I’m not the most organized mummy. Many times I’m struck by things that end up as after-thoughts in our house, the cleaning, the laundry, even charitable giving. Too often I think it’s something that is added to “the list” as opposed to something that we really have a personal connection to.
So while we’ve given to various charities over the years, gotten involved with different causes, purchased goats or other items in support of one thing or another, made pledges to friends doing runs, walks or stairclimbs, or collected food for the food bank at our annual Christmas party, we hadn’t put that much thought into it – they weren’t just “the right thing to do”, they were easy things to do.
A change in my own thinking started to happen when I was diagnosed with the big, bad ‘C’ while my newborn son was only five and half months old. I remember thinking, “I have a BABY, I don’t have TIME to have cancer!” along with, “You’ve got to be kidding me – we’ve just barely got this breastfeeding thing figured out”.
(I should insert here that it was a my son who actually “saved” my life – a polyp that was discovered on my cervix during delivery ended up being more troublesome than was initially thought, in spite of regular check ups and never once having had an abnormal pap).
Needless to say, two abdominal surgeries, five rounds of chemo and 28 sessions of radiation isn’t how I would recommend anyone spend their maternity leave. What initially seemed like it would be an easy five weeks of treatment was months longer in terms of overall recovery. But what I would recommend, is taking a closer look at those charities and causes that you hold dear and if you don’t already have a connection to them, to make one.
The team of doctors, oncologists, and nurses at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre are all amazing people. And to me, it was also remarkable to see what a great equalizer cancer is for humanity. Cancer was always something I expected to get when I was older, not 33, and is still a surprise to me when I see the breadth of ages, and faces, and races, in the waiting rooms at the Odette. Very often, there is no way to distinguish between the patient, or someone’s family or friend accompanying them to an appointment.
Which is why following my treatment, I started campaigning for Sunnybrook’s first annual Underwear Affair – to support research into and care for cancers below the waist, like cervical, colorectal, prostate, uterine, and ovarian. While I wasn’t able to run the 10K, I did walk 5K with my fabulous team, and my son, and personally raised $11,425 for the cause in about seven weeks. It was a way for me to give back to a place that I’ll always have a connection to, and to bring my own treatment full circle and say thank you for the excellent care that I received.
In the end, by being honest about my story and giving back, I got so much more in return. At the event, people came up to me to share their own stories or to tell me what my posts on my fundraising website meant to them. By telling me that I had brought them hope, and even comfort to those who had lost loved ones dear to them, I was given back more than I ever expected, which in its way, was another kind of healing for me.
Luckily for me, cervical cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer there is and with regular, yearly screening (your pap test), can even be discovered in its pre-cancerous state and treated. It’s not the most glamorous of tests, but it is one of the most important. If you’ve been putting it off, finish reading this article and call your doc.
And it terms of giving back? Make it personal. Pick something that resonates with you and your family and do it together. There is so much more meaning to be had when it’s not just one more thing on “the list”.
"
Printer-friendly version