NorthA new six-part video series from the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program looks to expand education on cancer prevention, recovery and care for Inuit living in the province. The organization hopes the videos can help reduce barriers to accessing cancer care for the community.Video series by Ontario Inuit Cancer Program explores personal experiences, cultural perspectivesLiam Baker · CBC News · Posted: Sep 23, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoAdrian van Eindhoven says he chose to participate in the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program’s latest video project out of a desire to keep his mother’s memory alive. His mother died of cancer in 2019. (Liam Baker/CBC)Adrian van Eindhoven says his decision to step in front of the camera for the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program was driven by a desire to keep his mother’s memory alive. He is one of six subjects captured in the program’s latest short film series, focused on cancer prevention, recovery and wellness.In less than 10 minutes, van Eindhoven, who is a member of Ottawa’s Inuit community, answered a series of questions revolving around healthy, active living. His own experience with cancer comes through losing his mother to the illness in 2019.”I felt important to pass a message to help people with cancer and do as much as we can for them,” van Eindhoven said.Among other topics explored through personal stories in the six-part video series are smoking cessation, cancer screening, caregiver perspectives, cancer journeys and healthy diets. Each video features a solo interview with a separate member of Ontario’s Inuit community. Alongside van Eindhoven, four other interviewees were from Ottawa, with an additional fifth interview featuring a person from Toronto. The videos had their first showing in front of members of Ottawa’s Inuit community on Thursday, at the Tungasuvvingat Inuit building.The premiere of the videos was 10 months in the making, with the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program first pitching the idea to Inuit community members and elders in the city last October through a storytelling consultation.”We wanted to ask the community what they wanted to see through videos,” said Jemimah Thomas, the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program’s manager. “Now we just want to share it back to the community, what the videos look like.”‘Narrative approach to education’Attendees to Thursday’s showing were greeted with pizza, popcorn, and discussions about cancer recovery and wellness options, from members of the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program. The initial showing featured two of the video subjects present in the audience: van Eindhoven and fellow Ottawa Inuit community member Jeanie Okalik.Videos were followed by questions from the audience for members of the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program, such as how to seek help for smoking cessation.”Community members really enjoyed the videos, just hearing the stories,” Thomas said. “I know the community very appreciates the storytelling aspect, the narrative approach to education.”Jeanie Okalik is one of the participants in the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program. Okalik, who was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago, says talking to fellow community members was critical to her recovery efforts. (Liam Baker/CBC)While some community members, like van Eindhoven, shared perspectives on caregiving, others like Okalik shared personal experiences rooted in their own cancer recovery efforts. She says she was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, and that communication with members of her community was critical to her wellness journey.”I used to want to talk to anybody to help me out, kind of thing, a kind of healing,” Okalik said. Reaching the community at largeThomas says the next step for the project is to release the videos to the public, in order to improve education on cancer care.”These voices need to be heard, their stories need to be heard and the services need to be shared across to the rest of the community so that they know there is a place that they can go to access services.”Ottawa’s Inuit community is the largest outside of Nunavut, with Statistics Canada estimating the population to be roughly 1,800 people, though local Inuit agencies estimate that number to be much higher. Over the past decade, inaccurate population data has been one reason suggested for the underfunding of health and social services for the city’s Inuit community.Jemimah Thomas, manager of the Ontario Inuit Cancer Program, says the latest project is a chance for members of Ottawa’s Inuit community to share their experiences with cancer, and to help others gain awareness on where they can get treatment. (Liam Baker/CBC)Despite the growth in medical services for the community in recent years, particularly for Inuit children from Nunavut and within Ottawa, Thomas says major barriers still remain for those looking for cancer treatment, particularly culturally sensitive treatment.”Health-care providers need to understand Inuit culture, and integrate that into their care, shared decision making,” Thomas said. “One of the other biggest barriers is transportation, getting to and back from cancer screening appointments and things like that. Right now there is not much services like that.”While the videos have yet to be released to the broader Inuit community in Ottawa, van Eindhoven says that their creation aligns with his own cultural values of helping others in his community.”To help Inuit with cancer is part of who we are, to help each other as much as possible.”ABOUT THE AUTHORLiam Baker is an associate producer and reporter for CBC Ottawa. He also reports and produces stories on Inuit Nunangat for CBC Iqaluit. Previously, he’s reported for CBC Yukon, CBC Thunder Bay, CBC Toronto’s Enterprise unit. You can reach him at liam.baker@cbc.ca
Moving stories in motion pictures capture experiences with cancer in Ontario’s Inuit community
