Hi Faith,

My mom had what was immediately deemed as terminal cancer, and what they did was made the rest of her life as comfortable as possible in a hospice. I was thankful for how well the system cared for her in her final weeks . . but we also understood right from the get-go that there was absolutely nothing they could do to impact the outcome.

My BIL and best friend ultimately died of later stage cancer too, both discovered completely by accident on Fridays (one by an eye doctor and the other an xray technician). The day following the discovery, my BIL had already been operated on and was recovering in hospital. My best friend had her confirming MRI (the next day) and by Monday had met with the Onocologist. I couldn't believe she was already undergoing treatment by mid-week.

Perhaps they prioritize, based on the severity AND their perception of the opportunity to impact the outcome (triage).

I think we could find horror stories about what's happened to people on both sides of the border, in both types of systems. Unfortunately, your example hits very close to home, and perhaps has tainted your perception of the system overall. No, it's not perfect, but it has served me and everyone I know extremely well . . . at least so far, thankfully. No doubt, some have slipped through the cracks though.

Cherie