When Sara Gillooly decided to speak publicly about the delays she faced being diagnosed with terminal cancer, she had no idea her story would ignite a discussion about much larger problems in B.C.’s health-care system.

One week after holding an emotional press conference outside the B.C. legislature, Gillooly finds herself fielding messages from strangers across the province, describing delays, missed follow-ups and a system that didn’t move to help them when it mattered.

“I didn’t realize how much the story would resonate with people,” said Gillooly, a 40-year-old mother of two from Port Moody.

“It reminds me again of why I did it in the first place. It cements the fact we do need change and something needs to be done, because there’s way too many people that have a story.”

Her case has sparked calls for the B.C. government to disclose wait time data, hire more health-care professionals and improve what are some of the worst cancer treatment benchmarks in the country.

“I’d love to see a commitment to tackle this, and a wider plan,” she said.

Gillooly’s story has struck a chord. Perhaps it’s because she was already in the system for breast cancer and still fell through the cracks. Because she was labelled low priority when she was anything but. Because she knew which tests........

© BIV