone … who has active cancer, by any means, no. But living like this in pain daily isn't right," she said.

"The fact that I can't hug my kids at times isn't fair to me either."

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) said it cannot comment on individual patients, but noted surgical wait time estimates fluctuate.

It said surgical teams are managing operating room and clinic demands "while prioritizing patients whose health needs are the most serious, such as active cancer patients and other life-threatening and time-sensitive cases."

According to Ontario Health's wait time dashboard, the average wait for all breast reconstructive surgeries at both TOH's General and Riverside campuses is more than a year  — 500 days and 459, respectively — longer than the 182 day provincial target. It shows a trend of increased average waits since the spring.

The same dashboard provincial target for patients with "benign" breast disease is the same 182 days. The TOH general campus average wait time is 179 days.

Ricks wants to combine the two procedures to manage her risk of infection or complications due to her diabetes.