Pain Management

Cancer survival rates have significantly improved. Now we must pay attention to rehabilitation

Cancer survivors should not be left to feel like they need to manage their impairments on their own. There are models for cancer centres across Canada that can provide timely and comprehensive rehabilitation services.

Palliative pixie dust

Just as Disney World has grown and evolved, so must palliative care. The time for Ontario to update palliative care into the 21st century may have arrived.

Having breast cancer impacts sexuality: Why don’t we talk about it?

It's common for women to struggle with sexual health issues after breast cancer. But it isn’t just our bodies that change; the experience of cancer changes our relationship with time, aging and even the arc of life that we imagine for ourselves.

Hospice care, not hospital beds: Investing in palliative care will help solve the health-care crisis

6,000 patients in Ontario currently need an “Alternate Level of Care” (ALC). They do not need to be in hospital, but there is nowhere safe for them to go. Government investment in palliative care is a crucial part of the solution.

B.C.’s ‘necessary step forward’ in drug decriminalization

B.C. is Canada’s first jurisdiction to be granted a federal exemption to decriminalize personal drug possession up to 2.5 grams. Other provinces may soon follow suit.

The gift of a better death

Canadians need universal and equitable access to high-quality palliative care. It’s time to talk about death and dying more openly and ask ourselves: What is a good death?

Dr. Pharmacist?

Pharmacists can prescribe medications for certain ailments in eight provinces with Ontario about to follow suit. But while pharmacists knowledge of medications is invaluable, are they diagnosticians?

What’s on a label? This simple intervention could improve patient safety and save money

Adding reason for use to the labels of prescriptions could be an opportunity to support patient health literacy and to improve communication within the health-care team.

Plan on ‘aging in place’? Start early and be patient

Alcina Sung and the Togethering team are compiling resources that may better educate families, designers and developers on accessibility considerations and other resources to make aging at home a reality for as long as possible.

The Cannabis Act is being reviewed: Expect battles

The Cannabis Act is under review. Many problems will be addressed. But there will be a faceoff between public-health advocates and industry representatives on a number of fronts.

Tapping into the power of hope

Learning about a patient’s hopes can create an opportunity for both special intervention and improve goals of care conversations and assist doctors in crafting a care plan that will optimize the chances of these dreams coming true. The Oneday Dreams charity offers the hope for better quality of life to patients with terminal illness.

Palliative care (still) in need of better PR and a new spokesperson

Palliative care has an image problem. We need to find someone who can get the message across to the thousands of Canadians who could benefit from a palliative approach to care and those who care for them.

On mentors: Honouring the legacy of a palliative care specialist

Gone but not forgotten: Darren Cargill honours his mentor in palliative care, Ciaran Sheehan, for National Hospice and Palliative Care Week.

Medical benefits from cannabis? Still waiting for proof

Today may be April 20, a renowned cannabis counterculture holiday, but four years into legalization we still don't have reliable data about the medical benefits of marijuana.

Episode 36 – Making Hospitals Safer