Health

Celine Dion says she “did not take the time” to figure out her rare neurological disorder and that the burden of lying about her condition became “too much.” Dion presents the award for album of the year during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Chris Pizzello

Celine Dion opens up about illness, took near-fatal doses of Valium

Quebec singer details some of her battle with stiff person syndrome

 

Medical tools are pictured in an exam room at a health clinic in Calgary, Friday, July 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canada’s doctors urged to screen all adolescent patients for eating disorders

New pediatric guidance issued as cases have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic

 

Nancy Verdin has had three kidney transplants but her immune system rejected all of them. She’s hoping a British Columbia-based pilot project aimed at genetically matching recipients with donor kidneys will give others a chance at a “normal life.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Nancy Verdin

Better matches goal of new B.C. organ donor program

New technology involves genetic sequencing reduce the risk, UBC scientists say

 

A woman gets a mammogram at the University of Michigan Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. in a May 22, 2015 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press via AP

Health pros blast decision to keep Canada’s breast screening age at 50

Task force lambasted for not to lowering recommended routine breast cancer screening age to 40

A woman gets a mammogram at the University of Michigan Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. in a May 22, 2015 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press via AP
The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. The British Columbia Court of Appeal has cut damages awarded to a woman who was misdiagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Unnecessary B.C. mastectomy award reduced from $400K to $250K

Supreme court rules original award after woman’s cancer-free breast removed was ‘inordinately high’

The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. The British Columbia Court of Appeal has cut damages awarded to a woman who was misdiagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
South Okanagan and Similkameen Primary Care Network is adding six more staff, but it is not clear yet when they will become available following Wednesday’s announcement by Premier David Eby in Oliver. (Black Press Media file photo)

NDP hails expansion of South Okanagan, Similkameen Primary Care Network

Premier David Eby Wednesday announced expansion Wednesday with Health Minister Dix, MLA Russell

South Okanagan and Similkameen Primary Care Network is adding six more staff, but it is not clear yet when they will become available following Wednesday’s announcement by Premier David Eby in Oliver. (Black Press Media file photo)
British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province is providing more funding to recruit and retain more health-care workers. Dix speaks during an announcement at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marissa Tiel

B.C. investing $156M into rural health worker recruiting and retention

Audiologists, dietitians, lab technologists and radiation therapists among the fields targeted

British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province is providing more funding to recruit and retain more health-care workers. Dix speaks during an announcement at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marissa Tiel
The weight-loss drug Wegovy is shown in this undated handout photo. The makers of Ozempic say the weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday, May 6. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Weight loss drug Wegovy arriving in Canada next week

Drug to be used to treat obesity and related medical conditions, not intended for ‘cosmetic’ use

The weight-loss drug Wegovy is shown in this undated handout photo. The makers of Ozempic say the weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday, May 6. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. *MANDATORY CREDIT*
FILE - Containers of Zyn, a Phillip Morris smokeless nicotine pouch, are displayed for sale among other nicotine and tobacco products at a newsstand Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in New York. The product has been making big headlines, sparking debate about whether new nicotine-based alternatives intended for adults may be catching on with underage teens and adolescents. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

What to know about Zyn, the tiny nicotine pouch that’s sparked a big health debate

A tiny Philip Morris product called Zyn has been making big headlines,…

FILE - Containers of Zyn, a Phillip Morris smokeless nicotine pouch, are displayed for sale among other nicotine and tobacco products at a newsstand Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in New York. The product has been making big headlines, sparking debate about whether new nicotine-based alternatives intended for adults may be catching on with underage teens and adolescents. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
A lab technician works in a mobile lab at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg on Nov. 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pool, Reuters - Lyle Stafford

MPs grill health agency on fired National Microbiology Lab scientists

Scientists accused of playing down their collaborations with Chinese government agencies

A lab technician works in a mobile lab at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg on Nov. 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pool, Reuters - Lyle Stafford
A cervix self-screening kit is a part of the first self-screening cervical cancer plan in Canada, in Vancouver, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Doctors say Canadians are dying because of outdated cancer screenings

Guidelines for some common cancers conflict with the opinions of specialists in those areas

A cervix self-screening kit is a part of the first self-screening cervical cancer plan in Canada, in Vancouver, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Smokers and vapers will be the target of a new tax unveiled April 16 by Canada’s federal government. Photo Lindsay Fox/EcigaretteReviewed.com

Budget 2024: Smokers and vapers to help pay for increased drug spending

New taxes expected to curb smoking, add $1.7B to federal coffers

Smokers and vapers will be the target of a new tax unveiled April 16 by Canada’s federal government. Photo Lindsay Fox/EcigaretteReviewed.com
Saanich Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Devon Black won the Jack Layton Progress Prize for their work spearheading the AccessBC campaign, which successfully lobbied the provincial government to provide free prescription contraception.

