The Editor,
Last week, I attended a breakfast for cancer survivors and guests at the Weyburn Comprehensive School. The Weyburn Comp students hosted the event, and I am thankful that they took the time to honour those of us who have fought and are still fighting the battle and for those who are our friends and relatives.
Cancer is the dreaded disease that we all fear and that sends our heart into our throat when we hear the news. For me, cancer came twice – as thyroid cancer and as colorectal cancer. I`ve had multiple surgeries along with radiation and chemo.
What would my life be like without our beloved health-care system? I would owe hundreds of thousands of dollars and probably never be out of debt. Tommy Douglas had a dream, and, because of that dream, I’ve never known life without health care, neither have my children.
The Harper government has failed to renew the Health Accord with the provinces, and money, in the form of transfer payments from the federal government, is decreasing, putting pressure on provincial governments to look at alternative ways to provide health services. I can’t imagine what this will look like, and I see that health care, for me as I age and for my children and grandchildren, will not be funded as it is today if we continue on this path.
For the sake of our friends and family, for the sake of those who have suffered from cancer and have been taken from us too soon, think about health care when you vote and what it will look like if we don’t stop the downward slide.
Vicky O'Dell
Federal Candidate for the NDP for Souris-Moose Mountain
