Remember when cancer detection was poor, treatments were fierce and outcomes from intervention were often just a very temporary stopgap? At the Luncheon of Hope 2024 in Sudbury, the message was far gentler as guest speakers shared how research and treatment have come so far.
One in eight Canadian women will develop breast cancer, but today, mortality rates are dropping.
It isn’t like cancer has been beaten (yet), but invasive surgeries, powerful radiation and chemical cocktails have been tempered by years of ever-advancing methodologies and knowledge of how cancers grow and spread, including how we are both part of the larger population but also individuals.
The 26th annual Luncheon of Hope supporters filled the upper hall at the Caruso to capacity. “We are looking at a full room,” said Jennifer Ashcroft, senior director of Major Gifts for the foundation. “My mother is a breast cancer survivor. (The Health Sciences North Research Institute) and the Northern Cancer Foundation and everyone who has been impacted by cancer is here.
“It is not just one person that receives a diagnosis but a family. It can be an emotional roller-coaster. We are looking at a spectrum of ages here. Everyone is here for one goal. Whether this is your first luncheon or your 26th, I am grateful for you being here.”
They gathered to raise crucial funds for breast cancer care and research in northeastern Ontario while also hearing from keynote speaker Kim MacDonald, a breast cancer survivor and anchor of The Weather Network.
“On my cold hard bathroom floor, I was unable to get up. I was sick and weak … bald with just a few patches of hair scattered on my head. I had no eyelashes and my eyebrows mere shadows of their former glory.”
MacDonald’s recounting of the days after her fourth chemotherapy treatment resonated with the audience. “I could see my future … my mother-in-law died of cancer, my father to pancreatic cancer in 2013.
“You rarely hear about hardships until they are overcome. Every day, 70 Canadian women are diagnosed with cancer. I was one of them.” MacDonald shared openly and had done a widely read blog on her experiences, but she admits “I do these a few times a year … it takes a lot out of me, I have to tell you. Sharing is hard.
“My message (is) always to get screened and talk about it. Cancer is still a really scary word, but more and more people survive cancer today. Research is doing amazing things.”
Timing is everything, she said. “Early detection can make such a difference in treatment and survival.”
The five-year survival rate for a cancer patient diagnosed at stage zero is 99 per cent but at stage four, it drops to 31 per cent.
MacDonald said she was impressed with the Luncheon of Hope. “I had heard about this event. The committee members had reached out to me. I will have to come back to Sudbury.”
Dr. Abhenil Mittal, a medical oncologist with the Shirley and Jim Fielding Northeast Cancer Centre at Health Sciences North in Sudbury, reported on improved surgery and survivability rates.
“The mortality from breast cancer has declined by more than 50 per cent since the 1990s,” Dr. Mittal said. “Treatments are much better coordinated. Collaborative research has improved anti-nausea drugs and surgical procedures.”
Diane Laban of Sudbury is also a cancer survivor. “(It was) 2016 and 2017 for me. I am now a member of the peer-run Sisterhood of Hope, a women’s cancer support group. Here is Anne Marie Muraska, she founded the group.”
In the audience, Sheri Tomchick said she recognized the need to attend this event: “I am here today to support our community and the wide range of people that have experienced cancer. As a business owner in Sudbury, I give back, always. My friend and her family have been putting this on for many, many, years. Cancer touches all of us … our families, our neighbourhood, on our street.”
To date, the Luncheon of Hope has raised more than $1.1 million to help support purchasing specialized breast cancer equipment and fund breast cancer research. This has directly benefitted patients at the Shirley and Jim Fielding Northeast Cancer Centre, who receive access to the best care close to home.
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