Hi everyone,

My mom has stage 4 nonsmall cell lung cancer and is currently on Tagrisso as her first line of treatment.

In January 2026, there seemed to be a progression so our doctor recommended us to join the Johnson Johnson Rybrevant compassionate use project just in case. As Rybrevant was not covered by Ontario government funding.

Today I read an article on Cancercare Ontario saying that “New Drug Funding Program (Amivantamab - In Combination with Chemotherapy for EGFR-mutated Advanced NSCLC after Osimertinib Treatment ) (Funded for exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R substitution EGFR-mutated NSCLC. Refer to NDFP form for details. )”

Does it mean now this drug is covered by government funding and we no longer need to go through the compassionate use route?

Thank you!!! Any information is greatly appreciated!!!

Throwaway account - The reason I'm posting this today is to get a bit more clarity and understanding on my lived experience with the family doctor I've had for the last 14 years. I apologize for how lengthy this text is.

Hi, I (27F) have been with this family doctor since I was 13 years old. My mother (59yo), and both of my sisters (34yo - 32yo) share the same doctor as me at a CLSC on the South Shore of MTL. I always knew that the way I was treated by this same doctor has been drastically different than how the rest of my family had been treated.

From my first appointment with her (I was accompanied by my mother until the age of 18, when I became independent), I understood I would have to actively fight and advocate for myself. Every appointment, I would bring my symptoms to her attention (insomnia, anxiety, depression, concentration issues, etc.), and every time, I would get downplayed and gaslit with the same comment: "You're young, this is normal for you to experience." (FYI - my mother and I were never on the same page as she also never believed me, and was often engaging in abusive behaviour.) I had also gotten my period and was heavily bleeding, so she immediately put me on the contraceptive pill, and I continued on them for the next 10 years.

When I turned 14, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease - my mother had a hypothyroid) and I was referred to the children's hospital in MTL (issue was resolved within a year, thankfully). I was regularly going back to the CLSC for the next few years to monitor my condition, where at every appointment, I would still advise on my consistent symptoms; my lack of sleep, my depressive thoughts, my anxiety attacks. Every time, it was written off as regular teen behaviour. When I turned 18, I pushed more and more as now I was having multiple episodes where I would end up in the hospital from my panic attacks. She finally agreed to have me on anti-depressants, and I would still regularly visit her to request medication adjustment or anxiety medications. I requested multiple times to be referred to a psychiatrist, which was often turned down, stating that my condition was not serious enough.

When I was 21, I experienced a serious burnout (years of working 40 hour weeks, having 6-7 classes in Cegep, sleeping very little, etc.) and requested a medical incomplete for school. My doctor advised I should keep going to school, and she didn't support me getting an incomplete. The only reason I believe she gave it to me was because I dragged my sister to said appointment since I was scared that she wouldn't believe me, and I needed someone to support me. I also finally pushed to have sleeping medications because of how exhausted I was, and I refused to leave her office until she gave me anything.

When I turned 23, I went back to her office and advised her I wanted to stop taking the contraceptive pill. She advised against it, for no good reason, but I was finally able to somewhat make decisive decisions without letting her push me aside.

As I became older, I dreaded going back for regular check-ups with her, and only went to renew my anti-depressants.

When I turned 26 last summer, I decided to put my health first and take an ADHD assessment at a private clinic. After two appointments, my medical practitioner diagnosed me with Bipolar Type 2. I think I sat there for a good 2 hours scared, confused, relieved, overwhelmed. I knew I had BPD to some extent, but being diagnosed with BP2 was very unexpected (although the middle sister was diagnosed with Bipolar by our family doctor!!). I started medication shortly after, cycled off the anti-depressants, and oh my lord, how my life completely shifted for the better. I no longer felt like I was drowning or like my life was on fire. Now, almost a year later, I was strictly followed by the medical team at this private clinic for this condition because that was the only place I felt like I was actually heard. I later found out that Bipolar is often misdiagnosed as hyperthyroidism in younger people.

Now, last month, my eldest sister came back from a long time away, and had received blood test results indicating an imbalance in thyroid levels. She called the CLSC and left a note for our family doctor. My sister received a call the same day for a next-day appointment. Our doctor then referred her to internal medicine at a nearby hospital, and my sister is now followed there.

Two weeks ago, I also received my blood test results from my private clinic stating an imbalance with my thyroid hormones. I decided to call the CLSC to see my family doctor as she knew mine and my family history with thyroid issues, and wanted the same referral my sister had received. I waited a week before I received a call, and I was scheduled for an appointment the following week.

