When I was first diagnosed with cancer in November 2011 I was like many Canadians, I was proud of our universal health care but I had never really been required to test it. I had never dealt with a chronic or life-threatening illness before. I’d never even been hospitalized for surgery or seen the inside of a cancer centre. My innocence of what’s involved in being treated for cancer was shattered almost literally overnight. It took three surgeries and several rounds of chemotherapy to force my disease into remission, along the way there were too many outpatient appointments, tests and scans for me to count. I’ve currently logged thousands of hours in hospitals and seen dozens of physicians and physicians in training, that’s enough to consider myself an insider when it comes to the basics of Canada’s health care system.

It is by no means a perfect system and I realize it has many flaws, but I would still defend it especially against the way that health care is delivered in the United States. “Regardless of political allegiance, Canadians are nearly unanimous that a universal health system is a good thing— for reasons of economics and social justice,” writes Andre Picard in Matters of Life and Death. Indeed, the role of Tommy Douglas in shaping publicly funded health care over half a century ago is celebrated and sometimes mythologized. Obviously, I have a reason to get more emotional over Douglas and his contribution than most Canadians. As a cancer patient I acknowledge his legacy as I go through my treatments and each time I use my Alberta Health card or red Tom Baker Cancer Centre card.

Tommy Douglas speaking at a political rally.

Lately I’ve been reading a lot online and in the media about the Canadian health care system and how it stacks up against the radically different private health care system that is offered in the United States. Needless to say, President Donald Trump’s attempt to repeal Oboma Care has brought these important issues to the forefront. I belong to a Facebook group for ovarian cancer survivors and the women are predominately American. I shudder at the issues that many of them are facing in terms of insurance and their finances. For example, one woman in the group posted that she felt pressured financially to return to her job during treatment.

“I had to go back to work this week, well I had no choice. I need to pay my health insurance premium. My job is very physical so I had to get clearance from my doctor. My next chemo is Tuesday it will be my 5th of 6. I have never felt this exhausted.”

When I learn about cases in which people seem desperate or on the verge of financial collapse, I can only say that I’m thankful beyond words that I live in Canada. Here I can receive excellent state of the art care without the financial burdens that are faced by many U.S. cancer patients.

Many Americans criticize Canada’s public health care system because they perceive it as having long wait times and outdated technology. This has definitely not been my personal experience as a cancer patient. I will never forget when Dr. Danielle Martin, a Canadian health policy expert, travelled to Washington to testify before a special senate hearing. Senator Bernie Sanders had organized a hearing about what the American health care system could learn from other countries about controlling costs and ensuring universal coverage. During her testimony, Dr. Martin was confronted by a rather smug U.S. senator. Her composure and the way that she handled the situation made many Canadians, including myself, proud.

SENATOR BURR:  Dr. Martin in your testimony you state that the focus should be on reducing waiting times in a way that is equitable for all. What length of time do you consider to be equitable when waiting for care?

MARTIN: Well, in fact the Wait Time Alliance in Canada, sir, has established benchmarks across a variety of different diagnoses for what’s a reasonable period to wait . . . You know, I waited more than thirty minutes at the security line to get into this building today, and when I arrived in the lobby I noticed across the hall that there was a second entry point with no lineup whatsoever. Sometimes it’s not actually about the amount of resources that you have but rather about how you organize people in order to use your queues more effectively. And that’s what we’re working to do because we believe that when you try to address wait times you should do it in a way the benefits everyone, not just people who can afford to pay.

SENATOR BURR:  On average how many Canadian patients on a waiting list die each year? Do you know?

MARTIN: I don’t, sir, but I know that there are forty-five thousand in America who die waiting because they don’t have insurance at all.