National Health Care

[ElaineM]

Those of us in the U. S. who might want to get more involved or who just want to keep up to date about about some of these issues can check out http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/

[Louise O'Brien]

I want to thank Joe for his reminder that this should not be a political forum, because I have been disturbed by what I consider "uninformed hysteria" when it comes to the slightest whiff of what people assume is national health care.

And Joe, I apologize if this inflames the debate. Please feel free to delete this post, if I have crossed the line. I won't be returning (not because you might have to delete) but because I can't bite my tongue any longer.

I say this because I come from Canada and I'm really offended. No one is telling any of us to go home and die because we're too old for treatment. No one is denying us treatment because of our age. That's just plain ridiculous.

I can only raise one point. Health Canada approved the use of Herceptin for early stage breast cancer patients in July 2005. It was available to all of us then, free of charge, without exception. It's my understanding that the FDA didn't approve Herceptin for early stage patients until more than a year later in November 2006.

I'm not comparing systems nor am I suggesting that one is better than the other.

But I am suggesting that there are some merits to our system and we're pretty happy that we don't have to worry about whether an insurance provider is going to have the last word on what treatment we can take - or not take.