Even if the TVA Nouvelles report seemed to make things happen for Stéphanie Lavoie, the cases of people affected by Lyme disease abandoned by the Quebec system are very numerous, affirms the director general of the Association québécoise de la Maladie de Lyme (AQML), Caren Leblanc.
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“Cases like her, there are hundreds in Quebec. The trajectory for Lyme disease does not exist in Quebec, so there are very few doctors who treat and diagnose it adequately. There are two in Quebec,” she explained in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
Ms. Leblanc adds that, on average, the wait time for treatment when suffering from Lyme disease is two to three years.
“These patients are in medical wandering. There is no one who wants to take care of them because it is a complicated disease and doctors in Quebec are not trained to treat it adequately, ”says the director general of the AQML.
Quebec is however above the largest focus of Lyme disease in the world, claims Caren Leblanc.
While in the United States, protocols are in place to allow doctors to adequately treat patients with Lyme disease, the situation is quite different in Quebec.
“It’s a real denial that we have (on the part of) the Quebec medical system,” laments Ms. Leblanc.
The latter specifies that many doctors do not want to recognize that there are cases of Lyme disease north of Montreal, when data from the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) proves it. beyond any doubt.
According to the AQML’s most optimistic scenario, there would be at least 20,000 undiagnosed cases of Lyme disease in Quebec.
Faced with this attitude of the Quebec medical network, many patients lose hope of being cured. The AQML lists six suicides over the past two years among Quebecers with Lyme disease.
“People are very suffering physically and psychologically, so they sure don’t see the end of this disease,” explains Caren Leblanc.
To see the full interview, watch the video above.
IF YOU NEED HELP
Quebec suicide prevention line
• 1 866 CALL (277-3553)
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• 1 800 668-6868
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• 1 800 263-2266
