(MIS)Treated

When a story about one woman's search for care sparked a flood of messages, we began investigating Ontario's healthcare system and the possible obstacles facing people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), especially those with craniocervical instability (CCI).

For patients living with EDS, getting a diagnosis can take years. And when complex spinal conditions enter the picture, some patients and their families say they have been forced to look to the United States for help because they believe there is no surgeon in Canada able to provide the care they need. In this special episode of (Mis)Treated, we meet patients whose lives have been upended, families fighting for answers, and doctors who disagree about how these conditions should be treated.

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According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women in Canada will develop breast cancer during their lifetime and in 2010, Canadian Broadcaster Cynthia Mulligan announced her diagnosis.

In 2020, days before Christmas, she found out that she had Stage 4 breast cancer. We speak to her about why she chose to go public with her diagnosis, how she navigated treatment as a forward facing person and we reminisce about our friend and former colleague, Mark Dailey.

Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

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Autoimmune disease is complicated. For one, there is no exact number of how many autoimmune conditions there are. We know that at least 80 of them exist and that globally, autoimmune impacts 1 in 10 people. While men also get autoimmune disease, women make up approximately 80% of patients. According to a 2021 study, women make up 75% of patients with MS. an autoimmune disease. And global cases of autoimmune disease are rising.

We speak to Dr. Gabor Maté who wrote more than 20 years ago about his observations on how autoimmune disease was impacting more women than men. We also speak to a neuroimmunologist on the connection of the Epstein-Barr virus and why women with some autoimmune diseases were once advised to not have children. Plus we talk to an epidemiologist who studies women's health on why autoimmune disease impacts women at such a staggering rate and we speak to a young woman with multiple sclerosis.

Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

Research Links:

Incidence, prevalence, and co-occurrence of autoimmune disorders over time and by age, sex, and socioeconomic status: a population-based cohort study of 22 million individuals in the UK: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00457-9/abstract

What Can We Learn from Sex Differences in MS?: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8537319/

Embodiment of structural racism and multiple sclerosis risk and outcomes in the USA: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-025-01096-5

How Is Céline Dion’s Health? What She’s Shared About Stiff Person Syndrome Battle: https://www.today.com/health/celine-dion-health-rcna98154

Celebrities and Medical Awareness—The Case of Celine Dion and Stiff-Person Syndrome: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9914970/

National study shows Indigenous patients with autoimmune liver disease face worse symptoms and outcomes: https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2023/02/national-study-indigenous-patients-autoimmune-liver-disease.html

Indigenous people more prone to rare autoimmune liver disease, often misdiagnosed: https://globalnews.ca/video/9353047/indigenous-people-more-prone-to-rare-autoimmune-liver-disease-often-misdiagnosed-research/

Meet Dr. Dalia Rotstein, the St. Michael’s neurologist dedicated to improving care for women during pregnancy: https://unityhealth.to/2026/03/meet-the-neurologist-dedicated-to-improving-care-for-women-during-pregnancy/

Researcher studying link between pregnancy complications and autoimmune diseases with prestigious fellowship: https://utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events/our-community/researcher-studying-link-between-pregnancy-complications-and-autoimmune-diseases

An MS Diagnosis Led This Top Yogi to Evolve Her Practice: https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/multiple-sclerosis/an-ms-diagnosis-led-this-top-yoga-instructor-to-evolve-her-practice

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(MIS)Treated is back for season 2. Join host Nam Kiwanuka as she continues explores how medicine has – and still is – failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference.

This season we explore why women make up 80% of autoimmune patients, what it's like to access care for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and we speak to award winning journalist Cynthia Mulligan about why she chose to reveal her breast cancer diagnosis and how its impacted her career. We also have conversations with Dr. Gabor Maté, Clara Hughes and speak to Dr. Mathew Leonardi about adenomyosis and the advances being made in endometriosis awareness.

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Unlike a broken arm, you can't see chronic pain. This makes it complicated to treat or diagnose because it's subjective. This has led chronic pain to be called a "silent epidemic" and while 70% of chronic pain sufferers are women, historically the majority of pain studies have been done on men or male mice. Many people with conditions like endometriosis, PMOS, migraines, fibroids and painful periods, live with chronic pain. And the World Health Organization officially classified it as a disease in 2022.

On the final episode of season 1, Nam Kiwanuka take a deeper dive on the history of pain research, what it is, the implicit bias towards women in medicine, and the research that's being done to combat that right here in Canada.

