I was diagnosed Sept 11,2004. I had a partial mastectomy, full round of chemo and 28 radiation treatments. It was quite a journey with peaks and valleys and I would not change one thing. I was so touched by friends and family who truly love me and I will never take that for granted. My boys were amazing and my dogs..wow without them I know there would have been days that I would not have gotten out of bed. They literally saved me from myself.
Now I am facing the possibility of going through the “journey” again. And I am afraid but there must be a reason and I will walk tall and proud, boobs or no boobs, and take one day at a time.
LIVESTRONG, Petra Kern-Alexander
One day, one moment, one word and one young woman’s world is turned upside down. This is my story of my sister Joyce and her incredible journey living with cancer. I am very sure that when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer over 20 years ago that she could not have dreamed the path she would walk. Joyce was young, her two boys were young and they enjoyed a wonderful family life. .With that one diagnosis you are in shock. Suggested treatment was a radical mastectomy and so Joyce’s “treatment of breast cancer” began. After the radical mastectomy and recovery time, Joyce was healthy enough in July of 1985 for reconstructive surgery. What a great feeling it was to be having surgery to make you feel whole again .This elation lasted for some time but Joyce soon found out that all too often we can be struck again and our life will again be changed forever.
In 1997 the cancer was found to have spread to the bones. This was hard to take and knowing what was in store I am sure she questioned yet another round of chemotherapy. Joyce has had two stem cell replacements, both difficult procedures for her and of course the biggest treatment of all, on going chemotherapy. To have your body “back” after the reconstruction and then have your appearance once again shaken by chemo is heart wrenching. You live with the feeling of never being quite the same again. Joyce will tell you that cancer is a very lonely disease. There is some comfort when you are at the clinic and you are sitting with others who share your treatment. The loss of hair, the fingernails and toenails that just change, extra weight, or loss of, all of these changes make it difficult to keep going, both physically and mentally. Imagine going through this continually for over 10 years. The nurses at the Tom Baker Cancer Institute in Calgary are in awe of Joyce and her own doctor calls her his star patient. Joyce recently ran into her surgeon of 1984 and he was genuinely elated and amazed…asking Joyce lots of questions.
Joyce is one of the strongest people I know and will tell you that having cancer has given her more than it has taken. With her close friends and an incredible husband Nick who has stood by her with great compassion and doesn’t see what the disease has done physically, Joyce would be the first to tell you how important it is to share your story, your experience and your power of positive thinking with others.
I know that each and every story you hear, touches your heart and every person is touched in some way by Breast Cancer. Whether it is themselves, a friend, co-worker, family member, it is far reaching. I however still swell with pride when I meet someone new to our team who has just recently met Joyce and already has felt that wonderful aura that surrounds her. You can’t help but be drawn in to her desire to fight the disease and spread the message of hope.
There are now over 100 of us who run/walk for this remarkable lady on that Sunday morning in the annual Run for the Cure. We are Joyce’s Angel Network. We have won the” Friends and Family “category for a number of years. .no small feat when you consider the number of participants in a city the size of Calgary. This year was especially rewarding. We raised close to $50,000!
Joyce was proud also to be on stage at the Calgary Stampede this year where their theme was “Are you tough enough to wear pink? She has participated in three Survivors’ Walks with close to 200 other ladies and two men. She tells me of the emotion and support felt at these events and you can feel her pride as she talks about these in particular. Not many people have fought the battle like Joyce and continue to smile and support each of us at the same time.
What began as one woman, and one disease has grown to include not only the one hundred plus individuals that participate together but the long list of people who sponsor each of us .The power of one. This number has grown significantly since Joyce participated in her first run 12 years ago with one other lady. Joyce would be the first to take the spotlight off of herself and turn that light so that it shines on those who do so much for her in so many ways. From her incredible daughter-in-law Alanna who “manages” our team each year, to the friends who are there always, to walk her dog Billie, decorate her Christmas tree, bring food to her home when needed, host a large fund raiser, shave their own heads, take official group pictures at the run, or accompany her on treatment day. Each person seems to have their thing that they do to help, one simple way of showing your love and support.Joyce also tells me that her father-in-law and his wisdom has played large role in her attitude. His one repeated saying of Joyce was “Never give up.” Rather good advice from a man who lived to be 96.
