“I was diagnosed with kidney cancer during the COVID lockdowns, so I had the rare pleasure of being told I had cancer over the phone. In the days afterward, I was scared, I was confused, and I was angry. All the typical stuff. But, I also found reason for hope and optimism relatively quickly. I’m thankful that my family doctor noticed that something was off early in the course of my disease.
Information junkie that I am, I was all over the internet immediately after my diagnosis and I soon found my way to Kidney Cancer Canada (KCC). I devoured every bit of information they had available, and it made me feel like there was a path forward for me. I also had an excellent health care team who made it clear that this was the start of a journey, not the end of one.
I took a leave from my work in cybersecurity at Canadian Tire, where I’ve had a long 20-year career. I knew that things were going to move fast between surgery and everything else, and I needed to focus on my health and my family. It was, to put it lightly, a hectic time.
After my first surgery, things looked good for a while, but then the cancer recurred. I now had tumours in both kidneys and in my left lung. My case was no longer straightforward and that’s when I really started leaning on KCC for support. They helped me get a referral to a specialized cancer clinic, they helped me with information on the treatments that were being recommended for me, they helped me advocate for myself, and they helped me navigate the intricacies of Canada’s difficult health care system.
I felt so grateful that, when an opportunity arose to join the KCC board, I jumped at the opportunity to try to pay all that support forward. Since getting involved, I’ve come to understand so much more clearly just how important advocacy is. It was extremely frustrating to learn how different a person’s journey can be — how different my journey might have been — depending on which treatments they’re able to get access to and when.
And if I’m honest, not only am I still angry, I’m also still scared and still confused. But now I know that I’m not the only one feeling these things. I’m not on this journey alone, and that gives me great solace.”
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