Finding Hope Blog – The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

Jane and husband at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure 2009.

Breast cancer affects us all, even Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation employees.

I am in an interesting position – I am a woman in her mid 50’s who two years ago was completing treatment for breast cancer (May 2007) and I am an employee of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. There is just a little bit of an irony in that the fact that while working for the Foundation, I should be diagnosed with breast cancer – but the reality is that this disease does not discriminate. The good news is that the five year breast cancer survivor rate is  now at 87% – which demonstrates great progress, but that does not mean that women and men are not still affected. My mother has also been affected by breast cancer and happily she is among those people who have made it to and surpassed the 7-year mark.

Each of us works though life-altering challenges in different ways. Fortunately, I was well enough to continue to work… and so I did. I chose not to make my illness broadly known, and there were many at our office who never knew I had been in treatment. Be it practical – or vain – the one thing that allowed me to disguise what was happening was that I had found a fabulous wig – it looked like it was made for me and me alone. It was in some ways my salvation as it kept attention away from me that I wasn’t prepared to deal with.

So it wasn’t till I stopped wearing it and emerged with a very short crop of fabulous curly hair that I mentioned it more broadly. I had a bit of an “aha!” moment awhile ago when reading Marla Shapiro’s book and her account of her journey. She made a statement about the early part of her experience – and that was she never considered herself as “being sick”. That resonated with me very clearly – and for the most part I did not consider myself as “sick”, odd as that might seem.

Jane at work.

My husband and two grown daughters have always been my reality check. The fact that I did not see myself as sick was a bit of an issue – my husband thought I should (for once) make ‘me’ the priority – what better excuse – and with his constant oversight, he did succeed in ensuring that I looked out for myself the way I should have.

It is important to note that my experience is unique to me – many people go through a long spectrum of surgeries, treatment and quality of life issues. There are thousands of women and men who due to their particular treatment protocols are very, very ill – and who are not able to ‘hide’ what the treatment is doing to them.

Breast cancer is truly a very complex disease. Over the past decade there have been significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and I believe I am here today as a testament to the funds that have already been raised in support of this disease.

With my daughters, now 24 and 25 years, in mind, I remain optimistic that the advances that have been made will only continue to make difference in the lives of those diagnosed and living with this disease.