Sheila at her first CIBC Run for the Cure shortly after her first round of chemotherapy.
It’s hard to believe that two years have already passed since my diagnosis of breast cancer in February 2010. I can recall so clearly sitting in the examining room with my daughter and sister. The diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma — stage two in the right breast and stage one in the left. At that moment, I felt as though I were in a fog. Some distant voice (presumably my own) responded, “take them both.”
On April 21, I underwent surgery for a double mastectomy, with a separate procedure in May to remove 11 lymph nodes from the right breast. Chemotherapy began in July and ended on Nov. 5. I was fortunate to survive the chemo triathlon relatively well. Fatigue was the “show stopper.” The medications provided helped keep the multitude of other side effects at a manageable level. Following chemo was radiation therapy on a daily basis for five weeks. This commenced in January and completed on Feb. 5. I had survived a life-altering event and I will never be the same as a result.
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Team Draggin' da Boat all ready to go!
On Sept. 8 and 9 our staff participated in the GWN Dragon Boat Challenge presented by CIBC benefiting the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation — Ontario Region.
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Erna is a proud supporter of the CIBC Run for the Cure.
I am a breast cancer survivor.
When I was 52 years old I found my lump in June 2010 and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am very happy with all the support I received from family and friends. I am very grateful for all the support I received from my doctor and nurses at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
I support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure and have my work team support me for the cause.
It touches so many lives each day. I am so happy that there are so many supporters out there.
I thank everyone who supports and gives courage to each and everyone.
The only thing I can say is to stay strong throughout it all. Always have a smile on your face and keep a positive attitude.
Bless all and everyone who is a survivor and the ones who have been affected by breast cancer.
Love you all.
Erna
Laura prior to her diagnosis with her third grandchild.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 20, 2012 — life has been a whirlwind since with scans, bloodwork and a pre-op visit in the week following diagnosis and surgery nine days post diagnosis. During the recovery period post-op I was kept busy with post-op classes and appointments and procedures in preparation for the start of chemo. One thing that I did when I received my diagnosis was to start my own personal blog to help me stay positive and also update my family and friends on my progress. This is an excerpt from my blog about two weeks prior to my first chemo.
Recently, my daughter-in-law asked my grandchildren to draw and write (or dictate, as the case may be 
) what their favorite things about me, or to do with me, were. Since Forrest is only five months old, he had a lot of help from his mother but said that he enjoyed dancing with me while I sang to him. Two-year-old Keiran dictated that he liked me to sing songs and more songs to him (young grandchildren can be such appreciative audiences no matter how bad the singing might be) and also loves when I play with him with my iPad and downstairs in their play area. Six-year-old Lilly tells me that she loves that I love her, loves that I am her grandma and loves that I am funny; all written and fully illustrated by her. All of these messages were inserted in an envelope and mailed to me last week.
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Peter believes that promotion of breast cancer should be about women and men helping each other.
My story is dedicated to my wife Cathy who has supported me from the day of my first test.
I have been, to say the least, on a very strange and wonderful journey since I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 19 years ago. And you are probably asking yourself why I say wonderful, considering PTSD is horrible mental disorder…
I was numb. That is the only word I can think of to describe how I felt about being told that I had breast cancer. I felt that I was just handed a death sentence when my doctor informed me that the small lump in my chest was cancer. Men don’t get breast cancer, women do. At least that’s what I thought, until I was told that I had that dreaded disease on July 14, 2011, a date I will never forget as long as I live.
My story starts one evening in early May 2011 as I was watching TV with my wife Cathy. I was scratching an itch on my left breast, just above the nipple and as I scratched the area I felt a small lump. It felt odd, but I really wasn’t too concerned. But at the insistence of Cathy, I contacted my doctor the next morning.
I met my doctor on May 13. She examined the area and told me it was probably nothing, but that I would have to go for some tests. She told me that only roughly one per cent of breast cancer cases are men. With that, I told myself I was going to be OK; I was certain I would be in the 99 per cent category.
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