There are no marathon runs for chronic pain, no walks for its cure. Yet chronic pain disables some 25% of the population in developed countries such as Canada and the U.S.A. This is no small disease. In Canada, chronic pain costs the economy an estimated $60 billion annually in treatment, lost wages & productivity; in the U.S.A. a staggering $634 billion.  Those who suffer with intractable pain in North America now outnumber heart disease, cancer & diabetes patients combined. The current media focus on “The Opioid Crisis,” a more dramatic but not necessarily more serious issue has unfortunately resulted in a profound loss of care for chronic pain sufferers who in many cases are being under treated, with dire consequences.

From the somber spreading of ashes at Newport Beach Ca., to snowy Montana, urban Toronto,  to H.H. The Dalai Lama’s hospital in Zanskar India- viewers are swept up in a stunning cinematic journey .This multi- award winning film enters into the desperate lives of pain patients fighting for their survival, families torn apart by suicide, and the troubled worlds of the compassionate doctors who stand up for them. 

From: Tina Petrova and Eugene Weis.