Saskatchewan Cancer Agency bolsters cancer care with 9 new physician recruits

Saskatchewan's cancer care services are expanding with the addition of nine new physicians, offering much-needed support to patients across the province.

The new physicians will enhance services in both Regina and Saskatoon with a range of specialists including gynecologic oncology, hematology, and medical oncology.

Nicki Bayfield-Ash, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency's director of medical affairs and physician operations, said recruitment timelines for bringing in new physicians can vary from a few months to over a year depending on the complexity of each case. 

"It can take up to a year to get them physically here," said Bayfield-Ash. "So some of these people that are here now, that process started many, many months ago. It just happens that they're all arriving in the same three months." 

Bayfield-Ash also emphasized the importance of providing ongoing support to new recruits to ensure they integrate successfully into the agency's existing health-care teams.

"We've provided opportunity for job sharing, flexible work in terms of you know ramping down for retirement, those kinds of things so that you don't, you don't have to just leave," she said. "We're very flexible in terms of how we work with them to make sure they're happy and they stay."

While these new hires are a positive step forward, recruiting to smaller centres in the province is still a challenge. 

"We're not the biggest cancer centre in the country, but we have a great reputation for research," said Bayfield-Ash, adding that opportunities for research and teaching are what will retain physicians in Saskatchewan. 

"A lot of physicians like the academic side, some of them like the research side. So we are now in a position where we can provide that to people and the benefits of living in a smaller centre."

Reduction in out-of-province care

The arrival of nine new physicians is expected to significantly improve patient care, especially in high-demand areas like hematology and gynecologic oncology, which have long faced a shortage of specialists.

For many patients, having more access to experts closer to home will reduce the emotional and financial stress of traveling for treatment.

"When cancer is diagnosed, people immediately are fearful," said Dennis Kendel, a health-care policy consultant and former CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. 

"It's a word that strikes fear in people's hearts and the sooner they can get expert opinions about what the situation is, what the therapeutic options are, the much better it is for them." 

In addition to improving patient care, Kendel believes the new hires will also help relieve the pressure on Saskatchewan's existing cancer care team, who have been managing overwhelming workloads.

"You're not being brought into a situation where there's overwhelming backlog of work because that's very professionally discouraging when you encounter that," he said.   

"It's a real bonus for the existing cancer patient physicians to realize that these nine colleagues are coming on board so that they have the ability to share work with them."

Recruiting and retaining physicians in Saskatchewan

The hires, made through the provincial Health Human Resources Plan, are part of ongoing efforts to increase cancer care capacity and address the growing demand for specialized treatment in Saskatchewan, according to a Thursday news release from the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

Jeremy Cockrill, Saskatchewan's health minister, said in the news release Thursday that the province is working hard "to recruit more specialists in key areas and strengthen health care teams." 

"It is great to see this plan continue to show results in attracting top talent to benefit patients in our province," Cockrill said. 

Several of the new physicians will be based at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina. 

This includes two gynecology oncologists — one who started in October and another in November — and four hematologists, with start dates ranging from November 2024 to May 2025.

Regina's team also welcomed a clinical associate earlier this month. 

The Saskatoon Cancer Centre is gaining a medical oncologist, who will begin in December, and a clinical associate who joined in November.

All nine new hires will be working in the province by May 2025.