Nothing else matters if you don’t have your health
It was on a Sunday night when Elizabeth received the notification on her phone that her CAT scan results had arrived. She remembers sitting by herself, trying to make sense of the words on the screen. “I saw terms like “spiculated mass” and “no cavitation”, and in each Google search of those terms, I was seeing the word cancer,” she explains. “And then everything moved very quickly.”
Elizabeth was diagnosed with lung cancer.
It had all started with a routine reflexologist appointment. “It was November 29, 2022,” Elizabeth remembers. She had just retired from teaching that September. When her reflexologist pointed out that the area in her foot that corresponds with the lungs wasn’t feeling right, Elizabeth followed her advice and asked her family doctor for a chest x-ray. When the results showed a shadow on her left lung, a CAT scan was ordered and here she was on that Sunday night, trying to make sense of the words that changed her life.
“As someone who never broke a bone, never had a stitch, and has always been fairly healthy, to all of a sudden be told you have lung cancer caused by a gene mutation… It literally knocked the wind out of me. But the way I was treated by my healthcare team made all the difference.”
Soon after her diagnosis, Elizabeth was scheduled for surgery. “After the surgery, I was told two things,” she explains, “one, that the margins of the mass looked good, and two, that one of my lymph nodes was showing cancer cells.” Elizabeth would need further treatment.
As a Grimsby resident, she had the choice between receiving treatment in Hamilton or St. Catharines. “I knew that both were great cancer centers, but having family members who were patients at, and spoke highly of, the Walker Family Cancer Centre (WFCC), I chose to have my four chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments done at Niagara Health.”
“It’s funny, I have come to the hospital many times to visit people, but when you make that left turn before the main entrance and walk through the cancer centre entrance instead,” she says, her voice breaking, “it is a totally different feeling.”
I have come to the hospital many times to visit people, but when you make that left turn before the main entrance and walk through the cancer centre entrance instead, it is a totally different feeling.
“My oncologist, Dr. VanderMeer, is one of the most caring, patient and knowledgeable people that I met. When I felt scared of what lie ahead, she gave me hope. At every appointment I brought a long list of questions, and she always took the time to answer each one.” Along with Dr. VanderMeer, her oncology nurse Deb was one of the first people Elizabeth was in contact with at the WFCC. “I couldn’t have imagined a better person to have met when I walked through that door,” Elizabeth says. “I knew that I was in the best possible hands.”
In Elizabeth’s experience, extraordinary care is more than a slogan at Niagara Health. “The kindness and compassion I was met with, right from the start, was phenomenal,” Elizabeth explains. “If I didn’t feel well after chemo treatments, I could call the WFCC number and somebody would call me back within half an hour; it was just amazing. I had some hearing problems that started at 4 am, and when I called the after-hours number, an oncology nurse was there to listen and offer guidance.”
Along every step of the way, Elizabeth felt like she was part of her healthcare team. “As a patient, I was treated a whole person, they saw me as more than my cancer. I was very involved in my care. When I had a concern or needed advice, my team was there for me. They listened, answered my questions, and took the time.”
From the receptionists who greeted her with friendly smiles and kind words, to the nurses at the Lung Diagnostic Assessment Program who helped her navigate through tests and scans, to Brooklyn, the chemotherapy nurse who explained everything so thoroughly during the chemotherapy education class, to the team who was constantly cleaning surfaces at the hospital, ensuring that everything was clean, sanitized and germ free, Elizabeth cannot say enough about the staff at Niagara Health.
Her husband, Andrew, who was by her side each step of the way, agrees. “Every person we dealt with was positive and upbeat. Her oncologist, Dr. VanderMeer, was familiar with every aspect of Elizabeth’s health throughout her treatment. It was very reassuring.”
At the end of December 2023, Elizabeth crossed the finish line and she is filled with gratitude for the four radiation technicians (Catherine, Jenny, Jessica and Stephanie) who were by her side until her very last treatment.
“On that day, I needed to do something to celebrate; something bigger than going out for dinner, so I made a donation. I just wanted to make a difference.”
I saw Niagara Health Foundation donations at work first-hand. I’ve experienced it.
When Elizabeth arrived home, she went online and made a Gift of Gratitude. “It is my way of saying ‘thank you,’, and if my donation can be used towards adding another linear accelerator to treat more patients or purchase another recliner for chemotherapy, then that is wonderful! I saw Niagara Health Foundation donations at work first-hand. I’ve experienced it.”
Today, Elizabeth is excited for the spring, the summer and the prospect of finally, truly being able to enjoy retirement. “I still have some lingering side effects from the radiation but I know those will go away,” she says, and is thrilled to be officially discharged from the WFCC now that her tests show no further signs of cancer. “Thanks to the WFCC and the team at Niagara Health, I can look forward to doing my part to stay healthy – exercising, eating well and finally getting back to enjoying life.”
Elizabeth encourages others who haven’t had that direct experience to also consider giving. “For me, donating to the Niagara Health Foundation was about showing appreciation for an exceptional group of healthcare workers. But even more than that, the past year has taught me that nothing else matters if you don’t have your health, and supporting your local healthcare system not only shows appreciation and support for the incredibly dedicated people who work there but also helps to ensure they can continue to provide exceptional care and have state-of-the-art technology and equipment when you or a loved one needs it.”
