More people in Canada who land in an emergency room with symptoms like belly pain or unexplained weight loss are being told “this may be cancer” — and sent home without knowing how long they’ll be waiting to get the follow-up care they need, a new study suggests.

The study of Ontario emergency doctors’ experiences managing people with suspected cancer paints a grim picture of how emergency staff are left “holding the bag” for what many described as a health system in crisis, and the “gut punch” patients feel when told “I don’t know when you’re going to be seen.”

Researchers have warned that, with one in five Canadians without a regular doctor, and wait times for tests for suspected cancer stretching months, getting a diagnosis of cancer in emergency is becoming “routine” in Canada.

On

See Full Page