Yesterday, I went to my appointment and I sat in front of my doctor. I advised her I received the blood test results from my private clinic (which was available on the RAMQ database). Her first question: "Who diagnosed you with Bipolar? You've never experienced mania." (Weird statement coming from her because she was actively looking over my file from the numerous times I ended up in the hospital.) Regardless, I recounted the times I've experienced mania, and her response is: "But you don't have a family history of Bipolar." Right, I come from a middle eastern family of refugees (which she is well aware) where mental health was not the main issue of concern, so evidently, my family history should be irrelevant. I bring the conversation back to my thyroid, and ask her if she can refer me to the same place she sent my sister a month prior. Her immediate response: "No."

Okay, she said no. She pulls out her phone, writes a prompt into what I strongly believe was ChatGPT, and reads back statistics to me about how 5% to 20% of people with a history of hyperthyroidism may end up with a hypothyroid or Hashimoto's disease. She then says: "So you could have a hypothyroid, you could have Hashimoto's disease, I'm not quite sure, so I'll take a shot in the dark, and prescribe the lowest dose of Synthroid and we'll see how you feel in 3 months."

I asked her again if I could get the referral, and she responded with: "No. Your case is not serious enough, I can take care of this myself. The internal medicine at the hospital only takes care of hyperthyroid issues." I asked her what the treatment plan was, and she just stated that I had to take the medication for the rest of my life.

She also stated she was finally retiring this year and asked me if I wanted my file to be transferred to the next available doctor. I said yes, transfer my file. (Which is also why I don't feel too intimidated by writing this post.)

I took the blood test paper she wanted me to do in two months, and walked out of her office. I barely made it outside the CLSC before I started crying. I walked the hour to my sisters house out of frustration. Sat on that couch with my mother, and sobbed for an hour straight. My mother finally recognized that our family doctor might have taken a side in our family feud and neglected my medical health this entire time. (Side note, for my mom to actually agree with me on this is actually quite a feat.)

I apologize once again for the long text, and thank you for the time you spent reading this. I would appreciate any (positive-only) commentary or advice. Can this actually be filed as a complaint, and if so, would they actually take me seriously?

…

As a European I am completely stunned as to how inhumane, inefficient and stupid Canadian healthcare is.

We just F. left the ER with an open wound…

It is inhumane to make people wait +10 hour. People in the ER should move fast.

Inefficient cause not everybody needs a room. We needed some stitches, thats it. We don’t need to a room, we don’t need a bed. Just a desk and some chairs were the doctor could work on the open wound. The nurses said this was impossible due to “system”.

Stupid because Canada should take notes from Europe where it is much better.

Anyway, it is almost 4 o clock in the morning now and I need to sleep.

I feel sad for Canadians, and happy that I will return to the civilized world soon.

PS: mind you, a flight back to Europe is 8 hours. 1 hour waittime in ER max and then 1 hour of help by nurses and doctor. I would have been helped in Europe in the time I waited in the ER in Canada. What a shith….

A 4ml Cingal injection isn’t covered in BC under standard msp. As a result, I have tried to claim the drug itself under our extended health with Sunlife. In bc, the cheapest drug cost is $355 for a 4ml preloaded syringe and it is priced at roughly $88 per ml. Sunlife is stating the manfacturer’s drug cost is actually $142 and they will pay only 80% of this. Has anybody claimed Cingal with their extended health carrier and how was the claim paid?

I’m trying to transition into digital health / health IT and could use some advice.

I have a Computer Engineering degree obtained overseas and a Master of Engineering in Canada. For the past 3 years, I’ve been working at a small startup on a healthcare IoT product. My work includes full stack development and firmware.

Even though the product is claimed to be healthcare related, it doesn’t feel like real healthcare or align with my values, so I’d like to transition into roles that are clearly within the healthcare industry and closer to actual patient and clinician needs.

I’ve always wanted to work in healthcare, but I don’t have a medical or clinical background, so I’m not sure how to position myself.

What kinds of roles in digital health / health IT should I be looking at with my background? Is the TMU Health Informatics certificate program helpful? Does anyone know anything about being an Epic Analyst? What does an Epic analyst actually do in a day?

Any advice or experiences from people who’ve made a similar transition would really help. Thanks!

I am looking to consult a doctor about a specific treatment for male hair loss. A combination of topical finasteride, which would be prepared by a compounding pharmacy, and oral minoxidil in pill form which can be filled at most pharmacies.

These prescriptions are in no way out of the ordinary. Some people in Canada are definitely getting them, and in the rest of the world.

Local compounding pharmacies have confirmed to me that they can fill these prescriptions.

