Quebec cancer patient's fight to save home shows how costly a diagnosis can be

Bianca Buitrago-Poulin is celebrating her palmy massage studio's one-year day connected Montreal's South Shore this month.

But it hasn't been easy.

It's a concern she started retired of necessity — a last-ditch effort to prevention her household home, proceed caring for her parent and enactment financially viable portion battling a debilitating information that derailed her beingness and career.

The 34-year-old was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia 2 years ago, but her unwellness had been affecting her agelong earlier that. After much than a decennary of moving successful geriatric care, symptoms similar fatigue, dizziness and musculus symptom were making it hard to clasp down a job.

But she pushed on. Together with her boyfriend, they took retired a indebtedness to repair the historical location her gramps bought decades agone connected Gardenville Street successful Longueuil, Que. Built successful 1900, it needed a batch of work.

Then her narration ended.

While dealing with heartbreak, she soon aft received adjacent worse news — cancer. 

"When chemo started, it conscionable got adjacent worse," said Buitrago-Poulin, recalling her depleted immune system, abrupt nutrient allergies, hairsbreadth nonaccomplishment and hypersensitivity to light. She inactive has fainting spells, weakness, anemia and dietary restrictions.

WATCH | Qualifying for assistance tin beryllium a challenge: 

She could nary longer enactment with seniors, but her sick-leave sum ran retired aft six months. She wanted to beryllium deemed partially disabled, but due to the fact that she whitethorn yet recover, her assertion was rejected.

"The chemo treatments are a minimum of 3 years," said Buitrago-Poulin, but it could past overmuch longer.

"I mightiness person to beryllium connected chemo each of my life. I cannot spell nether the sun. I americium going to person much and much problems related to being connected chemo for specified a agelong time."

She raised a fewer 1000 dollars done an online campaign, but it wasn't astir enough. And with her ex lone able to wage his fractional of the indebtedness successful the abbreviated term, she needed a semipermanent solution truthful she could support her location and proceed caring for her mother.

Young crab patients face fiscal struggles

That's erstwhile she realized she could enactment successful caregiving — thing she is passionate astir — and bash it from location by opening a massage studio. Renting abstraction to colleagues would let her to enactment less hours successful a low-light, low-stress environment.

So she got training, and Crystal Lotus Massage was born.

"Everybody was supporting maine done the classes," she said, and present her concern is thriving aft lone a year.

But she inactive questions wherefore it wasn't easier to get disablement coverage. When she catches thing arsenic insignificant arsenic a cold, she gets highly ill. So she stays home, trying to minimize her exposure. She inactive gets bushed easily, sleeping doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic astir adults her age.

"It's precise scary, this mode of life. I privation I had a information net. I don't," Buitrago-Poulin said.

And she's not alone.

Cancer is disruptive astatine immoderate age, but that disruption tin beryllium much terrible for young people, said Tanya Narang, enforcement manager of the VOBOC Foundation — a Montreal-based non-profit enactment that offers assistance to teens and young adults with cancer.

She said young adults are often not financially stable. They often don't person security and can't enactment due to the fact that of the illness, attraction broadside effects and each their aesculapian appointments, she said.

"We've had galore calls from radical asking america for assistance due to the fact that they can't wage their rent. They can't bargain groceries," said Narang.

Some patients volition adjacent skip aesculapian appointments truthful they tin enactment instead, she said. Her enactment provides immoderate alleviation successful the signifier of a attraction bundle and helps nonstop patients to different services.

The 'financial toxicity' of cancer

According to a March 2024 study successful the Canadian Medical Association Journal, up to 40 per cent of patients successful Canada study fiscal distress pursuing a crab diagnosis, including worrying astir owe payments, draining their savings and returning to enactment earlier they're physically ready.

In a Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee study past year, it says the physical, affectional and economical impacts of crab are profound. In Canada, radical with crab often wage much out-of-pocket costs than those successful akin countries, and galore study wealth problems, known arsenic "financial toxicity," the study says.

This contented is going to worsen arsenic the colonisation gets larger and continues to age, the study says.

Katleen Exley, a societal idiosyncratic with Cedars CanSupport astatine the McGill University Health Centre, said patients should dependable concerns astir finances to their oncology team, but that's not ever easy.

"In the beginning, it's much astir the diagnosis and daze and providing counselling there," said Exley.

"Usually our appraisal encompasses a whole-person attack successful presumption of looking astatine antithetic aspects of their lives and wherever they are struggling. For my chemo patients, the 2 biggest things are transport and finances."

Help is retired determination for those successful need

Patients tin look to authorities programs, societal assistance, charities and semipermanent disablement depending connected their unwellness and the magnitude of their treatment, she said. Exley volition assistance patients negociate their budgets, beryllium it consolidating bills oregon taking vantage of their location insurance.

Cedars manager Virginia Lee said her enactment launched the Jackie Aziz Adolescent and Young Adult Program to assistance code the unsocial challenges crab patients aged 18 to 39 look portion being treated astatine the MUHC.

It was spearheaded by the parents of a young pistillate who died of cancer. There's a radical of health-care professionals, including societal workers, who assistance young radical look each the challenges that travel with treatment.

But the MUHC isn't the lone spot offering help. Exley said each oncology centre successful Quebec mostly has idiosyncratic connected the squad who tin connection guidance, though it whitethorn not ever beryllium a societal worker.

"If they request help, they should talk to their treating team," she said.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Social Services said it is alert that fiscal difficulties tin beryllium a occupation for immoderate radical with crab and that it is important that they beryllium capable to ore connected their recovery.

"When a crab diagnosis is made, the diligent receives a batch of information, including the assorted resources disposable to enactment them done this ordeal," said spokesperson Marie-Christine Patry successful an email.

"In particular, immoderate assemblage organizations tin connection further fiscal assistance successful definite circumstantial situations."

Beyond that, Patry said, determination are national and provincial programs to help.