Health Care Stories

Health care journeys carry with them an array of complex challenges. Donors of our Foundation directly support our friends, families and neighbours by allowing them to focus on their health, rather than their finances, during some of their most vulnerable days. The following stories account the very real experiences of Cape Bretoners undergoing various health care journeys, and how donor generosity has impacted their lives.

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Kristin Crowe

To the valued donors of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation: As a medical social worker at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital (CBRH), I want to personally thank you – from the bottom of my heart – for the direct and positive impact you’re making in the lives of patients and in health care in…

Dan MacDonald

My wife has always been a strong person. But I never realized just how strong until this past year: She was called into the hospital three separate times, being told I wouldn’t make it through the night. In 2022, I contracted pneumonia, and afterwards, COVID-19. After a visit to my doctor, it was suggested I…

Gordon MacDonald

Two decades ago, I was told I had less than six months to live. But I’m here to tell my story, 23 years later, because the Cape Breton Cancer Centre saved my life. When I was 37 years old, climbing a hill on my postal route, I found myself gasping and wheezing for air. I felt…

Tanya Howley

For my 40th birthday, I booked a mammogram. You see, I’m a rule follower, and in Nova Scotia, 40 is the recommended age for your first annual screening. Never in a million years did I expect they would find anything. In fact, I still don’t believe it’s true, but the scars on my body prove otherwise….

Allan MacDonald

These past few years have been tough on most of us, myself included. In fact, this past year has been the hardest of my life. I’ve spent almost every single day at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, watching several of my loved ones be cared for by health care professionals. Some outcomes have been positive,…

Erin MacEachen

It was Thanksgiving Day when I first found a lump. I had recently finished breastfeeding my daughter, Emma, and thought it was common for women to have cysts appear afterwards, so it was likely no big deal. I went about my day and my husband, Jody, and I continued to cook turkey dinner for my…

Shannon Forrester

Health is not something my family and I have ever taken for granted. My mom’s chronic illness began when she was just 30 years old and, since then, she’s had a great deal of complications. None more devastating, though, than being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. My name is Shannon Forrester. Although my mother, Eileen Forrester, was…

Lisa MacEachern-Burns

When I was a child, I would hear the word “cancer,” and think it was simply something my grandparents had. As I got older, it became something I donate to. But now, I have a much deeper understanding of the word. Because now, it’s become a part of my day-to-day life. My name is Lisa…

Alexandra Szeto

When I was just 19 years old, I felt like my life was spiraling out of control, and that I was losing everything I had worked so hard to achieve. I had just graduated high school, began my university studies, and was making important decisions for my future. But…life had other plans. My name is…

Petra Buis

My fiancé Andrew and I have always wanted a family. We excitedly began family planning in October 2018, and felt lucky to become pregnant eight months later, in May of 2019. We shared this joy with one another but were waiting until we made it to 12 weeks – the “safe stage” – to share our…

Julie MacKinnon

On my 50th birthday, I received the most devastating news. They had found a mass: My husband of 27 years, Brent, had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. “I’m so sorry I have this now and you have to go through it again,” he said. My response was, “I’m here. I’ve been through this. I know what to do.”…

Carrie Ann Maloney

“Cancer doesn’t define me, but it is threatening to take away everything weworked so hard for. It is relentless and cruel.” Carrie Ann Maloney knows she’ll never ring the bell to signify that she’s cancer free, but shecontinues to fight. She fights for something most precious: time with her family, which she and herhusband worked…

Tanya Jessome

“When I was first diagnosed with bladder cancer, I was absolutely devastated. I was only 38 years old and the word ‘cancer’ was terrifying. I was a young Mom of three, living in Bras d’Or, and I wasn’t ready to battle this disease. It was May of 2014, but it feels like it was just…

Cayla Toomey

Cayla Toomey couldn’t remember her wedding day. Not because she was caught up in the moment, or because it was a whirlwind day. She doesn’t remember her wedding because she was barely conscious, and her family thought she was breathing some of her last breaths. On April 9, 2020, Cayla first visited the hospital with severe…

