Convincing Our Neighbours the Real Test: One Man's Opinion

Thursday, April 20, 2006 03:51 AM

-by Ben Meisner

Just being big brothers is proving not to be enough when it comes to consideration for a cancer clinic in this city.

More and more there comes information from areas such as Prince Rupert, Terrace, Ft. St. John and Dawson Creek that such a facility would not do them much good, and without them , there is little chance of success.

The residents of communities such as Prince Rupert feel that to travel to Prince George to receive cancer treatment is a much bigger chore than going to Vancouver. Air travel is much better between the city of Vancouver and Prince Rupert and Terrace is not far behind.

It is a days hard driving between the west coast and Prince Goegre and they feel there is little to be gained.

Now let’s head north to Ft. Nelson, Ft. St. John and Dawson Creek.

Regretfully Grande Prairie is a couple of hours drive away and there is no mountain pass to cross but rather a divided highway to their destination.

So far the only thing we have had going has been that we are a central city , but increasingly that may not be enough.

If you take out the populations of the west coast (and it is a given that the Queen Charlotte Islands are not going to want to come to PG) take out the populations of the communities north of the Pine Pass and we find ourselves very short of the necessary population to maintain such a facility.

Our sales job to our neighbors hasn’t been good and while the Northern Health authority covers the areas in question, they themselves will find they have a tough sell on their hands.

I'm Meisner, and that is one man's opinion.

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Posted on Thursday, April 20, 2006 03:51 AM in Views by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: diplomat on April 20 2006 8:14 AM

It is a fact that the mayor of Prince Rupert has demanded that a full blown cancer clinic be located there. He stated that Prince George should not "always get everything."

Terrace and Kitimat will give full support to that attitude.

I had no idea that residents in remote areas can "pick and choose" as to where they will go when it has been determined that they need radiation therapy and comprehensive cancer treatment.

Once the new clinic is up and running in Prince George patients will be scheduled to go it from all over the greater surroundings and that might include overflow from facilities in the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland.

We always had to go south, so perhaps it is only fair to give others from there an opportunity to come this way, if need be.

Posted by: duffer on April 20 2006 8:33 PM

It won't be in our lifetime that we will get a cancer clinic here. I am 53 years old and have lost family members to cancer also, but with only 70,000 people to draw from it will be a long time before we get one here.