Mom’s late cancer diagnosis highlights health-care challenges Black women face, expert says – CBC

Nadine McKenzie, 39, was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in September

Oct 14, 2022

When Nadine McKenzie felt some pain in her chest in early September, she initially dismissed it.

But when the pain persisted, she decided to get it checked out. She knew it wouldn’t be an easy process, because like many Ontarians, she’s on a wait list for a family doctor.

McKenzie, a 39-year-old single mom with two young daughters, says for two weeks she attempted to get into walk-in clinics and ended up relying on Telehealth Ontario and her own research.

“The clinics were always too busy,” she said.

“One day, I said, ‘Forget it. I just need to go to the emergency room and take the eight hours and sit down and get this checked,'” said McKenzie, who lives about 48 kilometres east of Toronto in Ajax.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mother-highlights-challenges-black-women-face-getting-diagnosed-seeing-themselves-in-breast-cancer-campaigns-1.6614011