News/Canada/Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP and the province's ALS society are calling on Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill to launch an investigation into the Dr. Goodenowe Restorative Health Center in Moose Jaw. Last week, the CBC reported that Dr. Dayan Goodenowe, who runs the centre, tells patients with ALS that his supplements can stop and reverse the progress of the disease. On his YouTube account, he says, "stopping the progression of ALS actually isn't that hard."He backs up his claim by pointing to some patients who say they feel better on his supplements. He also told CBC he's working on studies to verify their effectiveness.Goodenowe charges ALS clients $75,000 US for his three-month live-in treatment program.Dayan Goodenowe says on his supplement program, ALS symptoms will stop progressing ...

Maxine Peigan says the Auntie Program was inspired by her own nieces."I have six nieces  between the ages five to 16," she said. "Each of them are impacted by the social issues that we're all faced with here in Canada."Peigan, a registered mental health therapist originally from Pasqua First Nation in Saskatchewan, created the eight-week Auntie Program, which focuses on social issues that impact young Indigenous girls in smaller First Nations communities.She takes pride in providing a safe and supportive place for her nieces when they needed to talk."If I could be a safe person for my nieces, I need to create a program for other children, other than just counselling. That's kind of the core of how it all kind of snowballed together."Last month, Peigan was invited to Peepeekisis Cree Nation...

This First Person column is written by Deepinder Singh, who goes by the name Deepi, and who lives in Regina. For more information about First Person stories, see the FAQ.I couldn't see what was right around the corner as I sat at the doctor's office, with the optometrist running through some vision tests. I'd booked this appointment after a long time noticing it had become a struggle to see parts of words and sentences. Google had told me the symptoms were similar to cataracts, so I didn't feel there was a big worry or hurry."Well doctor, is it cataract?" I asked, with the cocky attitude of a kid who trusts Google more than a scientist or doctor. "No," he answered, explaining that I was experiencing macular degeneration. "To put it in simple words, you have holes in your retina."He went on...

The Saskatchewan government is making measles vaccinations available to infants aged six to 11 months who live, are travelling to, or have contact with people in areas with a high risk for measles exposure.Previously, the vaccine was first offered to infants at 12 months of age."Providing parents with the option for an additional dose of measles vaccine for infants helps to protect those who cannot protect themselves," Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill stated in a news release on Wednesday.Routine measles vaccinations at 12 and 18 months will still be needed for further protection.The move comes as the province grapples with a surge in measles cases. From March 14 to May 28, Saskatchewan reported 46 confirmed measles cases.According to the provincial government, areas with high risk of expos...

Hundreds of dead geese found this spring in fields near Lipton, Sask., 90 kilometres north east of Regina, died from avian influenza, reflecting a provincial uptick in the deadly disease, according to the Ministry of Environment.Tests completed earlier this month confirm the birds died from H5, the highly pathogenic strain of avian flu.Iga Stasiak, a wildlife health specialist with the ministry, said there have been several reports this spring of dead flocks of geese. She said that in some cases, there were hundreds of dead birds reported at sites."It is actually quite unusual to see this scale of mortality," Stasiak said."With this recent strain it seems to affect birds more seriously, so we have seen increased mortality in wild bird populations, which is concerning."The number of wild bi...

There have been 37 reported measles cases in Saskatchewan from mid-March to mid-May this year, Saskatchewan's chief medical officer said at a news conference Friday, compared to only two cases from 2015 to 2024.Dr. Saqib Shahab said cases have been confirmed in people from five months to 57 years old.  "Many families are still not accepting vaccines despite public health staff reaching out to them locally," Shahab said. He said that most new cases are in unvaccinated people in the southern rural parts of the province."This means that the measles outbreak will continue. Hospitalizations will continue. Exposure to persons at higher risk, including infants under one, unvaccinated pregnant women, and immunocompromised [people] who are at higher risk for severe complications, will continue," Sh...

A northern couple who have been together for a decade were happy to learn they were the perfect match for kidney donation.Crystal Morin-Marinuk and her husband Darwin Morin have been together for 10 years. They have been dealing with trials and tribulations around Darwin's health since the beginning."When we first started dating, he had already been suffering from some of the effects of kidney disease, as his kidneys were starting to fail," Crystal said.Darwin, who is Type 1 diabetic from childhood, was in need of a kidney transplant."I noticed just a lot of deterioration with everything, with his strength, with the way he moved around and headaches," Crystal said.As they waited years for a match with an eligible donor, she witnessed him becoming more and more sick."I started to think, 'We...

Karthik Babu Menon is ready to vote in his first-ever federal election, but he's not just thinking about how to mark his ballot, but also about the potential challenges he might face in getting into the voting booth.In previous elections, he's found voting fairly accessible as someone who uses a walker to get around Saskatoon, but he thinks there's still ways to make voting even easier, for instance, by getting rid of pencil and paper voting."I would definitely prefer something which has touch technology, like touch screens," he said, explaining he was born with cerebral palsy and can struggle with dexterity with his hands, as well as with muscle control and coordination with his legs. Babu Menon isn't just familiar with accessibility issues from a personal perspective. He also works as a ...

By all accounts, 48-year-old Lynette Buhler was the picture of health. The single mother dedicated her life to her children and the elderly patients she cared for in her job at a nursing home. "She touched everybody's life that she met. She was kind, always," said Brandy Fatteicher, Buhler's 24-year-old daughter.But in late February, Buhler, who lived in Qu'Appelle — about 57 kilometres east of Regina — picked up a flu bug and was sick enough she had to miss her final two shifts at the Regina care home where she worked.Buhler's friend Sue McGee said she became worryingly ill over the weekend.McGee said Buhler's partner drove her to a nearby hospital in Indian Head where she was diagnosed with influenza A.McGee said Buhler was sent home with Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat in...

Beautiful Mess is a series that mines the wisdom of parents in Saskatchewan who have experienced difficult circumstances.When Dennie Fornwald got a call at work on a Friday morning that her 11-year-old hadn't shown up to school, the Regina woman felt sick to her stomach. The school, her friends and family and eventually the police were all out searching for her child. Police eventually located the Grade 6 student outside the Saskatchewan legislature. Kiké, who uses they/them pronouns, had printed off small flyers about climate change and was handing them out to people. "That day and the days before, I felt so down and hopeless," Kiké said. "I had read books that action is the best antidote for this. I felt there was nothing else I could do, so I went to the legislature alone."Fornwald was ...