Ottawa Advocate Drives Push for Faster Cancer Treatment Access

When John-Peter Bradford lost his wife, Anne Bachinski-Bradford, to terminal lung cancer in 2013, he became determined to advocate for faster access to cancer treatments in Canada. After her diagnosis, doctors gave her just weeks to live, but Bradford utilized his connections and tenacity to secure access to experimental drugs, allowing her to live an additional 16 months, during which time she witnessed her daughter’s wedding. This experience ignited a passion for advocacy that continues to shape his life.

In the wake of his wife’s passing, Bradford collaborated with Dr. David Stewart, Bachinski-Bradford’s oncologist, to establish the Life-Saving Therapies Network (LSTN). This Ottawa-based non-profit organization aims to advocate for quicker access to innovative treatments for patients suffering from serious diseases such as cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Bradford’s goal is to ensure that others do not endure the same challenges his wife faced in accessing necessary treatments.

Advocacy for Change in Canada’s Healthcare System

Dr. Stewart, who has long been an advocate for expedited treatment access, highlighted the bureaucratic hurdles that complicate the approval process for new drugs in Canada. In his 2022 book, “Why Cancer Still Sucks, and So Does Access to Treatment in Canada,” he discusses how a “procedural and regulatory swamp” not only prolongs the approval timeline but also pushes up the costs of cancer therapies. He sees patients every day who could benefit from treatments that remain unavailable in Canada, stating, “We have all these great new drugs that we can’t access. It is very frustrating. That is what drives me to keep working on it.”

The issue of slow access to new treatments is gaining traction among oncologists, patient advocacy groups, and politicians. In a recent statement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford emphasized the need for faster drug approval processes, declaring, “We owe it to Canadians to do everything we can to give them the same timely access to life-changing treatments as patients in the rest of the world.” The Liberal Party has also pledged to significantly reduce wait times for life-saving medications in the most recent federal election.

Despite promises of reform, Bradford insists that progress has been too slow. Canada currently ranks last among G7 nations in terms of access to new medications. The lengthy approval process includes multiple reviews and provincial funding decisions, often leading to delays of several years before patients can access new treatments.

The Urgency for Reform

Dr. Stewart argues that the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines demonstrates that medical advancements can occur swiftly when there is a concerted effort. He points out that cancer accounts for approximately 30 percent of all deaths in Canada, making the urgency to address treatment access even more critical. “Part of the urgency to fight COVID-19 is its impact on economic productivity and healthcare costs. But cancer also has a huge impact. We must have the same urgent approach,” he stated.

The Life-Saving Therapies Network advocates for a simplified regulatory framework for clinical research in lethal diseases. They argue that current regulations are cumbersome, costly, and inefficient, leading to unnecessary delays that can cost lives. Bradford and Stewart believe that patients with severe illnesses should have access to promising drugs before clinical trials are complete, as long as those treatments have proven to be safe and effective in initial testing.

They also call for a significant reduction in the time between Health Canada approval and the actual availability of treatments, which currently stands at over two years. “This is an unacceptably long and cruel delay. Every hour matters when someone has a lethal disease or suffers from a debilitating condition,” Bradford emphasized.

For Bradford, the extra time his wife gained through special access to treatments transformed their remaining days into a “simple, happy life.” He continues to advocate for systemic changes that could help others gain access to life-saving therapies.