Movember is in full swing, changing the lives of men with prostate cancer by raising both awareness of the disease and funds for research. One program made possible by these funds is My Precision Oncology Program (MyPOP), recently launched by the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC). 

It’s hard for families to talk about death with their elderly loved ones. It’s also hard for caregivers. Research shows clinicians and staff in residential care are often reluctant to initiate conversations about dying with patients and their families. In fact, many elderly patients die without having being told their condition is terminal. Palliative care experts like Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute research scientist Dr.

Four years ago, Dr. David Patrick and his colleagues sounded the alert about the overuse of antibiotics in BC.  Dr. Patrick was especially critical of the widespread use of antibiotics in food production and what he saw as a lack of oversight: “Antibiotics were being used too liberally, with no prescriptions. This increased the risk of organisms in our food that were antibiotic resistant. It was a huge problem.” These days, Dr. Patrick is a lot more optimistic. He says good progress is being made both in agriculture and health care.

Whether you’re the type of person who follows all the stars on Instagram, or whether you’re not quite sure what a Kardashian is, celebrity and popular culture influence how all of us think and talk about health.