Health Minister Adrian Dix says plans are underway to improve colon-cancer screening in honour of a Saanich chiropractor who died earlier this month.
Dix made the comments at the official opening of the Canadian Cancer Society’s new $26-million Centre for Cancer Prevention and Support in Vancouver on Wednesday. The expanded centre will serve as a national hub for research and lodge for out-of-town patients, although it won’t provide diagnosis or treatment.
“We’re making plans and we are going to follow through on that commitment in the spirit of Jordan’s life,” said Dix.
Months before her death, Jordan Millar, 40, the single mother of two young children in Saanich, went public with the fact that though she had symptoms consistent with colon cancer, she wasn’t offered a colonoscopy — which can identify and remove precancerous polyps — until she was 39. By that time, she had stage 4 metastatic colon cancer that had spread to her liver.
Millar underwent numerous surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, but by September, she was told she had only days or weeks remaining.
She died Nov. 1, leaving children Alice and Jules, her parents and three siblings.
Dix said he spoke to Millar from her hospital bed not long ago.
“No one faced their cancer with more courage than Jordan,” Dix said. “Many did as much, but no one more, and I think of her today and her inspiration and her message of education — especially within the medical community for younger people dealing with colon cancer.”
Born in Smithers, Millar lived in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto and San Diego before settling back in Victoria. In visits to doctors, Millar said, she was told repeatedly that the recommended age for colonoscopies is 50. She was young and had no risk factors or family history of the disease — all criteria for the invasive screening procedure.
Millar encouraged other young people to demand screening tests when their bodies and even tests are telling them something is very wrong.
During her 19-month ordeal with colon cancer, she took care of her children, hiked up Mount Doug during treatment, and continued to work as a chiropractor. She was the kind of mom who made homemade chocolates for the Christmas holidays and hand-sewed Halloween costumes.
“Even from her hospital bed Jordan did not miss a beat, Jordan was determined to raise awareness of young onset colorectal cancer,” said her obituary. “Her goal was to make a difference in the health-care system and save at least one life with earlier colorectal cancer detection.”
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in men and the third in women in Canada. It is estimated that about one in 14 Canadian men will develop colorectal cancer during their lifetime and one in 34 will die from it, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
The society says colorectal cancer incidence rates are declining in Canada, likely due to increase screening, A stool test can detect blood particles that can trigger further screening with a colonoscopy.
Millar wanted colonoscopies to be offered regularly, like pap smears, used to prevent cervical cancer, and mammograms, for breast cancer.
Dix, who was not immediately available for an interview, said his own mother was diagnosed with colon cancer more than two decades ago. A key part to his mother’s survival is the fact that her doctor identified it early, “weeks earlier than might have happened otherwise, and that made a big difference for her,” said Dix.
The Canadian Cancer Society says it expects the Centre for Cancer Prevention and Support to eventually become a national leader in research and innovation for cancer prevention and survivor support by connecting discoveries more rapidly to prevention and support programs.