Nothing else matters if you don’t have your health
It was on a Sunday night when Elizabeth received the notification on her phone that her CAT scan results had arrived. She remembers sitting by herself, trying to make sense of the words on the screen. “I saw terms like “spiculated mass” and “no cavitation”, and in each Google search of those terms, I was seeing the word cancer,” she explains. “And then everything moved very quickly.”
Elizabeth was diagnosed with lung cancer.
It had all started with a routine reflexologist appointment. “It was November 29, 2022,” Elizabeth remembers. She had just retired from teaching that September. When her reflexologist pointed out that the area in her foot that corresponds with the lungs wasn’t feeling right, Elizabeth followed her advice and asked her family doctor for a chest x-ray. When the results showed a shadow on her left lung, a CAT scan was ordered and here she was on that Sunday night, trying to make sense of the words that changed her life.
“As someone who never broke a bone, never had a stitch, and has always been fairly healthy, to all of a sudden be told you have lung cancer caused by a gene mutation… It literally knocked the wind out of me. But the way I was treated by my healthcare team made all the difference.”
Soon after her diagnosis, Elizabeth was scheduled for surgery. “After the surgery, I was told two things,” she explains, “one, that the margins of the mass looked good, and two, that one of my lymph nodes was showing cancer cells.” Elizabeth would need further treatment.
As a Grimsby resident, she had the choice between receiving treatment in Hamilton or St. Catharines. “I knew that both were great cancer centers, but having family members who were patients at, and spoke highly of, the Walker Family Cancer Centre (WFCC), I chose to have my four chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments done at Niagara Health.”
“It’s funny, I have come to the hospital many times to visit people, but when you make that left turn before the main entrance and walk through the cancer centre entrance instead,” she says, her voice breaking, “it is a totally different feeling.”
I have come to the hospital many times to visit people, but when you make that left turn before the main entrance and walk through the cancer centre entrance instead, it is a totally different feeling.
“My oncologist, Dr. VanderMeer, is one of the most caring, patient and knowledgeable people that I met. When I felt scared of what lie ahead, she gave me hope. At every appointment I brought a long list of questions, and she always took the time to answer each one.” Along with Dr. VanderMeer, her oncology nurse Deb was one of the first people Elizabeth was in contact with at the WFCC. “I couldn’t have imagined a better person to have met when I walked through that door,” Elizabeth says. “I knew that I was in the best possible hands.”
In Elizabeth’s experience, extraordinary care is more than a slogan at Niagara Health. “The kindness and compassion I was met with, right from the start, was phenomenal,” Elizabeth explains. “If I didn’t feel well after chemo treatments, I could call the WFCC number and somebody would call me back within half an hour; it was just amazing. I had some hearing problems that started at 4 am, and when I called the after-hours number, an oncology nurse was there to listen and offer guidance.”
Along every step of the way, Elizabeth felt like she was part of her healthcare team. “As a patient, I was treated a whole person, they saw me as more than my cancer. I was very involved in my care. When I had a concern or needed advice, my team was there for me. They listened, answered my questions, and took the time.”
From the receptionists who greeted her with friendly smiles and kind words, to the nurses at the Lung Diagnostic Assessment Program who helped her navigate through tests and scans, to Brooklyn, the chemotherapy nurse who explained everything so thoroughly during the chemotherapy education class, to the team who was constantly cleaning surfaces at the hospital, ensuring that everything was clean, sanitized and germ free, Elizabeth cannot say enough about the staff at Niagara Health.
Her husband, Andrew, who was by her side each step of the way, agrees. “Every person we dealt with was positive and upbeat. Her oncologist, Dr. VanderMeer, was familiar with every aspect of Elizabeth’s health throughout her treatment. It was very reassuring.”
At the end of December 2023, Elizabeth crossed the finish line and she is filled with gratitude for the four radiation technicians (Catherine, Jenny, Jessica and Stephanie) who were by her side until her very last treatment.
“On that day, I needed to do something to celebrate; something bigger than going out for dinner, so I made a donation. I just wanted to make a difference.”
I saw Niagara Health Foundation donations at work first-hand. I’ve experienced it.
When Elizabeth arrived home, she went online and made a Gift of Gratitude. “It is my way of saying ‘thank you,’, and if my donation can be used towards adding another linear accelerator to treat more patients or purchase another recliner for chemotherapy, then that is wonderful! I saw Niagara Health Foundation donations at work first-hand. I’ve experienced it.”
Today, Elizabeth is excited for the spring, the summer and the prospect of finally, truly being able to enjoy retirement. “I still have some lingering side effects from the radiation but I know those will go away,” she says, and is thrilled to be officially discharged from the WFCC now that her tests show no further signs of cancer. “Thanks to the WFCC and the team at Niagara Health, I can look forward to doing my part to stay healthy – exercising, eating well and finally getting back to enjoying life.”
Elizabeth encourages others who haven’t had that direct experience to also consider giving. “For me, donating to the Niagara Health Foundation was about showing appreciation for an exceptional group of healthcare workers. But even more than that, the past year has taught me that nothing else matters if you don’t have your health, and supporting your local healthcare system not only shows appreciation and support for the incredibly dedicated people who work there but also helps to ensure they can continue to provide exceptional care and have state-of-the-art technology and equipment when you or a loved one needs it.”
