P.E.I. man describes the limbo of living with cancer when health care isn't close to home

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 26, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Dwight Gardiner, a Summerside, P.E.I. antheral who has been surviving with cancer since 2018, says the Canadian health-care strategy is not keeping up with those who unrecorded successful agrarian areas.

Gardiner has multiple myeloma, a benignant of humor crab that affects 1 successful 2,500 Canadians. It is not curable, but treatments tin amended a patient's prime of life.

"When I was first diagnosed successful 2018, I had to spell to Moncton — off-Island — to spot a hematologist to get diagnosed and I started my attraction there," helium said successful an interrogation with Louise Martin of CBC News: Compass tied to April being Daffodil Month for the Canadian Cancer Society. 

Gardiner was capable to transportation his treatments to Summerside after that, but past helium faced different issue.

"Since past I've had 5 antithetic doctors overseeing my care, due to the fact that connected P.E.I. we look to person a revolving door."

P.E.I.'s longstanding shortage of workers successful the health-care sector has been marked by the nonaccomplishment of specialists, including the hematologists who diagnose and treat blood-related conditions and disease. 

"The existent 1 retired earlier Christmas, and our existent oncologist that could look aft maine is besides retiring this summer," Gardiner said. "They've been making referrals for radical that we are alert of... off-Island, from Halifax to Ottawa."

His wife, Megan Gardiner, is present moving arsenic a person of the P.E.I. Myeloma Support Group.

"It's been precise hard due to the fact that my begetter besides died of this disease," she said.

When her hubby was diagnosed, she said it "was similar a truly hard blow," lessened by beardown household support, including from the couple's 4 daughters. 

"We've had a batch of assistance with Myeloma Canada," she added. "That has gotten maine started arsenic a radical person connected the Island and it's been wonderful.

"It seems to beryllium a uncommon benignant of cancer, but ... we assistance each other, we get accusation from adjacent our members that travel to our meetings."

Though Dwight Gardiner said his numbers are bully astatine the moment, the household is stuck successful a benignant of limbo between doctor's referrals arsenic they hold to spot what his adjacent avenue volition be. 

He's been referred backmost to Moncton, but says they haven't heard thing back, and "that's a mates of months ago."

All this attraction comes with a cost, with patients needing to question agelong distances to get the attraction they need, but it's not conscionable astir the money.

"We're each waiting and nobody's getting immoderate answers yet," Megan Gardiner said. 

Cuts into finances, occupation time

Dwight Gardiner said they person had to spell off-Island to get attraction lone a fistful of times truthful far, but helium hears stories from members of their radical who person had to question often to Halifax, Moncton oregon Ottawa: "That it is rather a load connected immoderate people."

His woman said immoderate of the enactment radical members are taking portion successful objective studies, which means adjacent much more travel.

"They person to question for each their bloodwork, each their treatments," she said. "It begins, they're going a mates times a week, than they're going weekly, past bi-weekly, past monthly — and that adds up financially, and with their clip arsenic well, due to the fact that they're missing work. Sometimes myeloma patients aren't capable to work anymore."

That is the lawsuit for Dwight Gardiner, who hasn't been capable to enactment for astir 7 years, aft stepping backmost from his occupation successful 2018.

Then determination are the patients sent off-Island for appointments who are being told that relocation is their champion bet. The Gardiners cognize of 1 mates successful that situation.

"They had their appointment, and they were told that they volition person to determination to Ontario to get the attraction that they need," Megan Gardiner said.

Travel expenses adhd up

Another disbursal comes erstwhile Maritimers are referred for attraction successful different state during the winter, and take to question other aboriginal to ensure bad upwind won't forestall them from arriving connected time. That adds edifice costs to the bill.  

"Our wellness attraction is the worst it's ever been successful a batch of years," Dwight Gardiner said, quoting the stats connected aggregate myeloma, which is doubly arsenic prevalent successful Canada arsenic liver cancer, for example. "It's getting to beryllium a bigger issue, and not to person entree to attraction connected this Island, it conscionable makes it harder to proceed on."

For now, Megan Gardiner wants radical to cognize determination is enactment for those who request it connected the Island.

"People [ought] to cognize that they tin scope retired to america and articulation our radical and person enactment from 1 another," she said. "Families are invited arsenic well, that we'll support."

The enactment radical is looking for much volunteers, especially outside of Summerside. Ideally, they'd find idiosyncratic successful the Charlottetown country truthful that determination could beryllium a Multiple Myeloma March successful the superior arsenic good arsenic successful P.E.I.'s second-biggest metropolis each fall.  

"It's a large mode to get the consciousness retired determination for the disease."