Faulty Breast Cancer Testing
Vancouver – A breast cancer scandal is brewing in Canada centering around Kelowna General Hospital. The scandal came as a result of allegations made by the clinics former director of Okanagan Health Service Area laboratories, Dr. Kirk Ready. The pathologist quit his position with the Interior Health Authority last October but detailed his concerns in two letters to the Interior Health Authority that have been leaked to the press.
Ready’s concerns are that breast cancer patients have been receiving inadequate care at the hospital and that this substandard treatment could have affected dozens of women suffering from breast cancers. The main concern revolves around the use of estrogen receptor testing, a test that is used to determine if a cancer is receptive to therapy. In over 100 cases, Ready alleges that the laboratory had no standards for reporting the testing.
Other concerns dealt with unsanitary conditions and chemicals being dumped in the sewer. Ready even commented that areas of the hospital was “filthy.” In one incident describing the morgue Ready stated that the morgues cooler was only fit to hold 12 bodies but 19 bodies were currently in the morgue, forcing staff to rotate bodies in and out of the cooler to slow down decomposing. An incident that happened several times in is two years of employment.
The senior director for Interior Health, Robert Halpenny is currently conducting an investigation of breast cancer tests completed during the period that Ready worked their. According to him, so far no errors have been found. Halpenny does acknowledge that the morgue exceeded capacity several times and stated that this issue and others Ready bought up were addressed and fixed. Some of them while Ready was still employed their. The final results of his report will be available in April.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) is also requesting an independent inquiry be conducted. Health Minister George Abbott however, is cautioning patients not to be concerned and blames much of the commotion surrounding the breast cancer scandal on the NDP. He accuses the NDP for creating hysteria and exploiting the recent tragedy in Newfoundland for political agenda. In the incident in Newfoundland over 100 patients died after being given the wrong breast cancer test.
Ready has stood by his claims even though Halpenny has called them unfounded. Though he would not provide more specific information Ready also hinted that he was told to keep quite about the incidents due to the upcoming election.
