55-year-old Calgary golfer with Stage 4 lung cancer waits months for first treatment

In 2018, Steve Blake was on top of the world, after qualifying for the U.S. Senior Men's Open.

Five years later, on Sept. 14, Blake was still golfing, keeping his game up to the high standard he's known for.

The next day, golf no longer mattered to the 55-year-old, as he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.

"We looked at each other and said that can't be right,' he's a 55-year-old healthy guy, non-smoker, there's no way," said his wife of 26 years, Kelly Blake.

That was six weeks ago and now the father of two is getting his lungs drained every other day.

His breathing is getting worse, yet he still has not had his first intake appointment at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre – and he won’t for another 10 days.

"If I'm going to be anywhere this is probably the best place in the world to be. The frustrating thing is, it's just a few minutes away and I can't get in," said Steve.

"You know the benchmark is supposed to be 27 days from the time it's confirmed to seeing the oncologist, and unfortunately for Steve for Steve's situation it's going to be 49 days," Kelly said.

According to provincial data, half of all cancer patients receive their first consult for radiation therapy at Tom Baker in 4.7 weeks.

For chemotherapy, half of all cancer patients have their first consult by 3.7 weeks.

Alberta Health Services shared a brief statement Tuesday evening, saying it is working to attract more specialists including oncologists - and that it prioritizes patients based on severity of illness.

Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta

Alberta Health Minister Adriana Lagrange issued a statement Wednesday highlighting the start of lung cancer awareness month, encouraging early screening.

CTV reached out to her office over a two day period about the wait times. We were referred to the AHS statement.

One health care advocacy group said Steve's story is representative of a broader problem.

"It's very concerning. And it's all rooted in staffing and the lack of health professionals in the province, which we've been calling for the government to have a workforce plan for years," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.

"We know that has a negative outcome on health. The same is true for waits in emergency rooms or waits to see a specialist, waits to get your surgery," Gallaway said. "Whatever it might be, we know that that has an impact on people's health."