White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio

Kathryn Fudurich was 21-years old when her 55-year-old mother Pat was diagnosed with dementia. Pat's memory loss began with small things, like leaving the TV remote in the pantry. But soon, she was forgetting to take her medication. Then she could no longer remember the route to get to her teaching job outside of Toronto. Soon it became clear that Pat could not manage living on her own, and Kathryn quit her job in London, Ontario and moved back home to care for her. Kathryn is among the youngest of an estimated two million Canadians who put their careers and lives on hold to care for an ailing loved one. In this rebroadcast from October 2016, Kathryn reveals the challenges of being a young caregiver to a parent with early-onset dementia: The struggle to find programs for a dementia patient who was still relatively young; the loss of connection to her peers who were pursuing careers and relationships; and the pain of watching the vibrant woman who had been her 'everything" slip away to the point where she no longer knew her daughter's name. Now 28, Kathryn reveals how she eventually found a balance between caring for her mother, and caring for herself. * This program originally aired in Oct. 2016

What happens when the health-care system heals you but leaves you with emotional scars?

Could your hip replacement hurt you? Journalist Jeanne Lenzer explores the medical device industry in her new book, The Danger Within Us: America's Untested, Unregulated Medical Device Industry and One Man's Battle to Survive It. And Dr. David Urbach tells us why Canada's device regulators could be doing a better job.

Endometriosis affects one in ten Canadian women, yet for the most part, it is invisible. It's a condition where the uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, resulting in severe pain, and possibly infertility for those who have it. It takes on average, eight to ten years to get a definitive diagnosis and women typically see up to ten different doctors during that time. This week, White Coat Black Art has a documentary by Danielle d'Entremont, a young woman who was recently diagnosed with endometriosis. Danielle shares her six-year journey to find out what was wrong with her, and the discoveries she made along the way about how society discriminates against women's pain. We also hear from Dr Catherine Allaire, a gynaecologist and director of the Centre for Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis at the BC Women’s Hospital. She says family doctors need to be more aware of endometriosis and proactive in dealing with menstrual health.

This week, White Coat, Black Art has stories of up-and-coming female doctors who have been harassed, abused and even assaulted by the higher-ups who are supposed to be mentoring them into the world of medicine. Many of the women say they were too afraid to file complaints fearing the power senior doctors have over their career prospects.Those who have complained find the system often does more to protect the alleged perpetrators. We canvas provincial colleges for how they are handling #Metoo allegations and hear from a lawyer who has repeatedly called for the end of self-regulation for doctors. She says these new allegations back up her assertion that the hierarchical nature of medical education is ripe for abuse, and needs more oversight. NOTE: Corrected version

The big "H" sign for the hospital signals safety to most patients. But many Indigenous Canadians have a different reality. The San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program uses blunt talk to confront racial biases in medicine in a bid to make heath care safer and more accessible.

Last week we told you the story of Ian and Rachelle Geddes, middle-class Canadian parents working flat-out to care to care for their 18-year-old daughter Gillian., who has low-functioning autism, meaning she'll never be able to work or live independently. They shared their concerns about how they'll cope as Gilly ages out of the services she's had since she was a child, and how Gilly will cope as her parents age out of being able to care for her. This week, we meet Gilly's siblings, who believe they will take over at some point down the line. And we speak with Dr. Yona Lumksy, Director of the Azieli Centre for Adult Neuro-developmental Disabilities, who talks about the challenges caregivers face as their special needs kids age out of programs - something she's familiar with as the sister of a special-needs sibling herself.

A day with Gilly, a teen with autism and developmental delay on the cusp of aging out of the system – and her parents who are expected to pick up the slack.

The latest report on Canada's flu vaccine shows the shot is less than 20 per cent effective against the most common strain.. Some public health officials are questioning the focus on a seasonal flu vaccine that delivers unreliable results. We speak to Dr. Danuta Scowronski, the lead for influenza at the BC Centre for Disease Control, who says it's time for a moon shot for the flu shot. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer responds. Matthew Miller, an assistant professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON talks about Canada's role in developing a universal flu vaccine.

In our second show exploring the impact of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) we speak to Clifford Campbell. His wife Noreen was among the first to be approved for and to receive MAID. He tells Brian what it's like to be the witness to suffering, party to assisted death, and the spouse left behind.

Tim Regan had a medically assisted death on Dec. 12, 2017. Dr. Brian Goldman spoke to him the day before he died.

Dr Kevin Menes was on duty as an ER doctor after the worst mass shooting in US history.

We hear from doctors whose medical degrees took them places they never expected...from cruise ships to space ships.

This weel, it’s all about you. You have sent us a ton of emails, letters, tweets and Facebook posts about what you heard on the program so far this season. We share some of them.

In 2011, Dr Brian Goldman travelled to Nelson, a city of just over 10,000 located in BC's Southern Interior. This picturesque region boasts one of the most successful groups of midwives in all of Canada.