Edmonton woman cancer treatment cancelled after health card expires amid visa wait

An Edmonton woman fighting for cancer had her treatment cancelled after her health card expired, as she was unable to renew it while awaiting approval for her visa.

Geraldine Leon was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer that requires chemotherapy. Leon arrived at her chemotherapy appointment at the Cross-Cancer Institute last Saturday, only to be told that it had been cancelled due to the expiry of her Alberta health care card.

“I feel confused and stressed and I don’t know,” said Leon.

Leon is from Mexico, she has been working and living in Edmonton for the last four years. She applied for her work permit renewal before it’s expiry in March. She was granted a 6-month extension of her Alberta health care card at that time. Now, more than 6 months later, her visa renewal has not arrived and her health care card cannot be renewed without the federal government confirming her legal status.

“We have done everything that we needed to do to get the papers done but she’s just in limbo,” said Jose Martinez, Geraldine’s employer.

Returning to Mexico is not an option for Leon, given that she has not been working there for the last four years. Her oncologist wrote a letter stating that her cancer is aggressive, and her therapy should not be interrupted.

“Immigration told us that she’s allowed to be here, she’s legally allowed to work,” said Martinez. “She’s still paying her taxes, her rent, her car, everything. But there’s a loophole in the system that Alberta health doesn’t recognize that from the federal government. So, it’s frustrating, there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing that the hospital can do. We don’t know who can help us.”

In a statement to CityNews, Alberta health services say, in part, “cancer care Alberta would not generally interrupt a patient’s active treatment while a health card renewal process is underway.”

The Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services said in a statement:

“Health coverage can only be extended or reinstated when the federal government provides updated documentation confirming the individual’s legal status. Once this documentation is received, Alberta health coverage can be reinstated retroactively…”

“This process has been harder than the chemo itself,” said Leon.

Leon says last Saturday, when her treatment was cancelled, it would not be an option to pay for chemotherapy. Early Wednesday afternoon, she says she received a phone call from AHS saying that payment for treatment would be possible, but was not given an exact number, only that it would be thousands of dollars. Leon says she is not currently able to pay that out of pocket, and when given an exact number, hope to rely on the community.