Janice MacMillan recalls driving home from work trying to breathe through a flare-up of excruciating chest pain, all while contemplating this heavy question: "What's the point of living if this is my life?"

MacMillan has suffered from chronic pain for more than 45 years. She once felt hopeless, alone and invalidated — until she found a new purpose.

The 62-year-old woman has made it her life's mission to help people with chronic pain in a province where people wait years to see specialists and whe…