UPDATES/ CORRECTIONS

A

Commitment to Accuracy

The Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada requests data, background documents, explanations and commentary from each province for all its surveys. We accept each survey response as an accurate portrayal of the facts, policy or position of the cancer agency or health ministry.

If errors are brought to our attention, CACC policy is to correct the facts, ensuring that our online and printed materials are revised. Having made those changes, we also believe it is important to clearly identify any factual differences from the original online version.

We believe in fair reporting of cancer system performance and the experiences of cancer patients within that system. Any complaints or compliments about CACC publications should be forwarded to our office: cacc.ca

Provincial Wait Times

• Wait time results (page 11). Ontario’s 2004 wait times have now been included (footnote 13, as the data are not compatible with the Table format). CACC and CCO agree that Ontario’s decision not to provide data was unintentional.

Provincial Screening

• Survey Summary (pp 18-19). The incidence rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer are for 2004 (to coincide with the year for data supplied) and not 2005 as originally shown.

• Under the heading Colorectal (second bullet point, “Most extensive access to screening”), Alberta should have been mentioned with Saskatchewan and Quebec providing colorectal screening as an insured service. This fact was originally mentioned only in the next (third) bullet point.

• Mammography outside the organized screening programs occurs in most if not all provinces and does not alter the rates originally published. These mammograms are not necessarily screening and the occurrence may vary by province. For example, in Ontario an additional 25 per cent of women age 50-69 receive mammography outside the Ontario Breast Screening Program.

Cancer drug access

• Comparison of provincial funding approvals (page 32). New Brunswick is now mentioned with British Columbia as implementing use of rituximab (Rituxan) in 2001.

• Cancer drug access summarized by province (page 33). In the summary for Saskatchewan, we have deleted the reference to erythropoietin (Eprex) as one of the supportive care drugs provided through the global budget of the provincial cancer agency. In the summary for Prince Edward Island, (page 35), a clarification has been added to note that oral cancer drugs are accessed through third-party payers, compassionate access, self-pay and pharmaceutical assistance programs.

• Table 3 (page 34). Definitions for symbol L (limited access) and symbol R (recommended) have been revised to more clearly indicate that L refers to public funding and that R refers to a recommendation for funding.

Next Steps

The Report Card continues to grow in size and scope of research. The CACC recognizes a need to update our publishing protocols and is working toward greater efficiencies in research, analysis and production. Over the next several weeks we will be consulting with stakeholders throughout the cancer community to determine appropriate topics for the next Report Card. At the same time, we will invite suggestions to improve our publishing process.

February 6, 2006