Nam speaks with Dr. Tania Di Renna, the president of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) and Medical Director of the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI) and Jennifer Daly-Cyr who has lived with chronic pain for more than a decade and is also co-chair of the Person with Lived Experience committee at the CPS.

Research links

Being A Woman Doesn’t Have To Be A (Chronic) Pain https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2023/04/05/why-is-being-a-woman-a-chronic-pain/

Women and pain: Disparities in experience and treatment: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/women-and-pain-disparities-in-experience-and-treatment-2017100912562

Mi'kmaw nurse explains how Indigenous pain often misunderstood: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mi-kmaw-nurse-1.5130067

Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery — and are still believed by doctors today: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html

Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1516047113

Sex differences in the transition to chronic pain: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126234/

“Brave Men” and “Emotional Women”: A Theory-Guided Literature Review on Gender Bias in Health Care and Gendered Norms towards Patients with Chronic Pain: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2018/6358624

Yale psychologists find that adults take girls’ pain less seriously: https://news.yale.edu/2019/01/24/yale-psychologists-find-adults-take-girls-pain-less-seriously

Pain medication finally recommended in U.S. for IUD use. What about Canada?: https://globalnews.ca/news/10687785/iud-insertion-pain-management-guidance/

The science that changed how we study pain: https://www.mcgill.ca/science/channels/news/science-changed-how-we-study-pain-372651

Action On Pain podcast takes a closer look at the implementation of An Action Plan for Pain in Canada: https://redcircle.com/shows/action-on-pain

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A recent study shows that autism is almost as prevalent in girls as it is in boys - so why have we been led to believe that autism is something that mostly impacts boys and men? The February 2026 study suggests that the difference, in part, is that girls are often diagnosed much later in life.

On today's episode, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Julie M. Green about what it was like to be diagnosed with autism as a mother at age 44, while also raising a child on the spectrum. She documents this experience in her book, "Motherness: A Memoir of Generational Autism, Parenthood and Radical Acceptance."

Links:

1. Towards the equal recognition of autism in girls and women https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s120.full
2. Everyone thought autism mostly affected boys. This study says otherwise https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260210082921.htm
3. “I was always on the outside, watching quietly”: Autistic women reflect on school experiences https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-03632-y
4. Hans Asperger 'collaborated with Nazis' in WWII https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43820794
5. About Autism https://www.autismontario.com/about-autism
6. Finding the True Number of Females with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by Estimating the Biases in Initial Recognition and Clinical Diagnosis https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8870038/
7. From the CDC: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8214927/
8. Camouflaging and suicide behavior in adults with autism spectrum condition: A mixed methods systematic review https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050656525000124
9. 8 Health Conditions Commonly Linked to Autism https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-autism-spectrum-disorder/202108/8-health-conditions-commonly-linked-autism
10. 10. A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Neurodiversity and Psychosexual Functioning in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10243356/ 

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A bill looking to establish a national framework for women's health is making its way through the Senate. What does Bill S-243 look to implement?

In Canada women represent 50% of the population, nearly half of the labour workforce, and make up 75% of health care professionals. But somehow when it comes to women's health, it's considered to be a niche topic. Not only has women's health been historically under researched, underfunded, and misunderstood, women working in healthcare also face additional barriers.

Under the leadership of Senator Danièle Henkel, a coalition of professionals in healthcare, FemTech, and research have come together to try to address gaps in women's health with this new bill.

Today, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Dr. Jennifer Blake from the Pan-Canadian Women's Health Coalition about the bill, why Canada needs a national framework for women's health, the gaps that currently exist, and why women's health continues to be seen as niche.

Links:

1. ‘It’s not my bill, it’s our bill’: Senator Henkel and 50 advocacy groups push for law calling for women’s health framework https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/03/01/its-not-my-bill-its-our-bill-senator-henkel-and-50-advocacy-groups-push-for-law-calling-for-womens-health-framework/493464/
2. New study finds female family doctors spend more time caring for patients, yet earn less https://www.oma.org/newsroom/news-releases/2026/january/new-study-finds-female-family-doctors-spend-more-time-caring-for-patients-yet-earn-less/ 
3. Health workforce in Canada: Overview https://www.cihi.ca/en/health-workforce-in-canada-overview 
4. What’s the plan? New bill before Senate aims to provide a framework for women’s health https://canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca/whats-plan-new-bill-senate-aims-provide-framework-womens-health 
5. Federal health minister to launch strategy on men’s and boys’ health in 2026  https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/federal-health-minister-to-launch-strategy-on-mens-and-boys-health-in-2026/
6. Opinion: Canada’s blind spot on drug safety in pregnancy https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/op-eds/opinion-canadas-blind-spot-on-drug-safety-in-pregnancy/

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What's it like to navigate fertility care as it becomes increasingly profit-driven in Ontario?

