B.C. ends cancer program that sent patients to U.S. for radiation therapy [Video]

The B.C. government announced on Monday it is ending the program that sent some patients to the U.S. for radiation therapy.

The program, which began in May 2023, offered eligible patients the option to travel for radiation therapy treatment at two clinics in Bellingham, Wash. in order to access life-saving treatment.

However, the province says that at the end of February 2025, approximately 93 per cent of patients in B.C. were waiting less than four weeks to start radiation treatment. This exceeds the national benchmark of 90 per cent and is a 24 per cent improvement since spring 2023, when only 69 per cent of patients were starting treatment within four weeks.

“Our priority has always been to ensure that cancer patients have timely access to life-saving treatment while we build and strengthen B.C.’s public health-care system for the long term,” Josie Osborne, Minister of Health said in a statement.

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