White Coat, Black Art

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'It was terrifying': Teen who collapsed after vaping is now sounding the alarm to her peers

E-cigarettes were heralded as a means to help adult smokers quit. But a recent Health Canada survey found nearly one in four students in grades 7 to 12 have vaped. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 47 people have died and nearly 2300 cases of vape-related damage have been documented this year. This week we talk to a Halifax teen who tells us how she and her friends started vaping, and how she ended up being treated by paramedics after routinely vaping the equivalent of 2.5 packs of cigarettes a day. Health authorities are not required to track those cases, but incidents involving much more serious lung damage have been reported, including the case of a US teen who required a double lung transplant. Dr. Hassan Nemeh, the surgeon who did that operation tells us what he saw, and what he thinks public health authorities should do.

Download 'It was terrifying': Teen who collapsed after vaping is now sounding the alarm to her peers
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Certain she was 'bound to die in addiction,' this mum is now drug-free thanks to mother-child rehab program

Quebec-based residential treatment program helps mothers build their confidence and skills as a parent

Download Certain she was 'bound to die in addiction,' this mum is now drug-free thanks to mother-child rehab program
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From victims to advocates

Dr Brian Goldman takes an unflinching look at how medicine has treated people with developmental disabilities, and what's being done to remedy the cruelty of the past.

Download From victims to advocates
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Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery

Award-winning Irish author and playwright Arnold Thomas Fanning sits down with Dr. Brian Goldman to discuss his new book Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery.

Download Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery
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Inuit babies ‘don't have a lobby’: Doctor petitions to expand use of palivizumab against respiratory virus

A petition based on research by Dr. Anna Banerji is calling for Nunavut to expand the use of an antibody to all Inuit babies to protect them against a contagious respiratory virus. But the territory’s health department says it needs “conclusive evidence” to change its policy.

Download Inuit babies ‘don't have a lobby’: Doctor petitions to expand use of palivizumab against respiratory virus
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Mothering, not morphine best treatment for babies born with opioid addiction

Rooming in allows mothers who are dependent on opioids to bond with newborns experiencing withdrawal, a practice that research says is as effective as putting the infants in the NICU and giving them small doses of morphine.

Download Mothering, not morphine best treatment for babies born with opioid addiction
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Jay's tablet

Jay DesMazes is bedridden with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). extremely limited movement; Using only eye movement and an ipad, DesMazes assembles words one letter at a time. Through his tablet, Jay tells Dr Brian Goldman about his life and abuse he received at the hands of nurses and health care staff.

Download Jay's tablet
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Food as Medicine: Some doctors are prescribing a plant based diet to address a host of health ailments

Tofurkey anyone? Two doctors in rural Newfoundland are teaching locals what they need to know about switching to a plant based diet. It's a win-win for their patients who ditch cod and salt beef in favour of tofu and broccoli. Not only are they losing excess pounds, they are also regaining their health.

Download Food as Medicine: Some doctors are prescribing a plant based diet to address a host of health ailments
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Mentioning the unmentionable

We’re making mention of the common yet often unmentionable problem: pelvic floor dysfunction. Close to 40% of older women are affected by pelvic floor disorders.

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Crisis in Caregiving

Canada’s healthcare system is maxed out. In response, 8.1 million Canadians have stepped into the breach to care for ageing family members and loved ones who are chronically-ill or disabled. That allows many with complex care needs to remain in their homes longer. But it's taking a toll. Donna Thomson is a caregiver advocate and co-author of the new book "The Unexpected Journey of Caring." She says families are reaching a breaking point. "There's a big difference between shopping for your mother every once in a while and setting up tube feeds and ventilators. The type of nursing families are expected to take on today is unprecedented and there is no upper limit." She cared for her mother until she died at the age of 96 as well as her son, who has cerebral palsy. During this election many caregivers are calling for a national senior's strategy that recognizes the work caregivers do, and which offers them meaningful support. How politicians respond will sway their votes, says Dr. Samir Sinha. As the head of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto, he says we are in a crisis of caregiving. He's talks to Dr. Goldman about why caregiving needs to be a priority on the election agenda and what caregivers most need from their government.

