book of hope: healthcare and survival in the north

A cancer diagnosis can be life changing for anyone, bringing new physical and emotional realities, changed relationships, and often frustration when dealing with healthcare systems. But living north of sixty means dealing with a higher level of healthcare inequity. Agnes Pascal compiles firsthand narratives from Northern and Indigenous cancer survivors and caregivers that illuminate the unique challenges of healthcare accessibility in the North.

In this rare volume, more than thirty voices offer compassionate advice and insightful analysis born from experience. With courage and dignity, they discuss fear, grief, and death; the logistics of medical travel for treatment; Indigenous and Western medicine; structural determinants of health, including industrial pollution and environmental racism; and the impacts of residential schools and ＂Indian hospitals＂ on northern communities. In these pages people share that hope comes from building healing communities.

This book is for people with cancer and their caregivers; health policy makers and advocates; scholars and practitioners of healthcare, Indigenous governance, or environmental racism; and anyone interested grassroots, community-based peer support.

Agnes Pascal is Tetlit Gwich’in, originally from Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories. She was custom adopted by her Jijii (grandfather) Ronnie and Jijuu (grandmother) Laura Pascal at birth. Her Jijii died of cancer a year and half later. She lives in Inuvik, where she founded the Inuvik Cancer Support group in 2018 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She is training to become a counsellor with Rhodes Wellness College. Agnes sees her upbringing, community, and family as her strengths. She’s a mom to three young adults: Ronnie, Laura, and Seanna Pascal. Her children and her faith are her biggest motivations in life.