Joyce would not for one minute want this to be solely about her. It is about her husband Nick, her children, immediate family and those friends who have been there for the past 20 years and are still there. It is about every woman and man battling this disease. It is about finding a cure. It is about Hope. Hope without action however, is like wishful thinking. By all Joyce has done; by virtue of whom she is, we have been inspired into action. This has resulted in tremendous rewards. The power of one appears significant in that when I asked Joyce how much she thinks our team has raised it is not surprising that the number one came up again. . Over $150,000 to date. All because of this incredible lady and the power of one individual to inspire and encourage us. Joyce would say she is only one in a million of individuals fighting this disease but I just say she is one in a million.
Hi my name is Brooke Corner and I am 13 years old. I started raising money for breast cancer 5 years ago when my Grandma was diagnosed with it. I was not sure how to handle the news about my grandma, I felt sad and scared that she might die. When grandma was going through her treatments we made every trip to Sunnybrook hospital with her and my grandpa so she could have her radiation treatments, and after chemo treatments we would spend the night with her to make sure she was okay. Knowing that we could not help grandma in many ways because we were just kids, we were trying to find another way to help. So my brother came up with a good idea of putting a team together at his school to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. At the end of the fundraising the school only had a team of nine, and they needed ten to make the team; this is where I came in. My brother gave me some of his money that he collected so I could run with him. I think we divided $360.00 between us. That started my first year being involved with the CIBC Run for the Cure. Being chronically ill myself, the CIBC Run for the Cure day is sometimes difficult for me to run, but in the back of my mind I say to myself if people with breast cancer can go through what they can, then for one day I can run for them. It is now five years later and my grandma is a survivor of breast cancer and I am still running for her. Last year I raised over $3600.00. Each year we make it a bigger and bigger fundraising event for our whole family. My mom and sister make jewelry for me to sell, I go door to door asking for donations and my dad helps with driving me to the locations I need to go to. My older brother helps by racing with me to see who can get to the door first and who can collect the most. I always look forward to raising money for breast cancer because I like to help others and hope someday they can find a cure.
My name is Chantal Lafontaine from Ottawa, Ontario and I am almost a one year survivor ( January 2008). I found a lump on my left breast in January 2006 during my my pregnancy. I was in my third trimester. I gave birth to my wonderful baby boy Nickolas on March 15, 2006. My doctor thought the lump might be an inflamed milk gland. I had a feeling since my mother was diagnosed and operated on for breast cancer over 18 years ago, that it was cancer. She is still with us and cancer free! I had a biopsy in April 2006. My surgeon called me a week later to confirm it was breast cancer. I had my lumpectomy on May 19, 2006, which was followed by 8 chemo treatments and 30 radiation sessions that lasted over the fall and winter. My last treatment was January 2, 2007.
I have been doing exremely well. I am back at work. My husband and I are enjoying our beautiful boy and living life to the fullest. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my medical team. It’s all because of them that I am here today. Thank you to my family doctor, my surgeon, my oncologists and the many, many nurses and staff at the Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre. What amazing people. They have dedicated their lives to helping people just like me.
I created Team Lafontaine this year for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. There were a total of 11 in our group and we raised over $2,000. My family and friends were so supportive when I was going through my experience and were all very generous in supporting our Team this year. I had run the race a few years back in support of my mother and a few other women I had lost to this horrible disease. I can’t wait for the run next year, my Team will be bigger and we will raise lots more for the Foundation to find a cure!
Thank you very much
Chantal Lafontaine
