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Tony’s wife recalls the fear she felt and couldn’t believe the news.

“Tony was not angry or negative with this experience, but I was scared. But I soon felt reassured because we were provided with a whole support system of doctors, nurses, and staff,” says Lisa.

Tony would need three lifesaving operations and was put on antibiotics to ensure the gangrene would not spread in his body.

“Dr. Armstrong, Dr. Kalina, Dr. Dzaja and the whole team were incredible with Tony and with our entire family,” recalls Lisa. “From the physiotherapy team and nurses giving us updates, they went over and beyond to ensure we had a roadmap and knew what to expect every step of the way.”

For Tony and Lisa, it was how the entire team took care of their family that made their experience one they would never forget.

“It wasn’t just a doctor or just a nurse, it was someone who truly cared and that’s the way everyone was with us. We felt like we were in safe hands,” says Lisa.

What felt like an initial bleak situation turned into one of hope.

“I could never have imagined this whole experience happening to me. But the overall experience of feeling supported – it made me confident,” says Tony. “This is a new chapter in my life.”

After a series of tests were run, doctors began to believe it was Myeloma. Joanne met with Dr. Kang quickly, where she was told she needed to get a bone marrow biopsy done immediately.

“I was so impressed with the urgency, the attention, the listening – consciously listening to me and being attentive,” says Joanne.

Joanne was diagnosed with high-risk multiple myeloma ( T(4,14)) and soon began chemotherapy treatments.

“It was awful, it was shocking, and it was frightening. Cancer is one thing, but I’d never heard of multiple Myeloma which created more fear in me,” says Joanne. “The staff in Oncology were superior. They knew that I was emotionally struggling and immediately set me up with one of the social workers in Oncology.”

Joanne was called back to see Dr. Kang where he informed her that they needed to perform, two, back to back, stem-cell transplants – also known as a tandem transplant.

“The doctors and staff were so prompt with these tests – everything was urgent and immediate,” remembers Joanne.

Joanne continues to return to Joseph Brant Hospital lovingly and warmly for indefinite, bi-weekly chemotherapy.

“I have never been so grateful to be alive for every second of my every day. It’s no doubt this diagnosis has dramatically changed the person I am. I feel like my cancer has now empowered me as a person, and I owe it to Joseph Brant Hospital,” says Joanne.

For Joanne, she can’t help but be full of hope because of the staff at Joseph Brant Hospital.

“To this day, I find absolute strength in knowing that the staff have my life in their hands. I have absolute trust and faith in them,” says Joanne, “When I walk into Oncology, I feel empowered – I no longer feel scared. I feel that I’m beating cancer.”

Bill was referred with Dr. Bacopolous at Joseph Brant Hospital where he had his first surgery in August.  Unfortunately after surgery, he was told that the tumour had grown and it was in a location where nothing could be done.

“I was assigned to Dr. Phillips, and was scheduled to start chemotherapy in late September, but then my blood count dropped which required a transfusion. Shortly after, unrelated to the transfusion, I developed a blood clot that put me in the hospital for 8 days,” recounts Bill. “My tumor had grown to such an extent, I couldn’t digest food.”

Bill was soon set up for radiation, which resulted in some improvements that meant by the mid-December Bill was in a position to begin chemotherapy.

“My question to the doctors was, what happens if I don’t do chemo?,” Bill said. “They told me if I didn’t, I would only have a couple months to live – maybe a year.”

Bill began to look at short term goals, and just ahead of his sixth chemotherapy treatment, he booked a trip to Los Angeles to take in a Dodgers game and to see Bruce Springsteen. He had another assessment meeting, where it was discovered that his tumours had shrunk to where he was a candidate for surgery. After two more chemotherapy sessions, he took a break to prepare for surgery and after meeting his surgeon, he flew to Los Angeles.

During Bill’s treatments, his tumor went from inoperable to operable and Bill was deemed a candidate for surgery, which he underwent, lasting 12 hours.

When a post-surgery follow up CT scan was conducted in early September it had picked up 21 cancerous spots on his liver.

“My condition was treatable, but not curable. I went through another 16 chemo sessions. By the end of the June, I asked my doctors for a break for the summer.  Before we could proceed with the break a CT was conducted and there was no evidence of cancer,” remarks Bill.

Over the next 10 years, the doctors continued quarterly assessments and tests that soon scaled down to semi-annual.

“The presence of cancer had not come back,” says Bill, “I had only a few months to live, but 10 years later, I got to ring the bell to mark the end of my treatment journey.”

For Bill, Joseph Brant Hospital was the difference maker.

“The doctors and staff are strong and caring individuals who want every patient to be successful. They give you a positive attitude which benefits your health outcomes,” says Bill. “They go above their job, because they care about you as an individual. It goes a long way to build the confidence you need to go through something as difficult as this. If the people supporting you believe in you, it makes you stronger for the fight you have ahead.”

“I had struggled with mental health and addiction difficulties throughout my entire life,” she said. ”Often this struggle was in silence because it’s so hard to access that kind of help because of stigma.”

What proved most difficult along her journey was finding the right treatment. For almost 30 years, Jackie was treated mostly through community agencies and private therapists for. Despite the support she was receiving, her addiction and mental health issues were impacting nearly all areas of her life. Jackie was being treated for a diagnosis that, while listed in the DSM, many psychiatrists and therapists have moved away from.

“Despite years of therapy, I remained in a pattern of avoiding difficult feelings and memories,” Jackie says. “It left me ill prepared to cope with stressors and this led to an increase reliance on my addiction to manage.”

Unfortunately, things reached a crisis point on Christmas Day several years ago, and she ended up being admitted to the in-patient psychiatric unit at JBH. While things had really unraveled and it was a very painful time, it was actually a blessing in disguise.

“The admission was very brief and life changing for me,” says Jackie. “My consult with the psychiatrist on the unit was the first time my previous diagnosis was challenged and was the start of a very different journey.”

The admission resulted in a referral to the PHAST program which then led to the DBT program in Community Mental Health, which Jackie credits with saving her life.

Undoing 30 years of therapy has not been an easy process. There was comfort in the previous type of therapy she had received and close connection with the people who had tried so hard to help her for many years. At the same time, she could see it wasn’t getting her the results she wanted. Jackie realized she was not getting where she needed to be and made the difficult switch. For the first time, her addiction and mental health needs would be met by one person in one program through one set of skills.

“Through this program, I have learned healthy ways to cope with extreme anxiety by learning skills that help me to manage emotions and prevent the escalation of them,” Jackie says. “I have set goals and has slowly been working to re-build my life.”

One of the components of the DBT program is to re-engage with something in the community whether it be work, volunteering, or school. Jackie has done a bit of all of this. She is involved in a community food program where she gets to draw from her previous experience when she used to work in street ministry. She has returned to supply preaching after an extended absence. She has also joined the Walk to the Lighthouse Committee raises funds and awareness for Mental Health and Addiction Services at JBH.

When Jackie first joined the committee, she was worried about participating in something that was so publicly connected to mental health. She then realized how freeing it was to be open about her experiences and to be able to share her journey.

“I hope that by sharing my story, others will know they are not alone and be more comfortable to seek the help and support they need,” she says.

Jackie’s journey has been intense and full of hard work to change long standing patterns and to understand her issues and treatment through a very different lens.

“The path is not linear and it sometimes feels like a few steps forward and then back, but overall, I continue to move forward,” she says. “The work is both exhausting and rewarding but with determination, rebuilding my life is now obtainable.”