Download Crisis in Caregiving
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The Trouble with Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease is on the rise in Canada. Despite this, it's not well understood by many physicians and the chronic version of the tick-borne disease remains a controversial diagnosis, making it difficult for patients to get treatment. In this edition, we hear from a a Kemptville, Ont.mother whose toddler got Lyme Disease this summer, medical experts on all sides of the issue as well as Jane Bailey, a Nova Scotia woman who had to leave Canada and spend $50,000 for treatment in the U.S. She's part of a vocal patient movement that's demanding more recognition of Chronic Lyme Disease and more aggressive treatment, which goes beyond the guidelines widely accepted in the medical community. At the heart of the issue is a difference of opinion between medical experts who take very different views of the disease. Dr. Brian Goldman unpacks how the so-called "Lyme Wars" developed and what can be done to help patients who've been caught in the middle.

Download The Trouble with Lyme Disease
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How med schools are finding more diverse students

Seeking a new generation of doctors who may connect with their patients better because they come from similar financial and social backgrounds.

Download How med schools are finding more diverse students
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CBD AMA

Dr Brian Goldman pulls back the curtain of hype to examine the facts around CBD. He visits a medical cannabis clinic in Hamilton and finds out how easy it is to get CBD and who is taking it. Then two experts answer listeners' questions about CBD: Maddie Brown, an Ottawa-based medical cannabis consultant and a registered practical nurse; and M-J Milloy, a professor of cannabis science at the University of British Columbia.

Download CBD AMA
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Part-time doctors defend their work: 'It doesn't make us any less valuable'

Not a lot of doctors expect to work part-time while in the throes of a demanding medical school education. But more are choosing to do so after they graduate. It's estimated that 15 percent of Canadian doctors work part-time. Some do it because they want to, others need to, as a means of coping with stress that's inherent in the job This week, Dr. Brian Goldman speaks with two part-time doctors who explain their choice.

Download Part-time doctors defend their work: 'It doesn't make us any less valuable'
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Life with MS: Challenges, losses, but also purpose and 'deep joy'

Elizabeth Rathbun is one of more than 77,000 Canadians who live with multiple sclerosis. She shares her 30-year journey with the disease and offers insight into what it's like to live with MS and the health-care system.

Download Life with MS: Challenges, losses, but also purpose and 'deep joy'
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A doctor takes on her bullies....and wins

Halifax cardiologist Dr. Gabrielle Horne spent 14 years fighting to restore her reputation after she was bullied and bad-mouthed by supervisors when she was an up-and-coming researcher. She was eventually awarded the largest settlement in Canada for loss of reputation. While her story is extraordinary, it's not isolated. Recent Canadian surveys reveal 60% of medical students and 75% of residents report being harassed, intimidated or personally mistreated by someone in authority. This week White Coat, Black Art explores why doctors bully and what it will take to change the culture that allows it to happen, with insights from both Dr. Horne and lawyer Valerie Wise, who represents both doctors and their employers in disputes.

Download A doctor takes on her bullies....and wins
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The Hospital Food Fix

Bland, boring...and beige. It's how a lot of patients describe the meals they've been served in hospitals. But there's a serious side to those gripes. Dr. Goldman speaks to Joshna Maharaj (Josh-nuh MUH-huh-raj) a chef and food activist who has helped to overhaul menus in hospital kitchens and cafeterias, taking them from what she calls "miserable monochrome" to locally sourced and delicious. Dr. Goldman also visits the Childern's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa where they are tackling picky-eater syndrome among their young patients by offering room service. And we drop in on a cooking class where the chefs are future physicians from the University of Toronto medical school, who are making a hands-on connection between good food and good health.

Download The Hospital Food Fix
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Poet, peer support worker and advocate: How Amy Willans remade her life after a mental illness diagnosis

Amy Willans was a driven 22-year old nursing student, and a member of Canada's national precision skating team who was dating a university quarterback when she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Amy suffered from debilitating depression, delusions and paranoia, to the point where she had to be repeatedly hospitalized. This week, the published poet and acclaimed peer support worker from Edmonton talks to Dr. Brian Goldman about her journey to recovery and how she dealt with the stigma ttached to the disease she's lived with for more than 20 years. The show features some of her original poetry.

