Dear editor,

In response to a letter by S. Friesen:

In a small community a patient needed healthcare but had no money to pay for it. A doctor said he would provide it with one condition, students were allowed to watch and learn. That very action was the act of teaching a young generation that a doctor treats his patient before any other considerations.

Born out of that incident was Canada's icon Tommy Douglas, who used Universal Principles to bring about Universal Healthcare and the establishment of the Canadian Identity. It is that young generation that now provides people in this valley with healthcare.

Each and every person in the medical field is fully accountable for the choices they make. It was St. Joseph's CEO Michael Pontus who clearly stated that D. Z made errors in his readings and that colleagues were involved.

Further investigations with many patients coming forth have revealed more errors.

Not telling someone they have cancer defines the moral conscience of man and there is no justification for not doing so. In the case of Mrs. Kafka you can see it clearly in the films.

S. Friesen, you said, 'Just for fun we Googled' ... "and came up with a doozy." Clearly you have displayed principles lacking in the medical field.

Mrs. Kafka, a senior, was not told she had cancer and that it spread while they chopped her breast off. Still not telling her, they gave her an experimental drug at the cancer agency. The toxicity was too high, confirmed by the doctor and nurse holding the IV line while she screamed for them to stop.

When we lie to our seniors, drug them and torture them, they have a right to speak and society had better listen. Mrs. Kafka is more credible they anyone because she has the facts all taped, even the horror of what was done to her and the province's dirty little secrets. I fully support Mrs. Kafka's demand for a judicial inquiry and I'm honoured that this courageous senior fights for the truth. I stand beside her and will do the same because there are some doctors and nurses out there worth fighting for and don't have a voice who are also fully well aware of St Joseph's wrongful choices to the detriment of the patient.

Lorna Clark,

Comox Valley