Suffering in silence no more: How peer support helps people with chronic pain – CBC
1 in 5 Canadians live with chronic pain, according to a federal task force
Jul 03, 2025
Janice MacMillan recalls driving home from work trying to breathe through a flare-up of excruciating chest pain, all while contemplating this heavy question: “What’s the point of living if this is my life?”
MacMillan has suffered from chronic pain for more than 45 years. She once felt hopeless, alone and invalidated — until she found a new purpose.
The 62-year-old woman has made it her life’s mission to help people with chronic pain in a province where people wait years to see specialists and where pain clinics are understaffed.
“I was meant to be here and I’m fighting hard so that every person on the South Shore, even Nova Scotia, not be left behind,” said MacMillan, who is originally from Ontario but moved to Liverpool, N.S., in 2021.