Download Poet, peer support worker and advocate: How Amy Willans remade her life after a mental illness diagnosis
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Going flat

Joanna Rankin was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. She had a double mastectomy and then breast reconstruction. Her implant surgery was plagued with infection and complications, and ended with an emergency removal of one of her implants. Joanna ultimately decided to give up the entire implant procedure and go flat. Edmonton journalist Alex Zabjek who has been a friend of Joanna's since they were children, tells the story in a documentary. Host Dr Brian Goldman talks to Dr Angel Arnaout, a Surgical Oncologist at Ottawa Hospital who explains why cancer surgery and breast reconstruction are so closely entwined, both in medical procedure and in our culture.

Download Going flat
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Defying limits in space and healthcare

Canadian astronaut and ER physician Dave Williams speaks to Dr. Brian Goldman about what it took for him to achieve success. As he recounts in his book "Defying Limits: Lessons from the Edge of the Universe" he almost dropped out of school and didn't become a doctor. And at each stage of his life he faced challenges that he had to overcome to achieve success. Learning from failure he says is the key to success.

Download Defying limits in space and healthcare
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The grieving circle: letting health care workers be human

After a homeless woman died of breast cancer, the doctors, nurses and shelter workers who helped to ease her final days gathered to remember her.

Download The grieving circle: letting health care workers be human
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I'm alive because of it

Dr Brian Goldman talks to Jessica Grossman, a twenty-nine year-old marketing executive with Crohn's disease. She uses social media to raise awareness of ostomies. Brian also talks to Karen Bruton, a frontline nurse in Victoria BC who specializes in wound, ostomy and continence care - or NSWOC for short. In her 34-year career, Bruton has taught dozens of patients how to live with an ostomy. She says much of the stigma surrounding ostomies comes directly from health care providers themselves.

Download I'm alive because of it
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The dissident doctor who put women and children first

You may not know Dr. Michael Klein's name, but if you've had a child in the past 30 years, he may have played a key role in how that baby came into the world. Klein was a pioneer in pushing the medical system to put the needs of mothers and babies first -- including exposing the fact that the episiotomy, a once-routine procedure performed on mothers giving birth was doing more harm than good. Brian speaks to him about his new memoir: Dissident Doctor: Catching Babies and Challenging the Medical Status Quo, and finds out how Klein's past as a Vietnam draft deserter whose father was blacklisted in the McCarthy era, led him to a revolutionary career in medicine. (Perhaps you've heard of his daughter...Naomi?)

Download The dissident doctor who put women and children first
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Stories that made a difference

As the regular season draws to a close, White Coat, Black Art looks back to update some of the programs that "made a difference" — by sparking change and shedding light on under-reported issues. Jennie Dale recounts how our story about the hidden dangers of breast density had a ripple effect across Canada, spurring provincial governments to review their breast cancer screening policies. Poet and peer support worker Amy Willans reveals how she was positively impacted after revealing her life with schizoaffective disorder. That broadcast led to new connections and frank conversations about stigma and mental illness. Lastly, Mark and Jennifer Lederman unveil the strides they have made in their campaign to reform palliative care for medically complicated adults. Their story about the palliative treatment their son Tristan, received in his last days is now getting an independent medical review. Their concerns have also been heard by the Minister of Health in Ontario.

Download Stories that made a difference
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Dr May Cohen: “You have to be prepared to stand up and fight.”

Dr. May Cohen is a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Early in her career as a family doctor, Dr. Cohen fought for legal access to abortion, which she saw as a fundamental part of women’s health. She tells Dr. Brian Goldman about her experiences seeing a woman die after seeking an illegal abortion, and that the fight for women's right and access to safe abortion is never over.