Infertility is considered a medical condition by the World Health Organization and in Canada, it's defined by age. A study from 2023 shows that a fifth of men believe that fertility is a "woman's problem," but the science says otherwise. Approximately one third of infertility is attributed to male factors, another third is attributed to female factors, and in one third of couples, there is no cause identified. This is known as unexplained infertility.

One of the key medical interventions for infertility is called in-vitro fertilization – or IVF. IVF has become a big business. In 2023, it was estimated at $50 billion and is projected to double in the next decade. 

Today, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka is joined by journalist Caitlin Walsh-Miller and Irene Darrell-Austin, a Toronto-resident with lived experience navigating fertility care. They talk about how infertility impacts families, the growing disparity of who can access treatments and why this industry needs to be regulated.

Links:

1. The High Price of Hope https://torontolife.com/deep-dives/inside-torontos-white-hot-fertility-market/
2. Private equity piles into Canada's fertility clinics https://financialpost.com/feature/private-equity-piles-into-canada-fertility-clinics
3. Disturbing errors at Ontario fertility clinics destroy couples’ baby dreams years after province abandoned oversight plans https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/disturbing-errors-at-ontario-fertility-clinics-destroy-couples-baby-dreams-years-after-province-abandoned-oversight/article_502ba774-1f20-4fb0-b2e3-4fb7780e3e82.html#tncms-source=login
4. Fertility is not just a 'women’s problem' but a fifth of men think it is, a new study finds https://www.euronews.com/health/2023/06/10/fertility-is-not-just-a-womens-problem-yet-a-fifth-of-men-think-it-is-study-finds
5. Male Infertility is a Women’s Health Issue—Research and Clinical Evaluation of Male Infertility Is Needed https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7226946/
6. Yes, men have a biological clock too. But it’s not just age that affects male fertility https://theconversation.com/yes-men-have-a-biological-clock-too-but-its-not-just-age-that-affects-male-fertility-268298
7. The female scientist who changed human fertility forever https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200103-the-female-scientist-who-changed-human-fertility-forever
8. Where Is the First ‘Test-Tube Baby’ Now? All About Louise Joy Brown, the First Child Ever Born via IVF https://people.com/where-is-louise-joy-brown-the-first-ivf-baby-now-8748006
9. IVF: The women who helped make it happen https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6352853/
10. The Vatican’s Secret Role in the Science of IVF https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/pope-secret-history-ivf?src=longreads
11. How IVF has led to a record number of single moms in their 40s https://www.npr.org/2026/01/12/nx-s1-5647761/ivf-fertility-motherhood-40s-cost-donor-decision
12. Ontario Connecting More Families to Fertility Supports https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1007375/ontario-connecting-more-families-to-fertility-supports
13. Celebs IVF: All the celebrities who had IVF, from Kourtney Kardashian to Jennifer Aniston https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/g39990713/celebs-ivf/ 

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In this country, midwives "were once a cornerstone of every Indigenous community." What happened?

Before the 20th century, midwifery was essential for communities throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and America. With the growth of western medicine in the late 1800s to early 1900s, midwives were instead accused of being unsanitary and unscientific. Midwifery became known as "the Midwife problem," and the practice was phased out and operated in legal "grey zones."

In 1994, after decades of midwives pushing back, Ontario became the first province in Canada to recognize and legalize midwives. In 2024, PEI became the final province in Canada to officially recognize midwifery. If the history of midwives is this complicated in the Global North, what is it like to practice as a midwife in places experiencing civil unrest or conflict?

A new documentary follows five midwives who are doing that work. On today's episode, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka speaks to two midwives, Ximena Rojas Garcia and Jay MacGillivray, as well as Nance Ackerman, the director of "The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Frontlines." Together, they speak about the challenges of the work that these midwives do, but also about the joy of catching a baby.

