N.B. man calls for hyperbaric oxygen care in province as hospital in N.S. is overwhelmed [Video]

A Shediac, N.B., man is paying out of pocket for treatment his doctors say he needs to treat the side effects of radiation therapy he received while undergoing treatment for cancer.

Jeff Leblanc was diagnosed with Stage 4 oral squamous cell carcinoma, a form of cancer, in 2013.

He underwent 38 radiation treatments as part of his cancer treatment.

He said he’s experienced negative side effects from that radiation therapy — including losing his teeth and having part of his jaw lock up — starting in 2015 and progressing over the years.

“When your gums are starting to split up and your teeth are getting loose … that’s a sign of radiation damage,” he said.

In 2019, Leblanc’s doctors referred him to receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the QEII hospital in Halifax — across the border in Nova Scotia.

That hospital is the only publicly funded option for this treatment in …