Download Dr May Cohen: “You have to be prepared to stand up and fight.”
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After the Overdose Part 2: The Forgotten Ones

In the second of a two-part series Dr. Brian Goldman pulls back the curtain on a side of Canada's opioid crisis that's gotten little attention. After documenting the story of Dayton Wilson, a 24-year-old man from Kamloops who sustained a brain injury from overdosing on fentanyl, Dr. Goldman pays a visit to a Vancouver ICU,which frequently sees patients like Dayton - some of whom will never recover enough to live independently. Critical care specialist Dr. Delbert Dorscheid ays despite the efforts to fight the opioid crisis, the number of overdose patients is not going down, and some end up so damaged by fentanyl overdoses, they are non-responsive and will never recover brain function. Others are going into long- term care homes like Holy Family Hospital n Vancouver, where site director Rae Johnson says they are now caring for 30-something patients with overdose acquired brain injuries, alongside elderly residents.

Download After the Overdose Part 2: The Forgotten Ones
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After the Overdose Part One: The Forgotten Ones

Dr. Brian Goldman travels to BC, and in the first of a two-part series tells the story of the men and women who are being largely overlooked in Canada's opioid crisis: Those who survive overdoses, but are left with permanent, debilitating brain damage. Authorites regularly track and release the numbers of people who die each month as a result of the opioid crisis, but they do not have a handle on those who suffer brain injuries. Dayton Wilson is one of the them. The 24-year-old Kamloops man took an accidental hit of fentanyl and was left with permanent brain damage that has compromised his ability to speak, his balance and left him with chronic pain. The once-aspiring musician now works part time as a custodian at a ski resort and recieves disability payments. He and his mother piece together the events that led to his overdose, and make the case that as the opioid crisis continues, patients like Dayton are being forgotten.

Download After the Overdose Part One: The Forgotten Ones
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Food as Medicine: Some doctors are prescribing a plant based diet to address a host of health ailments

Two doctors in rural Newfoundland are teaching locals what they need to know about switching to a plant based diet. It's a win-win for their patients who ditch cod and salt beef in favour of tofu and broccoli. Not only are they losing excess pounds, they are also regaining their health.

Download Food as Medicine: Some doctors are prescribing a plant based diet to address a host of health ailments
[mp3 file: runs 00:27:05]

Doctors who champion low-carb, high-fat diets go against the grain

Meet three doctors who eat a low-carb, high-fat diet, and find out why they'd like to see it more commonly prescribed to patients who are facing metabolic disease, even though some critics call it a fad.

Download Doctors who champion low-carb, high-fat diets go against the grain
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Echoes of Gord

This month marks three years since the announcement that Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip had glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer.This week, Dr Brian Goldman talks to two people who were profoundly affected by Gord Downie and his illness: Dr James Perry, the Sunnybrook neuro-oncologist who treated Downie and Denis Raymond, an Ottawa social worker and teacher who also has GBM.

Download Echoes of Gord
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How one doctor fought her bullies and won

Halifax cardiologist Dr. Gabrielle Horne spent 14 years fighting to restore her reputation after she was bullied and bad-mouthed by supervisors when she was an up-and-coming researcher. She was eventually awarded the largest settlement in Canada for loss of reputation. While her story is extraordinary, it's not isolated. Recent Canadian surveys reveal 60% of medical students and 75% of residents report being harassed, intimidated or personally mistreated by someone in authority. This week White Coat, Black Art explores why doctors bully and what it will take to change the culture that allows it to happen, with insights from both Dr. Horne and lawyer Valerie Wise, who represents both doctors and their employers in disputes

Download How one doctor fought her bullies and won
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Meet the paramedic with a side hustle as the town mortician

Meet Matthew Sias: a small-town paramedic, deputy coroner and funeral assistant. Dr. Brian Goldman speaks to Sias about the tricky challenges when his different jobs collide.

Download Meet the paramedic with a side hustle as the town mortician
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Prescription for loneliness

White Coat Black Art looks at ways of dealing with loneliness in seniors. We visit roommates Cara Duncan, 23 and Lesly Adamson, 92. Dr. Mayur Lakhani, a family doctor and president of Britain's Royal College of General Practitioners, talks about the social prescribing expert in his office who guides his patients to local community activities. Dr. Helen Kingston, another U.K. doctor, tells Brian about the Compassionate Frome Project, a plan to treat lonely patients in her hometown of Frome.

