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© BOPINION THE IMMEASURABLE ‘TOLL OF CHRONIC PAIN | Thurs = ONE IN FIVE 2 CANADIANS & AFFLICTED WITH 2 IT, WRITES DR. NADIA ALAM DR. NADIA ALAM Column You step on a Lego piece and yank your foot back. Your hand strays near a hot stove and you pull away. _ Pain i is a dynamic event sensation in body — all int grated into something has caused or vy ly cause damage to our body. Pain persisting beyond three months is defined as processing and modulating pathways be- come distorted, and pain becomes an illness in its own right. having the science aside, hronic pain is a ate burden. One-in-five Canadians lives with pain as a daily part of their lives. It carries a huge economic toll, con- suming 10 per cent of the health-care budget by it- More than that is the suffering associated with chronic pain. § The Canadian Pain : Task Force Report states, ‘Chronic pain is Jargely in- in- often ‘feel disbelioved ond stigmatized. And they're right. There is no lab test or X-ray that shows chronic pain. All there is to go on is the pa- tient's story. And patient stories vary — the same trigger, a bro- ken bone, in some will re- solve completely and in others will evolve into un- bearable pain. Some people will writhe and weep from pain while thers wit H appear calm and collec Some Cere will be un- able to sleep, work or func- tion. It is an unpredictable ment exists tions, physical and cogni- tive therapies — it doesn't work for everyone, and it doesn't work to the same degree i in everyone. jiving with chronic pain is a constant struggle to find an explanation for the pain, to navigate a skeptical health-care sys- tem, to feel valued and to rebuild one's identity and take back control over their future. Acknowledging and bearing witness to this struggle by refusing to abandon the person living with chronic pain thus be- comes one of the most com- passionate acts we can per- form. Nadia Alam is a Halton physician and past presi- dent of the Ontario Med ical Association. Her col- umns also appear on www.drnadiaalam.com. She can be reached through her website. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFRCA TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Dave Skinner photo Achipmunk gets up close and personal with a peanut bearer on Delrex Boulevard. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS FOR INVESTING Most investment cate- First a few details. We looked at seven different sectors. Four different stock. markets, a global real estate index anc indexes. Six catgores foe declining values the ge of five to eight per cent, The Canadian stock market, as measured by the S&P/' TSX composite index, was the only index that posted a gain. It increased in value close to four per cent. The question is what can we learn from these re- sults? opinion, they should “not change the di- rection of our investing. Investor expectations ple jor role in how people react to short-term events and make changes iw PETER WATSON Column with their long-term in- vestment plans according- ly. This often leads to disap- pointing results. For the 10 years ending March 31, the average an- nual return of the Canadi- an stock index was nine per cent. The return of the US stock market index was just under 17 per cent. In- ternational developed mar- ket stocks index was just slightly lower than the re- turn posted in Canada. Canada's recent market success was largely fuelled by the energy sec- tor. That was facing pres- ure for environmental reasons. Then suddenly, because of the war in energy prices We encourage you to take a long-term approach to investing and manage your expectations accord- ingly. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is a member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member w Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2, Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca ocna el newsroom@thei IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Monta; Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Deputy Director of Content Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director rr Distribution Cindi Campbell and Graeme Macintosh Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron CONTACT US The Independent & Free Pres: 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail vice. through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- or call 905-234-1019, EO}