Nova Scotia sends out about 180,000 at-home kits to screen for colon cancer, but less than half are sent back to the lab to be checked. Arlinda Ruco will spend the next five years trying to change that.

Former patients and colleagues from across the Atlantic region are remembering Dr. Mark Sadler, an epilepsy specialist who died Dec. 26after a brief illness. They say he changed the way epilepsy patients are treated in the region, and saved countless lives.

Some Halifax-area charities say they're alarmed by the surge in requests for help this holiday season, as some previous donors are becoming firsttime recipients for their aid.