How this Manitoban cancer patient is helping FINISH Terry’s dream

Together, we communicated, strategized, and planned before heading into battle. We stuck to the plan when things got tough. We adjusted through surgeries and complications, through chemotherapy, tamoxifen, surgical revisions, and the fear of recurrence that never really leaves you. Together, we managed to beat cancer and learned how to deal in survivorship. We turned the volume on the fear knob down, allowing for personal growth to enter. As a cancer patient I planned for the end of treatment: What I would do when it was over? What would life be like?

Throughout my journey, I learned that not every cancer patient has the same finish line, or reaches their finish line, as portrayed in Finish It, when Terry had to stop running. So, what do we do about that? We can carry on, like those on the road in the video, to help others towards their finish line, and certainly to help them live better while trying to reach it.

For me, cancer was like a forced personal growth plan. In survivorship, while I had done a lot of personal growth and was volunteering with CancerCare MB, I wondered what more I could do to help. This is where the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network came onto my path.

When I saw the MOHCCN Patient Working Group (PWG) opportunity come up, I applied to join. I was curious where this group would take me. Two and a half years later, I can say that the experience has far exceeded my expectations! 

The PWG focuses on integrating the voices of patients and caregivers with lived experience in all types of cancers, from common to rare, from all ages, and from all regions of Canada. Everyone's views are valued and respected. We bring diverse knowledge from our lived experiences. We are heard and we are making a difference.

Patients and caregivers are a welcome part of the Network, working with the research and medical communities as equals. We participate in Patient Working Group initiatives, contribute to various Network Working Groups as patient partners, and support the impactful work across the Network through feedback, connection, and collaboration with other patients and caregivers, researchers, and clinicians. Everyone is working towards Terry's dream and is full of dedication, compassion, and courage. I am eager to continue volunteering with the Patient Working Group because of the depth of collaboration that the Terry Fox Research Institute team provides for patients.

The Marathon of Hope started with a patient's voice – Terry's voice. Terry advocated for others, and he continues to inspire us to dream of a world without cancer. That voice is echoed in the Network today through the Patient Working Group members, and through the work of all the people who are part of the Network.

My path has led me to this working group, and this is where I need to be right now. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my lived experience with the Network I know that I can make an impact for future cancer patients in Winnipeg and across Canada like many who have gone before me. I am thankful for all they have done for us. Our participation in this Network gives me hope for new connections between care teams and patients and their caregivers, hope for new research that may lead to new treatments.

It is hope that I currently need.  This summer, I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which put me back into the emotional and physical rollercoaster that is cancer care. To complicate things,  my care team discovered ovarian cancer during surgery. This surprise finding pushed us into more diagnostics with some unsettling possibilities. As you can imagine, the diagnostic phase is  a very rocky and uncertain time. With my care team and family by my side I had so much support and this time the testing ended with a positive outcome: Two new primary cancers, no metastasis of any of the three cancers, and preventive chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Treatment brings its own level of uncertainty, but we’ve done this before, and we can do it again. For now, I continue to move forward through this challenging time, taking things day by day, with my loved ones and the skilled and compassionate care team at my side.

Comparing my life from first cancer then to two new cancers now, I see the wisdom I have earned when I look into my eyes. I see that my family has grown, weaving cancer and resilience into our family history. I see all the memories we have made as a couple and a family that had nothing to do with cancer other than the challenge it presented us to live our lives to the fullest.

Comparing my first experience with cancer to my current cancer experience, I see the focus on patient involvement, I see the advancement of treatments through research and technology, I see the shift towards precision treatments for patients.

Despite the crooked path that cancer brings, I see that there is hope on that path, which brings me back to the first three questions I asked:

What if we could live in a world without cancer? LIFE WOULD BE AMAZING!!

What if we could improve lives while trying to get to a world without cancer? WE ARE ALREADY IMPROVING LIVES through the research, patient initiatives, and the dedication of the cancer community!!