A gift from heaven!

March 22, 2013, my ears went deaf and I could hear nothing but the words: endometrial cancer. A gynecologist was announcing it to me over the phone and I couldn’t believe it. One year later, I can tell you that angels held my hand and helped me as I climbed the mountain.

First there was Claire, my roommate, when I was in hospital. She told me that the “peer matching,” a service that pairs people with cancer with others who have battled the disease, was her doing. My first angel did not survive, but her efforts gave me wings and hope.

Good fortune put another Claire on my path and she accompanied me thanks to the telephone peer support offered by the Quebec Cancer Foundation. I was able to talk honestly and openly with someone who knew exactly what I could expect on this journey. Being able to talk with a survivor was a godsend; it reduced my fears, anxieties and grief, brightened the dark picture I was painting in my head and, above all, gave me hope. There’s another word that has been added to my vocabulary. It is true that the word cancer is frightening and repelling.

The Quebec Cancer Foundation also offered me a gift: the touch of someone who sees us as human beings and not a disease. I took advantage of the massage therapy service in the care of outstanding professionals and at absolutely minimal cost.

Of course, my partner and my family are all part of my healing as well, since, more than ever I recognize the importance and the deep meaning of words like “love” and “hope.” If I consider myself more alive than ever, it is because I am being pushed toward the summit by those who have smoothed the way from the other side of the mountain.

I am grateful to the Quebec Cancer Foundation for having been on my path and I invite all to savour the happiness that comes from enjoying good health!

Lyne Lord