Links: 

• Midwifery: A Woman's Labour, A Woman's Choice, 1994 CanLIIDocs 506 https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/1994CanLIIDocs506#!fragment//BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoByCgSgBpltTCIBFRQ3AT0otokLC4EbDtyp8BQkAGU8pAELcASgFEAMioBqAQQByAYRW1SYAEbRS2ONWpA 
• British Columbia to let midwives prescribe abortion pill and other drugs https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/british-columbia/british-columbia-to-let-midwives-prescribe-abortion-pill-and-other-drugs/article_f4b5639a-847f-5038-98a1-b82fb4208b00.html#tncms-source=login 
• Indigenous communities across Canada have always had midwives https://indigenousmidwifery.ca/history-strategic-plan/ 
• A Brief History of Midwifery in America
  https://www.ohsu.edu/womens-health/brief-history-midwifery-america 
• THE MIDWIFE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES
  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/236051 
• Why Are We Asking Doctors If Women Should Have Midwives?
  https://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/holistic-healthcare/why-are-we-asking-doctors-if-women-should-have-midwives.html 
• Childbirth evacuation among rural and remote Indigenous communities in Canada: A scoping review
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S187151922100038X 
• 25 years on: What midwifery in Canada has achieved and what it still needs https://theconversation.com/25-years-on-what-midwifery-in-canada-has-achieved-and-what-it-still-needs-120210 
• The Destruction of Canadian Midwifery during the 20th Century
  https://birthinternational.com/the-re-emergence-of-canadian-midwifery/?srsltid=AfmBOoq9ax0eNorpdo1FISNUjB2sOB7TlOFK1Mo79rbISeZ9DLcxZhHN 
• After decades-long push, P.E.I. now offers midwifery to oversee pregnancies https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-midwifery-services-offered-1.7102229 
• Georgia bans many midwives from practicing. Now, several are suing the state https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/midwives-sue-challenge-state-restrictions-rcna264951 
• Facing rural realities and mistrust in hospitals, these women turned to home births
  https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/freebirthing-rural-maternal-medicine-9.7172199 

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This episode is about forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Please listen with care.

In 2025, Senator Yvonne Boyer, Ontario's first Indigenous senator, proposed a bill to criminalize forced and coerced sterilization. If passed, Bill S-228 will amend the Criminal Code to ensure that forced sterilization would be included in the definition of aggravated assault, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The bill follows Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission - the TRC. The TRC was meant to bring a "fair and lasting" resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, and by extension, Canadian colonialism. One of the Calls to Action from the TRC was for Canada to hold a national inquiry into the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. That Inquiry dealt with a wide range of concerns, including forced and coerced sterilizations.

This Red Dress Day, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka features Harmony Redsky from the Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice. Harmony reveals how one survivor was sterilized as recently as 2024. The episode discusses the history of forced and coerced sterilization, the organization's survivor-led initiatives, and the current push for legislative change to criminalize these violations.

Special thanks to Pam Palmeter for production support.

Got a question or comment? Email us at: [email protected]

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

Research links:

1. Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice
   https://www.reproductivejusticesurvivors.ca/ 
2. Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
   https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100015576/1571581687074 
3. UN Special Rapporteurs Highlight Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada
   https://cglj.org/2019/07/18/un-special-rapporteurs-highlight-forced-sterilization-of-indigenous-women-in-canada/ 
4. Canada indigenous women were coerced into sterilisations, lawsuit says
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/27/canada-indigenous-women-sterilisation-lawsuit 
5. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
   https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1448633299414/1534526479029 
6. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
   https://nctr.ca/about/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada-calls-to-action/ 
7. Hundreds gather to celebrate Murray Sinclair's legacy with round dance in Winnipeg
   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/murray-sinclair-round-dance-9.7059423 
8. Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
   https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g16/000/97/pdf/g1600097.pdf?OpenElement 
9. A legacy of colonialism: Senate Bill S-228 aims to criminalize the forced sterilization of women
   https://www.ipolitics.ca/2025/08/07/a-legacy-of-colonialism-senate-bill-s-228-aims-to-criminalize-the-forced-sterilization-of-women/ 
10. Rather than a ‘chilling effect’, Bill S-228 provides protection from forced sterilization
    https://healthydebate.ca/2026/04/topic/bill-s228-protection-forced-sterilization/ 
11. A federal bill aimed at protecting women could actually cause harm
    https://healthydebate.ca/2026/03/topic/bill-s228-sterilization-womens-health/ 

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