ENCORE: Primary care for all: Lessons from Denmark

Lung cancer is Canada’s deadliest cancer—and about one in four cases now occur in people who have never smoked. Toronto father Winhan Wong knows this firsthand: a lingering cough nine years ago led to a stage-four diagnosis. Thoracic surgeon Dr. Christian Finley explains why lung cancer is rising among never-smokers, the stigma around diagnosis, and how a national action plan aims to save lives.

Growing up, Mykayla Whitmarsh was told to make eye contact, sit still and laugh at friends’ jokes. Now 24, she’s part of a growing group of young women diagnosed in adulthood with “AuDHD” – autism and ADHD. After years of struggling, she advocated for herself, was diagnosed at 22, and now shares her daily life @autisticayla on TikTok.

William Hume knew he was dying, which is why he applied and was approved for medical assistance in dying (MAID). But in his final days, his daughter Stacey says her dad wasn't able to receive MAID at an Edmonton hospital run by a Catholic health-care provider and had to transfer to another facility. He died before that could happen. Dr. Andrea Letourneau, a critical care specialist and MAID provider, says forced transfers are a terrible practice that forces patients to go through extra hoops in order to receive the death they want. 

Millions of Canadians are without a family doctor or nurse practitioner in Canada. But Denmark, a country where 98 per cent of its population is attached to a primary care provider, could have some lessons for us. We travelled to the Scandinavian country to see how the Danish system works for patients and doctors, and the differences are startling.

At 24, Kyle Brymer went to the ER with altered speech, facial drooping, severe headaches and confusion. The doctor blamed Kyle’s symptoms on his post-grad academic workload and even his partner Kirstie. In a few days, he went back to the ER – and this time, the stroke was unmistakable. Strokes in young people are on the rise in Canada, with one in 20 affecting someone under the age of 45. And even a decade later, Kyle says he’s still "not back to normal."

Overwhelmed by hot flashes, brain fog, and a frozen shoulder, Aidan Brame turned to a private clinic when the public system couldn’t help. Her experience highlights why more Canadians are paying for menopause care, and what it reveals about gaps in the health system.

One stretcher. More than 80 patients waiting. Paramedics arriving with patients while admitted patients await transfer. That was the reality for registered nurse Jayme Hack during a recent shift at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital. Along with colleague Valerie Evanishen, she offers a frontline view of the relentless pressure inside one of Alberta’s busiest emergency rooms. ER physician and former politician Dr. Raj Sherman puts it bluntly: ERs are the canary in the coal mine and “the canary is dead.” He says we can, and should, do better when it comes to emergency medicine.This is an extended version of the radio broadcast.

Dr. Michael Antil left North Carolina in 2023 with his wife and kids, driven out by an increasingly conservative political climate and COVID-era hostility toward doctors. Now a family physician to over 2,000 patients in Toronto, he’s repeatedly been denied permanent residency, lost in a maze of paperwork and immigration red tape. Canada needs doctors—so why is this so hard?

You may think you're burned out at work, or with life in general. But what does burnout actually mean? Christina Maslach, Professor Emerita of psychology at UC Berkeley, was one of the first researchers in the world to study burnout, and co-created the Maslach Burnout Inventory over 40 years ago, a diagnostic tool that's still widely used today. She explains the distinct phases of burnout, why it's so pervasive in healthcare, and why a spa weekend isn't the cure.

Cardiologist, scientist and bestselling author Dr. Eric Topol's latest book "Super Agers" distills decades of research on how to make us healthier for longer. Topol says that humanity is on the cusp of developing treatments to help tame cancer, dementia and other chronic diseases… just as political forces in the U.S. are shutting down that research.