Welcome to My Personal Page
25 days. 25 days is the amount of time I had with my mother from the time she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to the day she died.
On July 2, 2022, my 71-year old mother went to the ER with stomach pain that had been ongoing for a few weeks. She had recently been put on new medication for a recent diabetes diagnosis (which we would later find out was actually related to her cancer), and was told the stomach pain was a normal side effect of the medication that she just needed to wait out. My mom, sister, niece and I were preparing to leave on a trip to Paris and Amsterdam one week later on July 9, and she wanted to get her medication sorted out before we left. We would never leave for that trip, as late in the afternoon of July 2 an ER doctor would tell her that imaging showed cancer in her pancreas, stomach, liver, and bowel.
The next 20 days were a blur of doctor's appointments, trips to the ER for pain management, tears, sleepless nights, tests, and other medical procedures, while we waited for results from the biopsy to determine her treatment options. By day 20, still without results from a biopsy, we were told that her liver was shutting down from the cancer, and there were simply no treatment options that could possibly address the disease that was raging inside of her. She moved to Lisaard House Hospice in Cambridge, Ontario on July 22, where we would spend every minute of her final 6 days together as a family. At exactly 5:30pm on Wednesday July 27, together with my father and sister, I watched my kind, caring, larger-than-life mother take her last breath.
My mom was one of a kind. She was the most caring and selfless person I have ever met. She had a talent of always making people feel included, she genuinely cared about every person she met, and she always put others ahead of herself. Her absence has left a hole in our entire family that can never be filled, but her legacy of love will stay with us always.
My goal is to raise awareness and funds to help other families from having to endure what our family did this past summer. There are two ways to participate in events in honour of my mom and Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month.
For those in the Waterloo, Ontario, region, there is a by-donation spin class happening on November 20 at 1pm at the spin studio Hustl & Flow (https://www.hustlandflow.com/). Tickets are $35 each, with all proceeds going to Pancreatic Cancer Canada to support research and support programs dedicated to raising the rate of pancreatic cancer survival. Please email rideforpancan@gmail.com to purchase tickets and reserve your bike! Space is limited for the ride, so book today to avoid disappointment.
You can also particpate in an incredible online auction and take home amazing items donated by local businesses. The auction will run from Saturday November 12 to Sunday November 20, and can be accessed here: https://can.givergy.com/rideforpancan. All proceeds from the auction will also go to Pancreatic Cancer Canada.
Thank you for your support. Know the risk factors. Know the early signs. But most of all, cherish moments with your loved ones. You never know when the next 25 days might be their last.
Juliana
If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.