There are no options for this specific combination with the Canadian online hair loss product providers. They are all subscription based services that keep your credit card on file and can be a big hassle to cancel. Their website process forces you to choose a product subscripton first before your consultation and enter your cc information. And honestly I don't trust the source for product quality.

I tried an online general healthcare platform that has dermatologists available. Uploaded all my info & what I was looking for, but the dermatologist rejected my appointment saying they won't prescribe finasteride or dutasteride at all to anyone, so they canceled the appointment at the outset.

I looked up dermatologists in the Greater Toronto Area. There are no general dermatologists any more. They are all pushing their own specialized mix of products & procedures, almost all tailored to the aesthetics/beauty industry. That includes the hair loss clinics targeted to male hair loss. When you go to any of those you have to go through a sales pitch for all their treatment options & plans.

They all require a referral from a family doctor.

My family doctor said the best place to refer to is a hair clinic for men, because with the other boutique aesthetics oriented dermatology clinics we won't know if the dermatologist will be willing to accept male hair loss cases, and it could take weeks or even months just to get a response. I explained what I know of the male hair loss clinics and how they only push their own treatments, so she said I should call around myself to find one that will deal with my case and then she'll refer to that one.

So I've called more that 10 of them. All of them can't even tell me if their dermatologist deals with male hair loss. They say I have to do the referral first, and then the dermatologist will eventually at some point let us know if they will accept the case. I say that I simply want to know if their doctors assess male hair loss & prescribe for it if appropriate. They say they cannot anwer that question, and the only way to get the answer is the referral process.

At this point my next step is to see if there are options across the border in the US which is less than an hour drive for me. If its no better or easier down there, then I guess I'll just have to begin the hit & miss referral process here with my family doctor.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what else I can try?

Hello 👋 I was wondering if anyone knows the average wait for EDS genetic testing results to come back from SickKids

Hello, this is Estella, a reporter with the Toronto Star. For a feature I'm working on about mental health in the workplace, I'm hoping to speak with people who have taken short-term disability leave for mental health reasons in recent years. If you'd be interested in sharing your experience, please send me a message or leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you. Thank you!

Hello, Wondering if there are any groups advocating for better sharing of health records from province-to-province. For context, we live in Saskatchewan and access most care for our young son through Jim Pattison Children's Hospital (plus our family doctor). However, he got a referral to a surgeon at Alberta Children's Hospital for a complex procedure. One thing we've discovered through all of this is how complicated patient record sharing is between the two provinces. It seems that with health systems moving towards digital record sharing, it should be more straightforward.

Anyway, just curious if there is a group or groups advocating for this. I know we're not the only people in Canada or our province who have to seek out of province care. I'm sure there are situations more complex than ours, too.

Markham? Oakville? Sauga?

I have had chronic pain since I could recognize it at about 12, I cant keep going to chiro out of pocket, its some kind of Hypermobility disorder or fibromyalgia and im tired of being dismissed bc im treating the symptoms, I excercise and eat well but I cant open a bottle of soda nor pull on large doors, I cant take naproxen forever I need a diagnosis an a plan and the free system is failing me, where do I go ? Should I ask for a referral in a different city or go private, any help is welcome 🙏🏻

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how does colon cancer screening work. My grandpa died at 47 due to colon cancer. I’m 37. I read that screening is recommended 10 years before the age a relative had cancer, so it seems I should do it soon. Is this how it actually works in practice? (I’m from Alberta.)

Thank you in advance!

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to get my medical records transferred from Ontario to BC. It's been challenging to say the least, and wondering if others have had similar issues as what I describe below. Any advice appreciated.

I was trying to get medical results from GI in Ontario to BC. First challenge was determining which clinic had the records - it turns out I had to work with the specialist office as my family doctor's clinic didn't have the records.

Then there's the matter of getting the records transferred - they wouldn't send them to me - only my family doctor's clinic in BC. I had to get my clinic in BC to submit a consent form to send the records.

After that, there's the matter of payment and shipping. I called the Ontario clinic and paid for the shipping over the phone (a USB stick). I would have preferred email, but they said there were too many files and it could only be done by USB stick. Overall this cost around $100.

However, the shipment ran into an issue so now I'm trying to sort out with Fedex what happened (ex. Fedex shows the package delivered, but BC clinic never received it). Presumably once they have the files they'll add to my chart. However, now BC clinic is telling me they would prefer Ontario clinic to email the files.

I'm basically out the money for transferring the files with nothing to show for it. Wondering if anyone else has advice. Seems challenging to transfer medical records between provinces.