Download Prescription for loneliness
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The measles comeback

Dr. Brian Goldman looks at the global spread of measles, what it means to Canadians, and how we went from believing the disease was cornered to a crisis point in less than 2 years. Brian speaks to Jayda Kelsall, an Ottawa cancer patient with up-to-date vaccines, who contracted the disease on a trip to the UK, and New York Times "plagues and pestilences" reporter, Donald G. McNeil Jr., who has traced the origins of the current outbreak in New York, and the resurgence of measles around the world.

Download The measles comeback
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Measles: How did we get here? Bonus Podcast

In this bonus podcast Dr. Goldman speaks to Donald G. McNeil Jr. a New York Times science reporter who unpacks how New York City ended up declaring a public health emergency over the measles, as well as revealing the factors at play in a worldwide resurgence of the disease.

Download Measles: How did we get here? Bonus Podcast
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'I didn't think I could have a baby': Toronto pregnancy clinic supports women with disabilities

Christine Lumilan wasn't sure she'd ever become a mother. The Toronto woman knew that having cerebral palsy, diabetes and polycystic ovaries could make pregnancy challenging. When she unexpectedly found herself pregnant, the 39-year-old woman turned to a unique clinic, and doctor to help her through her pregnancy and the birth of her son, Dawson. The Accessible Care Pregnancy Clinic and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has exam rooms and a birthing unit that are wheelchair accessible, as well as chairs, scales and beds that accommodate a variety of disabilities. They also coordinate specialists appointments to ensure there's a continuity in care for patients with more complicated care. But as Dr. Anne Berndl, the specialist who runs the clinic explains, the clinic is also helping women overcome another hurdle when it comes to giving birth -- attitudes from people -- even healthcare workers --- who still believe that disability is a barrier to giving birth and parenting.

Download 'I didn't think I could have a baby': Toronto pregnancy clinic supports women with disabilities
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What it's like growing up with FASD

A mom, a doctor and a person with FASD talk about living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Laurie Whyte talks about raising her son Richie. Dr. Ana Hanlon-Dearman explains the symptoms of the disorder and how best to support people with FASD. Myles Himmelreich tells how he copes and thrives as an adult with FASD.

Download What it's like growing up with FASD
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'I was still failed:' Despite regular screening Ontario woman faces late-stage cervix cancer

Karla Van Kessel's GP failed to recognize she had symptoms of cervical cancer and her Pap smear results were misread causing a delay in diagnosis that took away her best shot at a cure. Now, she thinks women need to demand better screening tests and keep tabs on their medical records to avoid the same fate.

Download 'I was still failed:' Despite regular screening Ontario woman faces late-stage cervix cancer
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How Alan Alda went from TV doctor to teaching real doctors about empathy

Alan Alda is best known for his 11 seasons on MASH but he's also forged a second career as an expert in communication. He tells Dr. Brian Goldman it began with hosting Scientific American on PBS, where he talked to some of the world's smartest people and helped them get their ideas across. About a decdade ago the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science was established. It's trained more than 13,000 doctors and health professionals, using improvisation as a key tool. Alda also talks about his new podcast, Clear + Vivid which is all about human relationships, and he reveals why he went public with this diagnosis of Parkinson's disease last summer.

Download How Alan Alda went from TV doctor to teaching real doctors about empathy
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Palliative care team helps the homeless die 'with dignity.' A healing circle helps them grieve

After a homeless woman died of breast cancer, the doctors, nurses and shelter workers who helped to ease her final days gathered to remember her.

Download Palliative care team helps the homeless die 'with dignity.' A healing circle helps them grieve
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'I'm alive because of it': Ostomy advocate fights to dispel stigmas around the life-saving procedure

Dr Brian Goldman talks to Jessica Grossman, a twenty-nine year-old marketing executive with Crohn's disease. In an effort to battle the stigma of having an ostomy, she uses social media to post photos of herself with her ostomy clearly visible. Brian also talks to Karen Bruton, a frontline nurse in Victoria BC who specializes in wound, ostomy and continence care - or NSWOC for short. In her 34-year career, Bruton has taught dozens of patients how to live with an ostomy. She says much of the stigma surrounding ostomies comes directly from health care providers themselves.

