Critical Analysis on “A Small Tumour, A Giant Time Bomb” By Margaret Wente

Critical Response Essay on an Article Called “A Small Tumour, A Giant Time Bomb” By Margaret Wente
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COMM1007 202101 Criticisms
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Critical Response Essay
Difficulties accessing essential and potentially life-saving medications worsen health status and outcomes, especially for the vulnerable who are already underinsured. Jill Anzarut, a breast-cancer patient, failed to get Herceptin, a costly medication, as the tumor was too small to qualify for treatment under the existing health insurance program. Health care costs have risen in Canada, which is linked to high medication costs, rising consumer demand, and an aging population that requires more healthcare attention than other demographic groups (Wente, 2011). Evidentiary, practical, and ethical criticism focus on the high-cost burden in Ontario’s health care system necessitates health care reforms to improve access to adequate and high-quality care.
Evaluating the costs and benefits of funding costly Herceptin treatment to patients with tumours would provide more insights into the high health costs and differences among Canadian provinces and territories. Wente (2011) highlighted that Jill Anzarut, with an early-stage tumor, could not access Herceptin medication that costs up to $40,000 a year because of bureaucracy and the high health care costs. There is no source provided about the cost of Herceptin treatment, but the $40,000 per year shows the high cost of the treatment. There is no comparison of Herceptin costs in other countries with similar living standards, and there is no adequate explanation for who should bear the burden of high healthcare costs. Breast cancer patients bear a heavy cost burden in Ontario, but links to the costa and benefits of Herceptin treatment would provide information on reducing of cost of treatment “Herceptin - whose efficacy for patients such as Ms. Anzarut is debated even among research specialists. Herceptin’s benefits for women with very small tumors are, at best, marginal” (Wente, 2011). The example mentions research specialists who have found Herceptin has little to marginal benefits for those with small tumours, but does not mention one researcher or article with the highest level of evidence. The writer argued that Ms. Anzarut should have got the Herceptin treatment just like other provinces other than Ontario covering Herceptin treatment even if it was expensive. Wente (2011) then points out that Herceptin’s benefits are minimal for patients with small tumors, and there are concerns about Herceptin’s efficacy. The writer proposes Herceptin treatment whose efficacy is questionable for patients like Ms. Anzarut, but she does not quote or provide links to research evaluating Herceptin’s efficacy. There is also no justification for a costly treatment with minimal benefits for breast cancer patients with small tumours. Highlighting the factors affecting the cost burden and affordability of costly Herceptin treatment and how this is linked to rising health care costs would provide more context on cost-effectiveness.
The Canadian health system is a mixed public-private system but needs reforms also dogged high health ...