ealth costs out of control Dear Editor: As a result of Evelyn Jacob's feature article of April 7, written about my essay Picasso's Womun which won a CBC titerary award, I have been contacted by many of your readers. Over and over, | have heard, didn't realize that ...,"" or Avy don't we know that 0.2" } was motivated to write the essay und ‘go public” with regard to my personal experience with breast cancer because 1, like so many others, knew tittle about this disease before 1 was diagnos- ed two years ago. The incidence of breast cancer has increased 130% in the past 30 years. The survival rate, the treatments and our knowledge of this disease have changed litle in thu. same period of time, Thirty years aga, the adds of a woman getting breast cancer were one in 20, Today, in North America, a woman's chances are one in nine, If this increase continues at its current sate, in 20) years one woman in three will be diagnosed with this disease. Another 10 to 20) years after that ...? Breast cancer accounts for the Breast cancer epidemic should be on front page Dear Editor: Your headline, ‘Lab docs lose licence to print moncy,'? (March + 26) is both false and misleading. $n 1971, Mr. Loffmark, Socred minister of health, introduced Order in Council 2220, which guye the government wide poweis of audit, inspection, and licensure of all medical laboratories. Ne new labs could be started withoul government approval. In addition, under the Financial Information Act the incomes of all doctors, labs, and billings to the Medical Services Plan were published annually. Any abuse in private iaboratory services could tot be concealed with this monitoring. Anyway, very few of these tests are made through self-referral, contrary to views expressed by Nocl Wright. Furthermore; there is little evi- dence to support the claim that these costs have risen faster than other medical, services, in_ spite of the sophistry in’ the B.C. Royal Commission on Health Care 1991 findings. The price at $140 million is peanuts compared to other com- parable casts, eg. Liona Gate Hos- pital’s annual budget. In 1975 this was $20 million, compared to $90 million last year, This with 20% fewer beds, as well as O.R. closures. Lions Gate compares favorably with many other B.C. hospitals, and yet has an annual budget of more than half the total B.C. lab budget, Fact is, costs skyrocketed when government got into medicine. The private sector is more effi- cient, but has few friends in any government. The absence of user fees has caused insatiable demands, and totally destroyed market forces in health care, The taxpayers simply do not have the money to support the so- cialist dream any longer. Dr. Miles Kilshaw and the NDP : are likely to be adding fuel to a fire which is already out of con- trol. Dr. Richard Davison North Vencouver In favor of tunnel crossing Dear Editor: m ; In reply to Mayor Sager’s setter in a recent copy of the’ North Shere News asking for inpat in regard to-ideas for a new crossing to the North Shore communities of West.’and North Vancouver, | weuld be strongly in favor of a tunnel, with a toll. Surely, this “‘make-work project’’ many now out of work. Furthermore, any damage to the existing lace-like structure of the present. Lions Gate Bridge is a matter of time; it is a disaster waiting to happen. In the eveat of such a happen- ing, the investment of ‘the entire North Shore communities, and those of Squamish and Whistler, would be so badly affected that perhaps only 20-25% of the value could be a with so r BRING THIS COUPON AND YOUR VCR OR E TO THE VIDEO RE-FIT SHOP FOR - - REPAIROR A 10 POINT CLEANING AND q RECEIVE A PUji VHS TAPE FREE! A 1051 MARINE \. | OR. (OPPOSITE > FUTURE SHOP) 288-3949 | Sees RN OE OE ‘of homes, hotels and offices could be expected to be recuperated for the five or six years before a seplacement would be ready to. avert this loss to the greatest in- vestinent most taxpayers possess. _ Audrey Sayle West Vancouver largest “person years of life lost’ from all cancers ~ an average of 22 years per diagnosis. In 1992 in Canada, 15,700 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, (n the same yer, 5,200 women died from this disease. Woidor tS funerals were being held for Canadians every diy of the year because of a flu epidemic, it would definitely be front page news, Hreast) cancer has indeed become such an epidemic and the public needs to be aware that at the moment we are losing the war against this disease. To obtain more information or 10 fire out how you can help, please contact The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, 197 Hosmer Ave., Vancouver, BC. V6) 287 oF telephone 734-4723, Rosalind MacPhee Lions Hay Beyond the bounds of free speech Dear Editor: The March 15 city council meeting ‘allowed the worst type of paranoid, racist ind slanderous presentation | think | have ever heard, le was by a Mr. Kenner, und was aimed primarily at Doug Collins, though everyone from the Governor General on down was inchid- ed. The North Shore News also came in for some. remarks which ! would be inclined to class as beyond the bounds of free speech, He is seeking publicity, having given the story to the Vancouver Sun long before the council meeting. To give further publicity, other than by tmeans of a lawsuit, would only en- courage him. It was a most disgusting . performance, not only by him, but also by council. ] hope we have all heard the last of Mr. Kenner. Donald M. Currie North Vancouver 93 VW EURO VAN CAMPER $25 as: WHEN PICKED UP IN GERMANY, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM ] | NORWAY, DENMARK OR SWEDEN. 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