A British citizen with terminal cancer who in his final days faced a deportation order and a $126,000 hospital bill died in his Saanichton motorhome Tuesday night.
“I’m relieved he’s gone and he’s out of pain,” said his Canadian wife, Lyn Scanlan.
Eric Scanlan, 69, received treatment in Britain over two extended periods of five months and eight months. The treatment was insured but the couple did not have a place to live.
When doctors in Britain told him his cancer was inoperable and no other treatments could be performed, the Scanlans returned to Canada with the idea they could pay privately for his pain medication and he could die in comfort.
A recent widower, Eric Scanlan met Lyn Scanlan online in 2009. They regularly talked by phone, visited and eventually married.
Before he could get residency or health insurance in Canada, Eric Scanlan received his first cancer diagnosis. He was treated in Britain and returned with a clean bill of health — he thought. Soon afterward, he was taken to hospital, unable to breathe.
It turned into a three-week stay, a diagnosis of plasmacytoma and a subsequent $126,000 hospital bill. The couple again returned to Britain for treatment.
Lyn Scanlan said through tears that her husband’s terminal disease had become unbearable for them both in his final days.
Island Health spokeswoman Sarah Plank said Wednesday that payment of the hospital bill is still owing but was not immediately able to access information outlining the legal process involved in collecting the debt.
A date for a celebration of life has not yet been scheduled.
