Councillor Belinda Crowson
Thank you to Councillor Belinda Crowson for chatting with us about her experience with cancer, in recognition of World Cancer Day, February 4.
“I was incredibly fortunate because I had all my treatment here in Lethbridge, and most of my family lives around. I had a lot of support from people I didn't even realize. Somebody I've known my whole life made me a blanket, and I ended up getting a cat from one of my best friends because she said I needed somebody to keep me company. People helped pay to clean my house—I was incredibly blessed.
“I don't think people who haven’t had cancer realize how incredibly tired you are. It's the exhaustion that you probably will never have in your life again, and day-to-day stuff can get really difficult. From the most basic needs to somebody to talk to, you're always needing support.
“That's one of the first questions I was asked when I got my diagnosis. The RN asked, ‘Do you have a support system?’ The medical system is very aware that your chance of surviving, your chance of getting through it, increases dramatically if you have a support system.
“I went through it quite publicly because I kept working throughout the entire thing. When you lose your hair, it becomes quite obvious! I had a rare aggressive type of breast cancer which has a 50/50 chance of returning, but right now I'm cancer free since last April.
“When you're in something like cancer, you don't know how long it's going to take, where you're going to go, how hard it's going to hit you. There are so many unknowns. Relying on groups like Wellspring Alberta or anybody who can give you some knowledge and support is essential. It’s one of the most frightening things you ever going to go through because you know theoretically your survival but you also have that fear that, ‘what if I'm the one who doesn't survive? What if mine is worse than they think?’”
“Cancer is full of questions and unknowns—you don't know how you're going to react or what's going to happen, so having somebody who's gone through it, who has some idea what you're going to deal with, is absolutely vital.
“There's medical stress, there's financial stress, there's family stress, and there's the stress of wondering whether you're going to survive.
“I don't think there's anybody who hasn't been affected by it—most of us will go through some form of cancer ourselves or have somebody close go through it. I walk for the Terry Fox run every year if I can. When you know how much money is going into research, and how dramatic the improvement has been in some areas of cancer, it's amazing how much better your chance of survival is now compared to 20 or 30 years ago.
“You don't even think until you're in it how many ways a volunteer or family member is going to provide support. Every appointment I went to involving information I had somebody with a notepad with me to write things down. When you talk to a doctor you don't always hear what they're saying because you're in a panic mode. Next appointments, what your blood counts were, if white blood counts aren't high enough, whether you can get the next treatment, and all those sorts of things are just overwhelming. I still have my scribblers of every meeting I went to. If you're lucky enough to have that family support available, it's wonderful. But if you don't, you need somebody else.
“Ask for help. Do not be too proud to ask for help because everybody who goes through cancer needs help. However you can get help, ask for it. Groups like Cancer Connect with Wellspring Alberta or survivors groups, whatever it is you need, you'll find it in the community if you're looking for it. How wonderful it is that we have so many services now in Lethbridge.”
Thank you to Belinda Crowson for Lethbridge City Council for everything you do for our community.
