Christina Spencer's blog

PAC is growing and we are fast approaching our goal of 1000 e-members. Please ask one other person to register for e-membership and our membership will double.

The question: I’m terrified at the thought of surgery. What questions should I ask a surgeon before agreeing to an operation?

The answer: No one can provide better insider information than a surgeon. So I asked Chris Jamieson, professor of surgery at Dalhousie University, what questions he would ask if he was about to go under the knife.

The Canadian Medical Association says governments need to stop playing “whack-a-mole” with problems in the health-care system and embark on a wholesale transformation to address the ongoing, national crisis.

Association president Dr. Jeff Turnbull on Tuesday called on federal election candidates to share their visions for the future of health care, while Canadians contribute their ideas at CMA-sponsored town halls across the country, including one in Edmonton Tuesday night.

"You need that like a hole in the head!"

"I hate it when people imply all illness comes to people that request it somehow."

New podcast from Family Caregivers Unite!

PAC president Sholom Glouberman and Dr. Gordon Atherley discuss why Sholom founded the Patients' Association of Canada. He explains how his own experience as a patient convinced him of the need for an association. He shares his perspectives on family caregiving.

Pressure mounts on lung cancer specialists to advocate for patients awaiting surgery. Thoracic surgeons may be forced to speak up about patient fears and continued lack of resources because of mounting pressure, doctors were told last week at a meeting.

Thank you to everyone who attended last night's meeting!

Some of you left without handing in your notes. Please email them ASAP to communications@patientsassociation.ca

Thank you. We'll post the results shortly.

Sholom Glouberman has spent his career in the healthcare system and in developing health policy. But as he details in his new book, My Operation, when he became a patient, he was surprised and disgusted by the way he was treated inside the system.

Partly as a result of that experience, he's founded the Patients' Association of Canada to change the way the system works. We caught up with him in his office at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, where he works as philosopher in residence.