Keeping Canada Alive patient shares value of life

In Part 4 of Keeping Canada Alive, a day in the life of our health care system, a long-term cancer survivor has a preventative mastectomy of her remaining breast.

The six-part series airing on CBC-TV is narrated by Emmy-award winning Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland. Keeping Canada Alive features intimate stories of patients whose lives are changed by the care they receive and the medical professionals who improve their well-being.

The series was shot over a single 24-hour period by 60 camera crews at hospitals, clinics and homes.

Stories in the fourth episode include:

• A woman in Ottawa who had breast cancer 20 years ago discovers she has the BRCA2 mutation and undergoes removal and reconstruction of her breast with her best friend, daughter and two female surgeons by her side.
• In St. John's, a dermatologist sees an optimistic, long-time patient with aggressive skin cancer that required major facial reconstruction. "Do you know what I get from all of this? I live one day at a time. I know now the value of life and how precious every day is," she says.
• A doctor in Vancouver helps a refugee family from Iraq whose elderly mother suffers post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.
• In Fort Qu'Appelle, a First Nations man who lost a toe as a complication of diabetes visits a healer to assist his recovery.
• A mother in Kamloops mourns her stillborn son as she returns to the same ward to give birth to another child.
• A bow-tie wearing psychiatrist in Montreal administers electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to a patient with debilitating depression. "I want to get better and hopefully this will be the right treatment," the ECT patient says.

The extensive website for the series includes many more stories from a customizable, 24-hour stream of raw footage.