After British Columbia saw an “alarming” 24% rise in euthanasia deaths in 2022, one woman with stage 4 breast cancer is fighting back against the government for failing to fund her treatment because she has been deemed “incurable.”
According to Cheknews, Kim Angell has survived for two and a half years with metastatic breast cancer, which has an average lifespan of two to three years. A PET scan recently confirmed in May that the cancer has progressed and that she would need to switch to a different medication. That medication, Enhertu, is not funded by British Columbia, but she was able to access it through a program with the company AstraZeneca. Enhertu carries a side effect of neutropenia, which can be treated with Filgrastim, but BC Pharmacare will not cover Filgrastim because of Angell’s status as incurable.
This means neither of her medications is covered by government-run health care.
“Just because we may be living with Stage 4 cancer and are no longer considered curable, we still deserve access to those treatments because our lives are important,” said Angell.
Six weeks of Filgrastim is costing Angell $500. She wrote a letter to B.C. Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix, in which she shared her story and how the government-run health insurance will not cover the medication.
In a statement to CHEK News, the Ministry of Health said that Filgrastim is available under “special authority” as long as the patient meets certain criteria established in coalition with BC Cancer. Angell said she does not meet any of the seven criteria.
“I feel like my life doesn’t matter,” she said. “I want action.”
@kim_angell Just out here living life to the fullest between chemo✨️ #metastaticbreastcancer #mbc #stage4cancer #cancer #thriver #livelifenow #beautifulmoments ♬ Pumpin Blood (The Jane Doze Remix) – NONONO
In 2021, 2,515 people died in British Columbia using Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), driving concerns that the province and the nation are promoting and allowing assisted death for individuals who are not actually dying.
“These numbers are alarming and should give British Columbians reasons for concern,” Mike Schouten, director of ARPA Canada, told Daily Mail.
Of major concern — Canadians are being offered assisted death rather than proper medical treatment because of cost. Doctors in Canada have said they are facing subtle pressure from the government to use MAiD to cut costs for the government-funded healthcare system. Roger Foley, a resident with a degenerative brain disorder, said he has been offered euthanasia so often that he began recording the medical professionals. In one recording obtained by AP, a hospital ethicist is heard telling Foley that he is costing the hospital “north of $1,500 a day” and asks him if he has “an interest in assisted dying.”
In 2020, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer publicly released a report showing that its MAiD program has created a “net cost reduction” of $86.9 million per year by killing people instead of treating them. It went on to advocate for the expansion of eligibility criteria for MAiD in order to allow more individuals to access MAiD and therefore build the savings by an additional $62 million per year.
