Health

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.A quarter of a million Canadians are diagnosed with cancer every year.When that happens, says Stephen Piazza, director of advocacy for the Canadian Cancer Society, people need to focus on their treatment plan and telling family members — not budgeting for medical expenses."The last thing you need is to then think about how do I balance my chequebook this month?" said Piazza.But a survey conducted for the society suggested about one in five cancer patients found it difficult to pay household expenses, and 40 per cent saw their retirement savings suffer.People accessing cancer care ...

As a single mother on a fixed income, Kelly Tysick finds it harder than ever to make ends meet. Rents have jumped in her Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, making the rising cost of food nearly impossible to afford on her budget."I feel like it used to be affordable living, but now it's beyond belief," Tysick said during a recent visit to the Depot Community Food Centre, a local non-profit that aims to address food insecurity.The centre provides meals three days a week and offers food baskets and other services to those in need.Tasha Lackman, the organization's executive director, said demand tripled in the span of two years — forcing them to put a cap on new customers."We reached our capacity as an organization in terms of the food costs, the space that we have, the ...

When a cyberattack took multiple hospitals in southwestern Ontario offline for weeks, Kale McMurren's cancer treatment had to move to another health-care centre two hours away. The October 2023 attack meant that McMurren's digital health records through Windsor Regional Hospital were unreachable. In order to get his medical history to the hospital in London where he was being transferred, McMurren says hard copy files were faxed over. If McMurren had his own copy, he could have brought the files himself to London. "I agree that having [my] medical records would help me in [that] situation," he said. At the time, the five hospitals targeted in the cyberattack told hundreds of thousands of patients that with systems down, doctors might not have past records or medical history, a person's cur...

Alberta's measles outbreak is now the worst recorded in nearly three decades and that has health experts raising the alarm and renewing calls for stronger messaging from the provincial government.The surge is so concerning, Alberta's former chief medical officer of health, Dr. Mark Joffe, who left his post less than two weeks ago, is speaking out and describing measles as a "horrid illness."With 129 cases confirmed as of midday Thursday, the case counts so far this year have already surpassed the most recent high in the year 2000, when 123 cases were reported.The previous major peak was in 1997, when there were 242 cases. In most other years, in the decades after widespread measles vaccination was introduced, only a handful of cases have been reported."Working in a hospital and seeing sick...

The Calgary company at the centre of an E. coli outbreak at several daycares across the city pleaded guilty to bylaw offences and the prosecutor for the city indicated charges against the corporation's directors will be dropped. Hundreds of children fell ill in September 2023 with dozens hospitalized in an outbreak that the City of Calgary said was traced to Fueling Minds Inc., a catering company that provided meals and snacks to Calgary daycares. Fueling Minds and its two directors, Faisal Alimohd and Anil Karim, were charged with operating without a proper business licence in September 2023 following the outbreak that began earlier that month and lasted eight weeks.On Thursday, the corporation pleaded guilty, admitting it did not have a food services business licence at the time of the o...

It's only April, and 2025 is already shaping up to be the worst year for measles since the disease was declared eliminated in 1998 in Canada.Ontario continues to be the epicentre of the spread. Public Health Ontario is reporting 1,018 confirmed and probable cases of measles so far this year. The vast majority of those infected were not fully immunized. Six unvaccinated children and adolescents have been hospitalized with the virus.In Alberta, too, the virus is spreading. The province is reporting 129 cases as of April 24, in every zone in the province. In that province, most of those sick are not fully vaccinated. Nine people have been hospitalized. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to man. Symptoms can include a fever, coughing and a runny nose, as well as a blotchy red...

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Quebec has officially passed a law requiring doctors to work in the public health-care system for five years after obtaining a medical degree in the province.Bill 83, adopted on Thursday by a vote of 72 to 30, is intended to improve access to health care for Quebecers by preventing doctors from exiting the public system for the private system."The universal health-care system, financed by the people of Quebec, must enable everyone to consult a doctor when they need to," Health Minister Christian Dubé said in a statement.   "The private sector can help to support the public network: we will ensure that this contribution remains complementary, always in the interests of Quebec patients."WATCH | Quebec bill would fine new doctors for ditching public system: New doctors in Quebec could face fi...

Families with students at Brisbane Public School in Erin, Ont., have been notified of a measles case at the school.Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health sent a notice to families on April 21. They said the exposure happened April 14, 15 and 16 and that parents and caregivers should monitor their children for signs and symptoms of the measles until the end of day on May 7.It's unclear if the case is in a student, a teacher, staff member or volunteer.The advisory sent to families was shared with CBC News by the Upper Grand District School Board.In the advisory, public health says children who have two doses of the measles vaccine (MMR) or people born before 1970 can continue attending school."Those who are not fully vaccinated must stay home until proof of vaccination is provided," the ad...

Richard Anderson holds a photo of himself and his brother Bruce as children. In 2021, Bruce died of a suspected overdose while in a drug treatment centre in Kelowna, B.C. (Michelle Mac Donald)This First Person column is written by Richard Anderson, who lives in Silver Creek, B.C. For more information about First Person stories, see the FAQ.I received the phone call early one morning and knew right away that it would not be an enjoyable conversation. My dad and I would talk on a certain day at a certain time, and this was not that day. We said good mornings, then my dad told me that my younger brother, Bruce, had passed away. All I remember is breaking down crying like I have never cried in my entire life. I pulled myself together long enough to ask my dad what happened, and he told me my ...