For more than two months now, Francis (Phuc Van) Tran, 70, has been saying that it is very difficult for him to eat anything. She has lost a significant amount of weight and prescriptions for probiotics and medications for heartburn have not helped.
During a visit to the emergency room on April 7, the Vancouver Island oyster breeder finally learned the reason for his lack of appetite: there is a 10-centimeter tumor and two smaller growths. in the liver, probably related to a previously undiagnosed hepatitis B infection. he had been hired decades ago in his home country, Vietnam.
He hoped to get a quick referral to a specialist and says he was told the tumors could be treated with surgery if action is taken quickly.
But this week, Tran and his family learned that they would not have their first appointment with an oncologist in Vancouver until June 20, more than 10 weeks after the tumors were discovered.
He told CBC News that if he had known how long this would take, he would have gotten the money to travel to the US or even Cuba to treat this often deadly cancer.
“I am [feeling] left behind, “Tran said.
Francis Tran, pictured here on a boat in Nanoose Bay with his wife Linda and grandchildren Jesse, Keeley and Annika, has long been a clam and oyster breeder at BC’s Baynes Sound. (Shannon Tran)
Speaking alongside his daughter-in-law Shannon Tran at his home in the Comox Valley, Tran said he was dismayed by the amount of news he has recently seen about the shortage of medical staff and the long waiting times for the surgery.
“I don’t know what the government is doing,” he said.
Health agency takes “active steps”
A BC Cancer spokesman told CBC that while it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy, new cancer patients have priority for appointments based on factors such as tumor type, stage of the disease, symptoms and treatment options.
The spokesman wrote in an email that the agency is taking “active steps” to reduce waiting times and is currently hiring new oncology sites with provincial funding.
“Some vacancies have already been filled, but it will take time to reduce the current waiting times,” the email said.
Shannon Tran notes that her father-in-law’s oncology appointment was scheduled after the family’s daily advocacy, including an opinion piece he wrote for the Victoria Times-Colonist.
He says he is concerned about the prospects of patients who do not have the same support and resources.
“At best, the health workers in our system are so amazing and close to exhaustion,” Shannon Tran said.
“These are going to be the worst times, coming out of a pandemic with this delay. The number of weeks that people are waiting for imaging, diagnosis and treatment, is really adding up to affect almost every British Colombians in some way. “
“Everyone should go for the test”
Trans people are also concerned about other older British Colombians in Southeast Asia who may not realize they have a chronic infectious disease that could put them at high risk for liver cancer.
When Francis Tran learned he had hepatitis, he also discovered that his cancer could have been prevented with proper antiviral therapy.
Tran arrived in Canada in 1979, one of more than 120,000 Vietnamese refugees who settled here after the war. Hepatitis B has been endemic in the Southeast Asian country for decades; the Vietnamese health ministry estimates that up to a quarter of residents have the disease.
Francis Tran arrived in Canada as a refugee from Vietnam in 1979. Here is a family photo showing, from left to right, his granddaughter Annika, his daughter Martha, grandchildren Kenzi, Keeley and Jesse and the his wife Linda. (Shannon Tran)
Chronic virus infection is the most common risk factor for liver canceraccording to the Hepatitis B Foundation.
Tran said he has had at least three friends from similar backgrounds who have been diagnosed with liver cancer in recent years.
He calls on Vietnamese immigrants of all ages to be screened for the disease and wants to see government programs that encourage it.
“I talked to my brother, my sister, my son; everyone should go for the test. Just go and check it out,” Tran said.
In the meantime, she is still waiting to see a specialist to determine a course of treatment. Tran said he feels a little more energetic these days, which his daughter-in-law attributes to a diet of protein shakes and liquid meal replacements.
“It’s very serious and worrisome, but he’s really trying right now, waiting for treatment, staying strong and not losing any more weight,” Shannon Tran said.