Emergency physicians in Canada say that cancer diagnoses are often given in the emergency department, which takes a toll on clinicians and patients.
Despite overall declines in cancer incidence and mortality, population growth and aging are predicted to drive an increase in the absolute number of people receiving a cancer diagnosis this year.
."The times when it weighs most heavily is when circumstances don't allow me to have a clear next step for the patient. It's one thing to deal with the emotional aspect of breaking bad news. It's another thing if it's complicated by a frustrating, intellectually challenging decision about what to do with and for this person, in terms of their next step."
The situation is especially difficult in a rural setting, said Mackay. In remote locations in northern Canada, the ED can be as much as 12 hours away from a tertiary center where a patient can get a CT scan or an MRI. "Many cancers are actually becoming either less frequent or less catastrophic because a cancer that 30 years ago was terminal now is treatable in some situations," he continued. But the absolute numbers of patients with cancer increase as the overall population grows.
Similarly, ED clinicians can make a referral to some clinics in the Toronto area when a diagnosis of lung cancer, breast cancer, or pancreatic cancer is suspected but uncertain, said Ovens."They will see patients quickly and sort out the next steps," he said. But such clinics may not exist in other areas of Canada, or they may exist only for other types of cancers, he noted.
Malignant Breast Neoplasm Breast Carcinoma Lung Cancer Lung Carcinoma Cancer Of The Lung Cancer Malignant Neoplasia Carcinoma Malignant Neoplasm Prostate Carcinoma Malignant Prostate Neoplasm Prostate Cancer Cancer Of The Prostate Hospital Emergency Services Advanced Cancer Malignant Head And Neck Neoplasm Head And Neck Cancer Head And Neck Cancer (HNC) Otolaryngology
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