The Patient : one man's journey through the Australian health-care system

At 47, Jonathan Brewster is leading a successful life until he wakes up at dawn bursting for the toilet, urinates blood, and ends up waiting eight hours in the ER before he sees a doctor. Urologist Mohamed Khadra meets Brewster as the patient enters a maze of diagnosis and treatment for what turns out to be bladder cancer. For Dr. Khadra, Jonathan goes from being just another patient—albeit a young one to be suffering from this particular disease—to something much more after Khadra experiences his own health crisis. In being confronted with their own mortality, both Jonathan and Dr. Khadra develop a heightened awareness of the lives they have lived. At 47, Jonathan Brewster finally feels like he's king of the world - he has a lucrative job, a happy marriage, two children in private schools, an impressive house and a flashy car. He's also hugely in debt, but that's never really bothered him - until he wakes up at dawn bursting for the toilet, urinates blood and ends up waiting eight hours in Emergency before he sees a doctor. In the midst of his successful life, Jonathan has neglected to take care of his health, or even to conceive of the possibility of losing it. Urologist Mohamed Khadra comes into contact with this patient as he enters a maze of diagnosis and treatment for what turns out to be bladder cancer. For Dr Khadra, Jonathan goes from being just another patient - albeit a young one to be suffering from this particular disease - to something much more, as the parallels between them become apparent. Dr Khadra's life, too, seems to be following its planned trajectory until his own first-hand experience of disease teaches him