A Calgarian living with terminal cancer is calling on health officials in the province to restore access to an after-hours specialist phone line for cancer patients in southern Alberta.
Natalie Kwadrans has been in and out of the hospital since she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2019.
She’s used the on-call oncologist line through the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre (the facility serving all of southern Alberta) when she’s had medical concerns on evenings or weekends a number of times in the past.
But last week , after going home from her latest hospital stay, which included more than 30 hours in the ER, she discovered the option no longer exists.
Cancer patients are now being directed to Health Link for help.
“It’s very worrisome because this is something that my life is depending on,” said Kwadrans.
The mother of two had been treated with angioplasty after two enlarged lymph nodes compressed the main vein carrying blood back to her heart from the lower part of her body.
Several days after being sent home she developed concerning symptoms late at night.
Kwadrans was unsure about what to do, so she tried calling the on-call oncologist line listed on an information card she was given through the cancer centre.
But she was unable to get through and was eventually told the service was shut down.
“I’m a little flabbergasted at the fact that this has been removed very quietly,” said Kwadrans, adding the on-call line has saved her several trips to the ER over the years.
In the past, the after-hours oncologists have handled prescriptions that she needed urgently outside of clinic hours, she said.
They’ve helped her determine whether her situation warrants a trip to the emergency room or not, she said, noting there are times she’s been advised to remain at home because her symptoms are to be expected.
“I don’t have years and years and years ahead of me. I’m going on chemo for life now. My life is much shorter,” she said.
“The last place I want to be is in the hospital because I couldn’t get access to an oncologist on call.”
Change to align with Edmonton, health agency says
Acute Care Alberta said Health Link took over responsibility for after-hours symptom management for patients of the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre on Dec. 2, 2025.
Health Link is the province’s 24-hour health information telephone line, staffed by registered nurses.
“This change is consistent with the approach already in place at the Cross Cancer Institute, ensuring alignment across provincial cancer care services,” Vanessa Gomez, a spokesperson for Acute Care Alberta (ACA), said in an emailed statement.
The change applies to all oncology specialities.
According to ACA, which oversees Cancer Care Alberta, this system has been in place for patients of Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute for several years.
The protocols have been reviewed and endorsed by oncologists and hematologists, Gomez said.
“Cancer Care Alberta [has] worked with Health Link to ensure they have the information and tools to support patients with their health concerns outside clinic hours.”
The move is not sitting well with the advocacy group Friends of Medicare.
“This is a service that was helping people in Calgary. Just because a different city doesn’t have it doesn’t mean it should be cut,” said executive director Chris Gallaway.
“We know this will lead to more pressure on our emergency rooms. But it will also create more gaps in cancer care, more stress for patients.”
Gallaway said he believes the provincial government should be prioritizing services that could take pressure off overwhelmed ERs.
“Every program that we can do that keeps someone out of an emergency waiting room we should be doing right now,” said Gallaway.
“We shouldn’t be saying we’re synchronizing programs across the province and this is being cut.”
He’s calling on health officials to share more details about why the change was made and to justify the decision.
CBC News reached out to the offices of ministers Matt Jones, who is responsible for hospitals, and Adriana LaGrange, who is in charge of primary and preventative health services.
Neither office responded to CBC’s questions prior to deadline.
For her part, Kwadrans is concerned Health Link staff don’t have the specialized expertise needed to help cancer patients.
“They’re not the right tool or the right team to assess oncology patients given the specialization of what we’re going through, in my opinion,” she said.
With a weakened immune system, Kwadrans worries she’ll end up going to the ER unnecessarily and could be exposed to infectious illnesses as she waits.
“I’m already struggling to stay alive and then to force me to go and experience that? From a human perspective I think there’s a case to be made [for the on-call line].”
She believes the program likely makes economic sense as well.
Acute Care Alberta is asking people to identify themselves as a current patient of the cancer centre when they call 811 so nurses can provide “the most appropriate advice,” according to Gomez.
She said Health Link interactions will be shared with the patient’s medical team but that people with serious or emergent concerns should be seen in the emergency room.
