SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - When Hazel Hilchey was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 42, she was worried she would no longer be able to care for her family, keep up with the demands of work or see her granddaughter grow up.
“There was no family history when I was diagnosed. I exercised regularly, had a good diet, and yet I still got cancer,” said Hilchey, who participated in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay For Life at Queen Elizabeth Park on Saturday evening. She reflected, “I remember driving home and crying my eyes out.”
The cancer spread from her left breast to the lymph nodes.
“I needed to have a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. I thought the big ‘C’ was a death sentence. It was just the way people viewed it back then,” explained Hilchey.
“I had a two-year-old granddaughter at the time and one of the things I always hoped for was that I would live long enough for her to get to know me.”
When a cancer survivor came to visit Hilchey, a light was sparked.
“She was happy, talking, living, I couldn’t believe it. It gave me hope. I decided after treatment I wanted to pass the gift of hope on, so I signed up as a volunteer to visit ladies having cancer treatments because it’s what made me pull through.”
Hilchey, now aged 72, fulfilled her wish to see her granddaughter mature, get married and have four kids of her own.
“Being at the Relay for Life brings back those memories of when you had cancer, but it also makes you happy that you had this many years a healthy life. You really do appreciate the small things and don’t take anything for granted,” she said.
More than 100 survivors participated in Summerside’s Relay For Life that kicked off at 6 p.m. Marjorie Mutch was among them. In 2002, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The doctor called me and I was so excited with relief when the needle biopsy came back negative, but when the surgeon talked to me and said it’s a lump and shouldn’t be there, I decided to go ahead with the removal. The report came back positive on the lump, it was cancer,” said Mutch.
“I isolated myself when I was sick. I didn’t want to see anyone because I had to accept the diagnosis first. It was very hard losing my hair, eyebrows and eye lashes too. I just looked in the mirror and would think that there was not much of me left,” shared Mutch, who had chemotherapy for six months, followed by 60 treatments of radiation.
“When I joined the Look Good Feel Better Program it gave me back my confidence. I got my wig and then the makeup arrived. My daughter in Toronto sent me scarfs for my head too. Being a psychiatric nurse I knew I had to keep positive, as well as for my family because it was hard for them too.”
Mutch, now aged 72, has never missed a Relay For Life since her diagnosis 16 years ago.
“To see all those yellow sweaters and survivors gets me so pumped. I think my sense of spirituality, my positive attitude, and a family that were so supportive got me through. My advice is to keep a positive attitude, never give up and pray. It worked for me,” she concluded.
Relay For Life is an annual signature fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. Its mission is to eradicate cancer, as well as improve the lives of those on the journey.
Last year Canada raised $40 million.
“This money also goes towards wigs for women, peer support programs, financial support, its huge in providing all the funds that make that possible,” said Kathleen Murphy, event coordinator from the Canadian Cancer Society.
For more information on the Look Good Feel Better national program offered free of charge for women living with cancer go to www.lgfb.ca/en. To learn about the Relay For Life visit, www.cancer.ca.
