Recently, I had an occasion where I was reunited with some old colleagues. During the get-together, a retired member shared he was on medication because he had blood cancer. This shook me. I asked what symptoms he had to alert him to this, and he said, “I had no symptoms. I still don’t. It was because of the periodic medical.” His full story is below, so please take a moment to read what he so kindly shared.
After hearing this, it occurred to me that I have not had my medical in several years. I suspect the same is true for many of us. I wondered if the member had not routinely taken the medical, would he not have known about his cancer, and perhaps left it untreated until it too late.
As a reminder, this is a benefit for sworn members; PLEASE take advantage of this:
City of Vancouver – Periodic Health Evaluation
A complete periodic health evaluation is available to sworn police officers and SMCs in the following age groups:
• 35-45 years of age – every 5 years
• 46-50 years of age – every 2 years
• Over 50 years of age (until retirement) – annually
Below is the Telus email, phone number, and account number to book appointments:
Email: carecentres.vancouver@telus.com
Phone: 604-669-8188
Account Number: CHS402542
Letter from J
Hello Everyone,
I have been asked to share my experience with you in relation to the importance of having your yearly physical completed through the VPD. In 2017, I was a 51-year-old male, with 28 years on the job and I had no physical or medical complaints. Having said that, I always made a practice of going for my yearly medical/physical and this year was no different.
When I received my bloodwork results my platelet count was flagged as being high. For those of you who don’t know, platelets are produced in your bone marrow and they are responsible for forming clots and stopping bleeding when you have a wound or a cut. I asked my family doctor why they were so high and he said I was probably fighting a cold or an infection at the time. I didn’t think any more about it and continued on with my life.
In 2018 ,I completed another yearly physical and again my platelet count was flagged as being high. A normal platelet count is between 150-450 platelets per microliter of blood. Mine was close to 500 so that was a concern. Again, my family doctor suggested that it was probably due to a minor infection or cold. I told him I hadn’t been sick and asked if there was a way we could try to figure it out. He advised me that the only way to determine the cause was to see a Hematologist but there was a wait time of over a year. I told him that I wasn’t planning or moving or dying anytime soon so perhaps we should get on the waitlist and he agreed.
In 2019, I finally got an appointment with a Hematologist (it did take a year to get in) and after some more blood work it was determined that I had a genetic mutation that was causing my bone marrow to produce more platelets than I needed and it was doing so for no reason. This mutation is called JAK2 and it often leads to forms of blood cancer. This was right around the time I was considering retirement and, after doing some research, I decided to retire so I could spend some time focusing on my health and happiness.
It is now 2026 and my condition has progressed to a blood cancer called Essential Thrombocythemia. I have started taking a daily chemotherapy pill to hopefully reduce my platelets. It is not a curable form of cancer but it can be managed to a certain degree for a period of time.
I am not sharing this story with you to illicit sympathy. There are many people in this world, including the VPD, who are fighting a far more serious battle than I am. My point in sharing this is to encourage everyone to go for your yearly medical appointment. I had zero symptoms that there was anything wrong with me. I felt good, I played hockey several times a week, went to the gym regularly and I generally felt great. (unless I was in a pointless meeting, recycling old ideas to solve problems that will never go away.) If it wasn’t for my yearly medical and some questioning of my results with my family doctor, I probably still would not know that I had this condition. To me, being able to have a comprehensive physical completed, for free, while you are on duty, getting paid, is an amazing opportunity that should not be ignored. You owe it to yourself to make sure you are as healthy as possible so you can enjoy this amazing pension that we have all worked so hard for!
Thanks for taking the time the read this and I hope you all take advantage of this service.
Stay healthy and safe.
J.