EMPOWER - Transform Your Cancer Journey

Empower is a John Drew Media and Ahoy! Productions Film/Documentary about choosing life and living fully in the face of adversity. Awarded Best Documentary at the Mosaic International Film Festival, the film was recognized for its powerful storytelling, emotional depth, and meaningful contribution to health and social awareness.

Through the intimate journeys of four courageous cancer survivors — Melanie Smith and John Underhill, CD, KC — Empower shines a light on what it truly means to embrace life after a life-changing diagnosis. All four are graduates of the Patient Empowerment Program (PEP), and each found strength, purpose, and a renewed sense of hope — turning their personal challenges into inspiring transformations.

But this is not just their story.

The film also follows the creators of the PEP program: Dr. Gabriela Ilie, Frank and Debbi Sobey Endowed Soillse Scientist in Cancer Quality of Life Research in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University, and Dr. Rob Rutledge, Oncologist, Associate Professor of Medicine at Dalhousie University, and Clinical Lead of the PEP Programs

Together, they dedicated their lives to building a program that supports people living with cancer and chronic diseases, offering practical, daily tools to help participants move their bodies, nourish their health, breathe deeply, sleep peacefully, love fully, forgive, connect authentically, and live each day with purpose.

At its core, Empower is about resilience, humanity, and the extraordinary impact of community and connection. It’s about ordinary people doing extraordinary things — bridging the gap between life inside and outside the clinic. It is a tribute to the strength we all have within us, and the transformative power of love, presence, and daily action.

The documentary also celebrates the power of philanthropy, showing how collective generosity can change lives and offer hope to those navigating the challenges of a cancer diagnosis.

Empower invites you to reflect, feel inspired, and take action in your own life — to live more fully, love more deeply, and recognize that even in the face of life’s greatest challenges, we can choose empowerment.

PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLOAD, RE-UPLOAD OR SHARE THE CONTEXT WITHOUT PERMISSION OR AUTHORIZATION FROM ITS PRODUCERS.