Battling cancer is a big enough challenge on its own, but losing a beloved doctor in the middle of treatment adds to an already stressful situation.
Freda Watkins is experiencing that firsthand after Dr. Suresh Katakkar resigned last month as the chief oncologist at the BC Cancer Centre for the North. Katakkar was the second oncologist Watkins has had since she was diagnosed with brain cancer last year.
Now she's on to a third.
Watkins learned she had brain cancer last August and had surgery in September in Vancouver, where she stayed until October for further treatment.
Katakkar took over her care around Christmas last year and made an immediate impression.
"He was just so fantastic," Watkins said. "I lost a lot of weight and was really ill and he suggested some alternate ways of dealing with the nausea. . . . He suggested ginger and tea, just simple things that were non-medicinal that helped."
Katakkar left his position after the BC Cancer Agency launched an investigation into his practices, which included using treatments outside the standard provincial protocol. The agency will not comment on the ongoing investigation.
Like many of Katakkar's other former patients who have spoken out publicly since the doctor's departure, Watkins stressed Katakkar was always looking at innovative ways to treat her disease. At one point he suggested she go on thalidomide -- a drug made infamous in the 1950s and '60s for causing birth defects. Some studies have shown that thalidomide is effective in treating brain cancer, but it's currently only approved by Health Canada for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells.
Watkins said Katakkar petitioned the cancer agency on her behalf to allow her to use the drug for her form of cancer, but was denied.
"There's one more drug, but they won't OK that drug even though they've put thousands of dollars into me already," she said, adding she was never told why Katakkar's idea was rejected.
The cancer agency has a program in place for oncologists to request treatment outside of standard protocol, but it can reject the claim on medical or economic grounds.
Watkins doesn't think the system is working the way it should.
"I'm frustrated with BC Cancer Agency," she said. "I saw so many bad decisions when I was at the cancer clinic. I saw people die because they couldn't get drugs that were known to make a difference."
The agency defends its methods for determining treatment protocols and points to a Canadian Cancer Society study that show the province leads the country in cancer treatment.
Those numbers are of little consolation to Watkins, who said treating patients like statistics is impersonal. She hopes the BC Cancer Centre for the North will be more welcoming when it opens its doors later this year.
"I'm worried that our cancer clinic is going to be more clinical," she said. "I really hope that they take into account that (the disease has) a human face."
Watkins' cancer is in remission now, but she's anxious about dealing with a different physician after she had developed such a strong bond with Katakkar.
"It sure shook me knowing that he wouldn't be there, because I really trusted him," she said. "He's very kind, very honest and very professional. He really knew his stuff and you don't always get that feeling from every doctor you deal with."
