Globe and Mail cancer project

[Kathleen@BCANS]

Hi, BCANS recieved this message from the Globe and Mail (Canada's National newspaper) today.

Hello,

I am a feature writer with the Globe and Mail newspaper.
This fall the Globe is putting together a major series on cancer. As
part of that series, we want to tell dozens of personal stories about
how Canadians are coping with cancer. We have chosen one day of the year
- June 15th - to tell the story of what cancer looks like in a single
day in Canada - how many Canadians are diagnosed and who they are, how
many Canadian pass away from cancer, the toll the disease takes on
patients and their families, and how are health care system is managing
the growing burden of providing timely and sensitive care.

We are looking for
Canadians for whom June 15th bears some significance in their journey
with cancer - perhaps they were diagnosed on that day, started
chemotherapy or are in the midst of chemotherapy, had surgery or entered
palliative care, told their families or celebrated their one-year or
5-year anniversary as a cancer survivor. Perhaps there are other ways
that June 15th is significant to them. We are hoping to speak to a
diverse group, young and old, and from a variety of backgrounds.

The series will highlight both gaps and successes in our
current cancer strategy, as well as providing cancer patients with more
information about the resources - like Wellspring - that are available
to them. But of course, it is important to hear from Canadians
personally, and let them tell us their stories.

I can be reached by phone at (613) 566-3616 or email
EAnderssen@globeandmail.com

Erin Anderssen

Senior Feature Writer

The Globe and Mail

[Todd Wong]

Globe and Mail: Cancer: A day in the life
- incredible stories of compassion, strength and sadness

On Saturday Nov 18th, 2006, the Globe & Mail published Cancer: A day in the life.

It is a unique look at fifty Canadian living with, or dying from cancer. Fifty stories spread throughout the country, and throughout a single day - June 15, 2006. These stories are incredibly moving. Some are inspiring. Some are sad.

I can relate to many of the stories that Globe & Mail editor Erin Anderssen has collected. From stories of chemotherapy treatment to being strong for friends and relatives, from tearful relapses to joyful recovery and accomplishing athletic endeavors - these stories will tug your heart strings.

It was 17 years ago this month, that I had my last chemotherapy treatment. It was a very fragile time in my life. My head was bald due to chemotherapy, and because the drugs killed any fast growing cells in your body, my finger nails had stopped growing, and my finger tips were slightly numb due to the drug's effects on the nerve endings. Balance was wobbly, and I lost the abiltiy to hear certains pitches of sound. But the week before Christmas, I was swinging a badminton raquet, wobbly on my feet - laughing and playing with my family.

June 21st, is always a special day for me. That was that day in 1989, when I was diagnosed with a life-threatening concer tumor. I had been gradually becoming sicker for months after initially complaining of back pain. Little did I know it was one of the warning symptoms of testicular cancer. Like in one of the stories... my doctor saw me as an athletically fit young man of 28 and did not think that behind my breast bone, a tumor would grow to the size of a large grapefruit. The doctors later told me that if I hadn't had treatment - my life expectancy from that day would have been two weeks. It was that serious. The tumor was pushing on my vena cava - restricting the blood flow to my heart, and putting pressure on my lungs, which had then filled half-way with fluid.

Upon reading the stories in the Globe & Mail, I thought back to what I was doing on June 15th 2006. This year I was busy preparing the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team for the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival that weekend. I was also getting my accordion ready to help send off the Head Tax redress train to Ottawa which would leave Vancouver on June 16th, and arrive in time for the Government's offical apology for the Head Tax and Exclusion Act on June 22nd.

Some people say "the cancer's gone - you're healthy now - get over it." But I am always a cancer survivor, and the experience stays with you for the rest of your life. I try to watch my health, eat good foods, exercise, reduce stress. As a Terry's Team member, each year I speak at Terry Fox Run sites in the Greater Vancouver area, as well as at elementary schools, serving as a living example that cancer research has helped to make a difference. Every now and then, people who experience health crises ask me for guidance about recovery. It's always good to talk to a walking success story. I guess that's what I am.

Here's a picture of Todd Wong (me) with Doug Alward (Terry Fox's best friend) and Terry Fleming (Terry Fox's high school basketball coach) at the 2005 25th Anniversary "Hometown Run" in Coquitlam. - photo Deb Martin

It's strange to think of the things that I would not have been involved in if I had died of cancer 17 years ago. But it's true... The Toddish McWong's Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner would not exist. None of it's spin-offs would exist: the CBC television special "Gung Haggis Fat Choy", Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry Night at the Vancouver Public Library or the SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games. There would be no Taiwanese Dragon Boat Races in Vancouver, since I was the first to present the idea to the Taiwanese Cultural Festival and the Dragon Boat Association, and certainly no Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team. I wouldn't have been guest speaker at the 1993 Terry Fox Run in Beijing, China, nor any of the years or events since. I wouldn't have helped create the Asian Canadian Writer's Workshop's Pioneer Community Dinners, nor the inaugural One Book One Vancouver program for the Vancouver Public Library. I wouldn't have been present on the campaign to save historic Joy Kogawa House or Chinese Head Tax Redress campaign,

We all have a life, and we make choices with how we live it. I am glad that I have been able to help enrich my community, and the lives of people that I connect with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Globe & Mail is also doing some interactive stuff, for Cancer: A day in the life. The are inviting readers to join the Conversation and submit your stories using the comment function on the left side of the page. We will publish here all the submissions that meet our guidelines. We will also choose a few stories each day to highlight at the bottom of this article.

We'd also like to invite you to share your photos and images. Please e-mail them as attachments to sendusyourphotos@globeandmail.com.

Here are some significant articles about my cancer experience and my experiences as a Terry's Team member.

Terry Fox Run Day - I go to the Port Coquitlam "Hometown Run"
by Todd on Sun 18 Sep 2005 06:01 PM PDT
Terry Fox Run: The Day After... Why do I run?
by Todd on Mon 19 Sep 2005 10:55 PM PDT

2006 Terry Fox Run in Richmond BC - pictures
by Todd on Mon 18 Sep 2006 11:42 PM PDT
2nd Annual National School Run Day for Terry Fox - I speak at Tomsett School
by Todd on Sat 30 Sep 2006 11:58 PM PDT




www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com (http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/20/2515565.html)
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2005/10/1/1780355.html