Saanich councillor wins award in Ottawa for B.C.’s free contraception campaign

Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Devon Black won the Jack Layton Progress Prize award for AccessBC

  • Apr 16, 2024
Saanich Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff and Devon Black won the Jack Layton Progress Prize for their work spearheading the AccessBC campaign, which successfully lobbied the provincial government to provide free prescription contraception.
The emergency room at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital was closed overnight on March 9 due to a physician shortage. Along with the emergency room closure, Prince Rupert residents are worried about healthcare staffing shortages, with an unconfirmed number of physicians leaving the area or retiring. (Seth Forward/The Northern View)

B.C.’s rural communities need more from health authorities: UBC prof

Dr. Jude Kornelsen says transparency, communication needed to improve trust, effectiveness

The emergency room at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital was closed overnight on March 9 due to a physician shortage. Along with the emergency room closure, Prince Rupert residents are worried about healthcare staffing shortages, with an unconfirmed number of physicians leaving the area or retiring. (Seth Forward/The Northern View)
As of March 31, 2024 BC Emergency Health Services has responded to 54 drug poisonings in the Williams Lake area. (Monica Lamb-Yorski file photo Williams Lake Tribune)

Tiny communities in B.C.’s Chilcotin grappling with pain of drug poisonings

Tsideldel, Xeni Gwet’in chiefs say residents are healing in the face of addiction

As of March 31, 2024 BC Emergency Health Services has responded to 54 drug poisonings in the Williams Lake area. (Monica Lamb-Yorski file photo Williams Lake Tribune)
B.C. Nurses Union Adriane Gear, here seen in Vancouver in 2023 when she was still vice-president, says nurses support harm reduction, but also want to see more safety measures amidst reports of nurses being harmed by their consumption in hospitals. (Black Press Media file photo) (Lauren Collins)

B.C.’s nurses support harm reduction, but call for additional safety measures

BC Nurses’ Union President Gear says ‘instances’ of illicit substance consumption happen around B.C.

B.C. Nurses Union Adriane Gear, here seen in Vancouver in 2023 when she was still vice-president, says nurses support harm reduction, but also want to see more safety measures amidst reports of nurses being harmed by their consumption in hospitals. (Black Press Media file photo) (Lauren Collins)
Matilda Atleo, an Indigenous educator in diabetes for the First Nations Health Authority, shares diabetes information with attendees at Ahousaht’s Food Sovereignty Event in late March. (Alexandra Mehl photo)

High rates of Indigenous diabetes spark push for better B.C. services

On-reserve rates of diabetes are considerably higher than the national rate

  • Apr 8, 2024
Matilda Atleo, an Indigenous educator in diabetes for the First Nations Health Authority, shares diabetes information with attendees at Ahousaht’s Food Sovereignty Event in late March. (Alexandra Mehl photo)
Canadians waiting longer for surgeries and other procedures compared to 2019, according to a report released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. (File)

Canada’s surgical wait lists still below pre-pandemic standards: report

57 per cent of British Columbians getting knee replacement surgeries within benchmark

Canadians waiting longer for surgeries and other procedures compared to 2019, according to a report released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. (File)
Ross Lane, 76, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in early 2023. He poses beside Jet, his 12-year-old black poodle. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)

‘My muscles forget’: B.C. people talk about the impact of Parkinson’s

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month in Canada, disease affects 17,500 people in B.C.

Ross Lane, 76, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in early 2023. He poses beside Jet, his 12-year-old black poodle. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)
Health Minister Adrian Dix Wednesday faced questions about a July 2023 Northern Health memo that says patients can use drugs while in their rooms and keep knives under four-inches. BC United cited the memo as evidence of the NDP having “created a free-for-all with open drug use” but Dix’s ministry says Northern Health “should have reconsidered how it phrased this memo” in noting the illegality of drug use in hospitals settings.

Leaked memo sparks heated debate about drug use in northern B.C. hospitals

Northern Health memo says ‘patients can use substances while in hospital in their rooms’

Health Minister Adrian Dix Wednesday faced questions about a July 2023 Northern Health memo that says patients can use drugs while in their rooms and keep knives under four-inches. BC United cited the memo as evidence of the NDP having “created a free-for-all with open drug use” but Dix’s ministry says Northern Health “should have reconsidered how it phrased this memo” in noting the illegality of drug use in hospitals settings.