UPDATE: QUEBEC; BOTCHED BREAST CANCER TESTS: REPORT TO BE RELEASED TODAY; MEDICAL DETAILS TO BE WITHHELD FROM FAMILIES OF DECEASED;

"But families of deceased women will not be given test results pertaining to their cancer.

"Gaetan Barrette, head of Quebec's federation of medical specialists blasted the health department for its lack of transparency, which he called a blatant attempt to avoid legal action.

"In my opinion, they are afraid of a big lawsuit.

"I can't tell you how sad and incomprehensible this story is," Barrette said. "I feel sorry for the families who have lost loved ones. When things like that happen, you want to have answers. It's part of the process of mourning."

The public has a right to know, said Carol Secter, board member at Breast Action Cancer Montreal, an activist group looking for cancer causes.""

Charlie fidelman; the Montreal Gazette;

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Background: This blog has been following developments in Newfoundland, Quebec, and other areas of Canada which have been plagued by flawed cancer tests in order to remind readers that the problems in Canadian pathology are not restricted to its application in the criminal justice system - and the numerous miscarriages of justice involving Dr. Charles Randal Smith;

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BY CHARLIE FIDELMAN, MONTREAL GAZETTEDECEMBER 15, 2009 10:02 PM


STORYPHOTOS ( 1 )


"MONTREAL — While Quebec is to reveal results of its investigation into botched breast cancer tests Wednesday, the families of deceased women will still be left with unanswered questions about the deaths," the Montreal Gazette story by reporter Charlie Fidelman, published on December 15, 2009, under the heading :Families of cancer victims won't get botched test investigation results: Quebec" begins.

"There is a "ministerial directive" that prohibits giving families of the deceased information linked to the test, said Marie-Eve Bedard, press attache to Health Minister Yves Bolduc," the story continues.

"Also, Bedard would not say how many of the thousands of women targeted for retesting have died, noting that "numbers without an explanation make no sense."

Since June, thousands of cancer sufferers have been wondering whether they received incorrect diagnosis and treatment.

The panic started when a study led by Louis Gaboury at the Universite de Montreal revealed that 15 to 30 per cent of breast cancer test results were seriously flawed in 25 Quebec laboratories.

Gaboury, president of the Quebec Pathology Association, had likened the Quebec situation to Newfoundland and Labrador, where 100 women died because of misdiagnosis and improper treatment.

All the Quebec women in Gaboury's sample had cancer; however his study had looked at hormone markers in breast cancer tumours, which are used to determine treatment options.

It is possible that a number of women had received the wrong treatment, he said.

"To put it bluntly, this could be an explosive situation," Gaboury had said.

Initially, Bolduc had accused critics of fearmongering. He later had a committee of experts review the study — in the interest of transparency and accuracy, he said.

Based on the committee's recommendations, Bolduc ordered the re-examination of test results of 7,233 women who were examined between April 1, 2008, and June 1 of this year.

Of that number, about 2,856 women were retested at a Seattle laboratory to determine whether their results matched those in Quebec.

It's not yet known how Quebec results fared in comparison to these external tests.

An overview of the Seattle laboratory results and comparison will be made public in a briefing by Bolduc in Quebec City with Andre Robidoux, the experts committee's chairman and breast cancer researcher at the Universite de Montreal.

But women who were in the targeted time frame for retesting need not worry because they already have been informed of their results, Bedard said.

But families of deceased women will not be given test results pertaining to their cancer.

Gaetan Barrette, head of Quebec's federation of medical specialists blasted the health department for its lack of transparency, which he called a blatant attempt to avoid legal action.

"In my opinion, they are afraid of a big lawsuit.

"I can't tell you how sad and incomprehensible this story is," Barrette said. "I feel sorry for the families who have lost loved ones. When things like that happen, you want to have answers. It's part of the process of mourning."

The public has a right to know, said Carol Secter, board member at Breast Action Cancer Montreal, an activist group looking for cancer causes.

"I'm blown away that they wouldn't tell them," Secter said. "What other secrets are they hiding?""

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service


The story can be found at:

http://www.globalmontreal.com/health/Families+cancer+victims+botched+test+investigation+results+Quebec/2344993/story.html

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;