The Alberta government says it is working to improve access to cancer care with a new 10-year strategic plan.
The document is the first of its kind since 2013.
It comes amid new cancer cases rising, health systems coming under increasing strain, and ongoing concerns over long waits for key cancer surgeries.
The latest provincial data shows that in March, just 54 per cent of the top five cancer surgeries combined were performed within recommended times.
“Too many Albertans face delays, uncertainty and unnecessary stress when cancer is suspected,” said Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services at a Calgary news conference on Tuesday.
“That has to change.”
According to the document, one in two Albertans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and one in five will die.
“As more people are diagnosed, treated, and surviving cancer, patients are living longer with the disease and often require ongoing care and supports,” the strategy reads.
“This creates new and evolving pressures and opportunities for the health care system.”
In 2019, about 70,700 Albertans were living with cancer. The province projects that number will increase to more than 131,000 by 2040.
Glenys Jenkyns is one of those impacted. Diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2024, the nurse and patient adviser has gone through several surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
“No matter how prepared you think you are, you know that you are about to face some of the scariest, most humbling moments of your life,” she said during the news conference.
Priority areas
The Alberta government strategy outlines a number of key priorities, including improving prevention and screening, reducing wait times for diagnosis and treatment, and recruiting staff.
“Our goal is to ensure that over 90 per cent of patients meet provincially defined wait time targets by 2030,” said LaGrange.
“We will also invest in more equipment, more facilities and more staff. We will expand access to diagnostic imaging and create clear and more co-ordinated pathways so patients get faster treatment no matter where you live.”
A “rapid diagnostics pathway” will outline targets for imaging, lab tests, genomic analyses and specialist consultations in an effort to reduce the wait time for diagnosis, the strategy states.
The province aims to cut the time people wait for a diagnosis to four to six weeks or less by 2030.
Work is also being done to speed up access to cancer treatment, according to the document.
“By streamlining how patients move through early assessment, referral, and treatment, these pathways will provide a more predictable, coordinated experience across the province, and improve transparency for patients and providers,” the document states.
The government is committing to reducing key wait times, including for medical and radiation oncology consults, by 50 per cent by 2036.
Recruiting staff
A lot of the work has already started, according to Brenda Hubley, managing director of Cancer Care Alberta, the agency that now oversees cancer care in the province.
Initiatives are being funded through the agency’s regular budget, she said, noting no new funding has been allocated specifically for the 10-year plan.
The Alberta government said this year’s budget includes $1.2 billion over three years for cancer care.
According to Hubley, $16 million is being used this year to hire more doctors.
“We have had significant success in recruitment of oncologists,” she said.
Sixteen new and 10 replacement oncologists were hired in 2025, with another 17 new and six replacement oncologists set to begin this year, according to the document.
There is also a commitment to create a cancer workforce strategy.
Meanwhile, NDP hospital and surgical health services critic Sarah Hoffman is accusing the Alberta government of failing to address key problems.
“Over the past seven years, fewer cancer patients have been getting surgery on time, and wait times are significantly worse,” Hoffman said in a statement Tuesday.
“Alberta’s New Democrats would welcome support for cancer screening, prevention, detection and surgeries. However, Albertans do not trust the UCP to fix a health-care system that they broke through underfunding and bad decisions.”
The Alberta government said its cancer care strategy involved consultations with oncologists, nurses, patients, caregivers, and Indigenous communities, including hundreds of surveys and interviews.
