My mother, Elizabeth Hutchinson, was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in September 2008. A combination of good treatments and positive attitude are the reasons she is doing amazing today. I have seen first- hand where the money raised to fight this widespresad disease is going and I truly believe my mother’s experience and outcome would not have been the same had these contributions not existed.
On July 25th, my mother Elizabeth Hutchinson completed three weeks of radiation. This was the last phase of her treatment which began in the fall of 2008. Since then, Lizzy and her husband Jimmy spent the summer at their cottage in Cape Breton enjoying visits from family and the beautiful summer weather down by the beach. Liz is doing better than anyone could have ever expected. She is feeling great. Her positive attitude seems to be able to get her through anything. This time in Cape Breton is exceptionally special this year, because before summer began Liz did not think she was going to be able to go to Cape Breton due to the scheduling of her treatments. Her days in Cape Breton involve a leisurely morning, packing up a lunch to take down to the beach, going out for a boat ride with Jimmy, swimming in the beautiful and warm Bras D’or lakes and watching the sun set with family and friends from her cottage on the hill which overlooks Beddeck. August 17th was Jimmy and Liz’s 36th wedding anniversary. As per their tradition, they spent the night in a beautiful room at the Cambridge suites, ordered in room service and headed to the casino in Sydney.
Lizzy is well known in her community for her generosity and welcoming nature. She lives in West End Halifax and takes care of eleven children during lunch and after school. She has touched the lives of a number of families in her community. For this reason, the community has come together to help Liz fight against this terrible disease. Over the last three months people who care about Lizzy have joined the team “Breasts of the West” to run in her honour. To date there are over 70 people on this team and many fundraisers have been held to raise over $15,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. The most recent and powerful fundraiser, in my opinion, was when the children of the community came together and organized a haunted forest for the neighbourhood children to visit and they decided that they would charge a dollar and all proceeds would go to help fight cancer for Lizzy. It has been a profoundly moving experience to witness the high level of awareness and benevolence exercised by everyone who loves Liz from ages 5-90. People cannot help but be hopeful when seeing these acts of selflessness occur around them. I hope that this story has inspired people to fight cancer as hard as my mother has, and will continue to do forever.
Any help provided for this cause, whether it is financial or volunteer-based is much appreciated.