http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/letters/story.html?id=5770bbcb-d1d0-4886-b87d-5b53a761ce2a&k=14719 
<http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/letters/story.html?id=5770bbcb-d1d0-4886-b87d-5b53a761ce2a&k=14719>
Oncologist apologizes for any distress his remarks caused people with 
ovarian cancer
 
Letter

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Re: Caring North Shore oncologist a blessed change from blunt opinions, 
Letter of the Day, March 11

I apologize for the distress my remarks have caused for many people 
affected by ovarian cancer. I care deeply for my patients, and want them 
to have access to the best treatments possible.

After 30 years attending women with ovarian cancer, I'm all too familiar 
with the many frustrations posed by the disease.

Gratifyingly, there are satisfactions, too. Public advocacy and 
awareness are increasing (Ovarian Cancer Canada, and the National 
Ovarian Cancer Association are notable) and drive an increasingly 
dynamic pace of research (for example, OvCaRe, the consortium of B.C. 
ovarian cancer researchers). Today's treatments are more effective and 
more tolerable, more selectively used. The number of classes of 
chemotherapy drugs available to B.C. patients is unexceeded in any other 
province. The direct result is a provincial five-year survival rate for 
those with ovarian cancer that has improved more over the last decade 
than for any other cancer.

I am not involved in the provincial process that adjudicates funding 
decisions for drugs such as Caelyx.

It's all too easy for those with interests other than the patient's to 
exploit unmet needs. This demands that all proposed treatments be 
assessed dispassionately; the more expensive isn't necessarily the best.

It's critically important that each patient has an understanding of her 
disease, and the realistic goals of treatment. Sensitively shared 
knowledge protects against unwarranted fears and unrealistic expectations.

I'll continue to try to do my best on behalf of all our patients.

Dr. K.D. Swenerton

Vancouver
© The Vancouver Sun 2006

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