Advocates call for lower wait times for breast reconstruction surgery

Breast reconstruction is a procedure that’s growing in popularity not only among women who are cancer survivors but also those who test positive for the gene mutation that puts them at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.

But many of these women seem to be facing the same issue: extremely long wait times. It’s something Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins says is unacceptable.

“It is unacceptably long for women who have to go through this traumatic physical and mental procedure,” Hoskins said in Queen’s Park.

“We owe them. We’re obligated to make sure that we’re providing a better system and better support to them. We’re making the changes to deliver just that.”

Wait times for breast reconstruction across the country range from a few months to as long as five years.

Rethink Breast Cancer has been advocating for reduced wait times as well as improved access.

Last year, Rethink surveyed 49 patients and 32 doctors in Ontario to look at the effects of delayed wait times. The report found women are waiting an average of 111 days longer for breast reconstruction than the target of 182 days set by the province.

“We think breast reconstruction should be part of the care plan, not something that gets considered well after the fact,” said Rethink Executive Director MJ DeCoteau.

She says wait times are especially critical for women who have tested positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation — in the spotlight after actress Angelina Jolie revealed she carried a mutation in the BRCA1 gene.

“If they’re carrying that gene, they have a very high chance of getting breast cancer, so they’re interested in surgeries,” DeCoteau said.

“However, young women want to have the reconstruction at the same time [as the] the prophylactic removal.

We know that women are waiting in some hospitals a very long time to have that surgery done….and in fact, in our research a couple of women were diagnosed while they were waiting.”

Rethink says its vision of success is not only reduced wait times but for breast reconstruction to automatically be considered a part of diagnosis and treatment.

Rethink’s three recommendations to improve wait times in Ontario:

• Add prophylactic mastectomy with immediate reconstruction to the list of cancer surgeries funded by Cancer Care Ontario
• Ensure that data on these surgeries be collected and measured so CCO can better understand the demand for this surgery and assign resources accordingly
• Increase surgical resources in the province