Download 'I'm alive because of it': Ostomy advocate fights to dispel stigmas around the life-saving procedure
[mp3 file: runs 00:27:09]

Part-time MDs defend their work: 'It doesn't make us any less valuable'

Not a lot of doctors expect to work part-time while in the throes of a demanding medical school education. But more are choosing to do so after they graduate. It's estimated that 15 percent of Canadian doctors work part-time. Some do it because they want to, others need to, as a means of coping with stress that's inherent in the job This week, Dr. Brian Goldman speaks with two part-time doctors who explain their choice.

Download Part-time MDs defend their work: 'It doesn't make us any less valuable'
[mp3 file: runs 00:27:08]

A meaningful life

Elizabeth Rathbun is one of more than 77,000 Canadians who live with Multiple Sclerosis. She shares her 30-year journey with the disease, and offers insight into what it's like to live with MS, and into the health-care system.

Download A meaningful life
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Medical Muses & listener feedback

Vivian Tam's older brother Stanley died in 2016 of cancer, while she was a medical student. She speaks to Dr. Goldman about how his illness and death have shaped her as a physician. We also hear from listeners on everything from low-carb diets and reconstructive surgery after breast cancer to recovering from mental illness.

Download Medical Muses & listener feedback
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Why bringing room service to hospitals helps patients convalesce

Hospital chefs and medical students make a hands-on connection to put food at the heart of preventative care.

Download Why bringing room service to hospitals helps patients convalesce
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After breast cancer and failed reconstruction, this mom found beauty by going flat

Joanna Rankin, a 40-year-old Calgary woman, is not only a survivor of breast cancer, but of breast reconstruction that went wrong. She found emotional and physical healing in going flat.

Download After breast cancer and failed reconstruction, this mom found beauty by going flat
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Doctors who champion low-carb, high-fat diets go against the grain

Meet three doctors who eat a low-carb, high-fat diet, and find out why they'd like to see it more commonly prescribed to patients who are facing metabolic disease, even though some critics call it a fad.

Download Doctors who champion low-carb, high-fat diets go against the grain
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Astronaut and ER doctor Dave Williams on success and setbacks

Astronaut and ER doctor Dave Williams shares stories of his successes and setbacks with Dr. Brian Goldman. Williams says that failure is a key part of success.

Download Astronaut and ER doctor Dave Williams on success and setbacks
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Wounded healers - repeat

How peer support workers help people with mental health crises in the ER of the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

Download Wounded healers - repeat
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They taught me how to be a doctor

Dr. Julia Orkin's life - and the course of her medical career - changed when she met a very special patient and her family in 2010.

Download They taught me how to be a doctor
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Xavier's long road back

Rachelle Downton hoped her son Xavier, 4, would take a few steps with a walker for Christmas. That likely won't happen, and doctors say his recovery from AFM, a frightening and mysterious ailment may take much longer.

Download Xavier's long road back
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Why more needs to be done in end-of-life care for adult patients with complex needs

Tristan Lederman, 34, spent his final months in pain and distress before he died. His parents say he got inadequate palliative care from his doctors. One expert says gaps in both the health-care and educational systems have left doctors unprepared to help adult patients with complex needs have best death that they can.

Download Why more needs to be done in end-of-life care for adult patients with complex needs
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Poet, peer support worker and advocate: How Amy Willans remade her life after a mental illness diagnosis

Amy Willans was a driven nursing student and champion figure skater in 1996 when she became depressed and began to experience paranoid thoughts. She would eventually be hospitalized and diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Now a published poet and an acclaimed peer support worker, she talks to Dr. Goldman about living with mental illness and her journey to recovery.

Download Poet, peer support worker and advocate: How Amy Willans remade her life after a mental illness diagnosis
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