Breast Cancer “Winner” Sees 50/50 Impact Firsthand
Published Thursday, March 30, 2023
Breast Cancer “Winner” Sees 50/50 Impact Firsthand
by Graham Strong
For Lisa Vescio, it started with a letter.
“I received a letter from the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) that if you’re between the ages of 50 and 74 and haven’t had a mammogram in a while, you should do it.”
Lisa believes that letter saved her life.
“I booked my appointment in October 2015 and found out I had Stage 3 advanced invasive ductal carcinoma. There was no pain, there was no lump... If I hadn’t have received that letter, I don’t know what would have happened.”
After her diagnosis, Lisa didn’t even want to say the word “cancer.” It wasn’t about fear or about avoiding it – quite the opposite. Lisa wanted to take away its power by refusing to speak its name.
“I said, ‘Okay, it is prevalent in so many people, but often it’s not a death sentence anymore.’ I focused on the day-to-day challenges of just getting better,” Lisa said.
That positive attitude helped her get through the next months of gruelling treatment. She had surgery in April 2016 followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. If Lisa was glad for one thing, it’s that she didn’t have to travel. Lisa could stay home with her husband, her son, and her friends and family through all her treatments.
“Being able to go to your own Hospital in your own community for the treatment you need, then being able to go home to your own bed helped immensely for my mental state. It helped me stay positive. I could see whoever I wanted to see, and I wasn’t stuck in a hotel room. It’s 100 times better to be home in your own community.”
Lisa knew too that there weren’t any trade-offs in her care here in Thunder Bay. The cancer care she received was as good as she would have gotten anywhere else in Ontario.
“Everything was top of the line, advanced, sometimes futuristic even, especially in the radiation therapy department.”
Now, eight years later, Lisa is living cancer free.
“I don’t refer to it as being a breast cancer survivor. I look at it as being a breast cancer winner. I won. I beat it.”
Lisa knows none of that would be possible without strong community support. Donations to the Health Sciences Foundation’s Northern Cancer Fund and tickets purchased for the Thunder Bay 50/50 Draw have helped fund everything from chemotherapy infusion pumps and chairs in Thunder Bay and regional sites throughout Northwestern Ontario to the linear accelerators in radiation therapy, advanced imaging such as PET/CT, and even research to help find tomorrow’s treatments.
“Our ability to fundraise in our community to support our own facility amazes me,” Lisa said. “I’ve seen firsthand what a difference it makes in cancer care. I feel like every ticket purchased in the Thunder Bay 50/50 improves our cancer care just a little bit more.”
You can help thousands of cancer patients every year! Buy your Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets right now at: ThunderBay5050.ca or donate to the Northern Cancer Fund at healthsciencesfoundation.ca/donate-now or by calling (807) 345-HOPE (4673).
Photo caption:
Lisa says the cancer care she received was as good as she would have gotten anywhere else in Ontario. “Everything was top of the line, advanced, sometimes futuristic even, especially in the radiation therapy department.” Funds from the 50/50 draws contribute to improvements and upgrades at our cancer clinic.