Unfortunately, like many of us in Ontario, I have been touched by the diagnosis of cancer twice in the last two years: firstly, my mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024 and my husband, who was diagnosed with colon cancer this year. Just days ago, my mother informed me that her oncologist found another lump in her axillary tissue. Now, she sits and waits to get the phone call for her ultrasound. Now she sits and waits depressed, in emotional pain of the news again.

Learning the news of cancer is devastating as a whole. Sitting with your doctor as they explain the next steps is overwhelming, emotional, and dreadful. Waiting for the next steps is debilitating. The discussion of undergoing ultrasounds, and x-rays and CT scans are discussed. But what is lacking is a clear plan of next steps. Of course, diagnostic tests are imperative to understand the disease, its progression, and its severity. However, no person should sit in misery, in panic, in anxiety as they get their appointment for these tests weeks away.

In 2024, my mother’s life changed. Her family doctor found a lump in her breast. It was not the disease itself that made her lie in bed, crying, in agony over the news; it was waiting for the diagnostic tests to be completed weeks ago to obtain a clear plan. Her mental health severely declined.

In 2025, my husband went for a colonoscopy as he had symptoms that appeared abnormal. The doctor informed us he found a mass and was to schedule tests in the following days. It took a week. The days in between saw a severe decline in my husband’s mental health. It took a panic attack while driving and calling his surgeon and a friend at the hospital to expediate the test and obtain the necessary results to overcome the idea of death and of deterioration, of losing your family.

When navigating the journey of cancer, a person’s mental health will suffer. Finding out you have any disease will make a person’s mental capacity go astray. However, the waiting game of next steps and a plan makes it exponentially worse, especially for those with previous mental health diagnoses.

I am looking for change. I am looking to modify our healthcare system and support patients as they navigate their cancer journey with ease and with a strong mental capacity to overcome and defeat this disease.

Let us consider this: a system where you learn from your doctor that a lump, bump, or mass looks abnormal. The doctor books the necessary tests to obtain a more clear picture. The tests are begin  in 24 to 48 hours to help the patient achieve some peace of mind. The results are discussed within a week.

This can be achieved.

With the help of the diagnostic testing centers, and specific time slots for these patients, these tests and results can be completed to provide the cancer patient with a clear understanding of their disease, while remaining optimistic that a plan will be developed soon.

I am sure cancer has affected you. It is an awful disease. I am sure you have witnessed your loved one cry, shake, panic and come close to a nervous breakdown as they wait for the next steps. Why make the cancer patient suffer anymore? Why make their mental health suffer to such a point where they do not leave the couch?

The idea is simple: let us initiate a system where testing for cancer patients is completed sooner.

For the sake of their mental health.