LET'S HELP FIND A CURE FOR CANCER!
Monday, March 30, 2009
By: JoAnn Cote

We are definately not alone in this fight for a cure for cancer. Each and everyone of us have been affected by cancer.

I cannot believe how many of my family members have been diagnosed with cancer. First there was my mother in 1985. Mom was diagnosed with liver cancer, had chemotherapy and survived less than six months. Then there was my dad in 1987. Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had radiation therapy and survived for two years.

Then there was my husband, Percy (aka RIP). He had just turned 40 and was diagnosed with a brain tumour (glioblastoma). He was given 6 to 9 months to live. He went through brain surgery to try to remove the tumour in June 1995 and followed with six weeks of daily radiation treatment. We lived four hours from Montreal and travelled home on the weekends to be with our 3 young sons and family, whom without them we could not have survived. In December 1996, the tumour came back and he underwent another brain surgery. He survived for two and a half years and lived everyday to the fullest, surrounded by family and friends.

Then there was my sister, Kathy. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In 2001, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and I am glad to say that Kathy is a CANCER SURVIVOR. In 2000, my brother-in-law, Dr. Rajakumar, who helped us all tremendously, was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy and I am glad to say that he is also a CANCER SURVIVOR.

Then this past August, 2008 I lost my only brother, of a family of eight children. He lost his battle with prostate cancer. Steve fought his battle for three years and went through every treatment that was offered to him. My brother was the fittest person I have ever known in my life. He jogged, was a marathon runner, a cross country skier, a dedicated McGill football fan, a loving husband and father to three children. He never smoked, did not have an ounce of fat on his body and CANCER took him from us.

So as you have read my story you know why it is so important to help raise as much money as possible so that through research we can help FIND THE CURE FOR CANCER.