Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Was Dix’s announcement on cancer care an oasis of hope or just another mirage?

May 26, 2023 | 10:36 AM

IT’S HARD TO LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH, but even so, there was a lot of tooth measurement going on when Health Minister Adrian Dix came to Kamloops Thursday (May 25).

Dix was here to announce a landmark in the journey toward a dedicated cancer care centre for Kamloops. The concept plan has been approved and now it’s on to making a business case.

That approval, according to Dix, will happen before the end of the calendar year, the project will be in next year’s budget and then it’s on to handing out contracts.

As we discussed just a few weeks ago, it won’t make a difference to most of us until we see shovels in the ground at the site near Royal Inland Hospital.

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Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

At the announcement Thursday, gratitude was mixed with a heaping dose of skepticism.

From the opposition MLAs, one would expect nothing less. Todd Stone groused about the timeline and Peter Milobar raised doubts that the project will even happen, given its absence in government planning documents.

Timeline concerns are fair — after all, more people are being diagnosed with cancer every single day and yet more people are dying of humanity’s great scourge. Timely access to treatment is crucial.

The certainty of the project is all but guaranteed now, though, as even someone with a history of questionable political instincts like Dix would know a trip to Kamloops for this week’s announcement is as good as an ironclad promise to deliver.

Aside from the MLAs, though, even local political leaders and health officials kept their words of thanks muted.

That comes from years of being told one thing and shown another.

It comes from many kilometres on Highway 97 down to Kelowna for a 10-minute treatment before turning around and heading back home.

The skepticism and frustration have grown like a tumour — and it’s going to take more than a visit from the minister with a vague announcement to kill it.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.