Brenda’s Story

“When I was told I had stage II pancreatic cancer, it was like the wind was taken from me. Time stood still for a moment, but it seemed like forever. Then I heard my sister’s voice saying, “We will get through this.” I knew we would. My name is Brenda McCarthy and stereotactic body radiation is my…

Jennifer MacDonald

“I could have gone back to have all my cancer treatment at Mass General Hospital, America’s #1 Research Hospital and Harvard Medical School’s original and largest teaching hospital, but I wanted to have my treatment at home – and that’s what Cape Breton is to me. My name is Jennifer MacDonald and I found a lump in…

Caleb William MacArthur

Caleb’s Courage celebrates the life, love, & legacy of a beautiful, brave little boy named Caleb William MacArthur. On his third birthday, Caleb was diagnosed with cancer – Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma (a rare childhood cancer that starts in immature nerve cells and ultimately forms solid tumours). Just as Caleb’s cancer journey began so did…

Harland Fraser

“I’m starting to feel much better. I don’t have to get chemotherapy anymore and I don’t feel as sick. My name is Harland Fraser and I was diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. The kind of cancer that I had is only in 4% of kids who have cancer, so it’s kind of rare,…

Danielle’s Story

I thought this past December would be my last Christmas. I honestly did. I didn’t know how I was going to explain this to my 4 daughters… After a diagnosis of cancer, I felt as though my world came crashing down around me. I felt like my life had completely shattered. I’m 37-years old, I…

Jeff Mills

My life was almost cut short this year. I survived, but without proper cardiac care and operating room equipment, many won’t. The Executioner. That was the name of the boat I was asked to help fix. It’s also a fitting name for the boat that nearly took my life. After diving beneath to repair the vessel,…

Claire’s Story

It was an act of kindness that offered Claire’s two children some sense of normalcy when she was battling cancer at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. It was your donations that gave them comfort. She was here in Cape Breton, but they were 200 kilometers away in Antigonish. At only 9 and 6, they needed comfort…

Autumn MacDonald

The sun dances on the right side of seventeen year old Autumn MacDonald’s face as she reflects on the shadows of her past. “I always felt like people were looking at me,” she explains about her struggle with social anxiety. “I would hide under the covers, not wanting to get out of bed. I would…

Island Breast Friends

A group of 5 women, called the Island Breast Friends have been raising money for Breast Cancer for nearly 14 years. On October 29th, they presented the Cancer Patient Care Fund with $8,500 to support cancer patients facing financial stuggles as a result of their diagnosis. The gorup, consiting of: Patsy MacDonald, Heather Mcneil, Wanda Macdonnell, Valerie Carrigan Agnes…

The Laurendeau Family

Can you imagine spending a decade wishing for one special miracle? Well, my wife, Tanya, and I did—you helped our wish come true. For 10 years, Tanya and I tried to have a baby. Doctors confirmed that we were in good health, but we knew that even if we weren’t able to conceive we could…

Laura MacNeil

Laura MacNeil and her husband Dan prepared for what would be one of the best blessings in life; the birth of their first child. Laura, a psychologist (candidate register) at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, had a healthy and enjoyable pregnancy. She and Dan eagerly awaited the arrival of their new addition and were thrilled…

Tanya Gracie

“Every day when I wake up, I live every day for that day,” reveals Tanya Gracie. At 38, she is a mom, a wife, an entrepreneur, and a patient at the Cape Breton Cancer Centre. “I knew something wasn’t right,” Tanya reflects on the months leading up to her diagnosis last year with bladder cancer….

Greg MacLean

Pressing his hands against a warm cup of tea, sixty-six year old Greg MacLean of Sydney River tells his nurse Margaret a story about his three and a half year old granddaughter, Ella. As Margaret hooks him up for 3.5 hours of chemotherapy treatment in the Cape Breton Cancer Centre, Greg settles in and has…

Dylan Mombourquette

He’ll never admit it, but he’s kind of a legend around here. Dylan Mombourquette is not only well-known for his years of punk rock in the Cape Breton music scene, as a drummer for Ricochet, session work with Lakewind Studios, Christmas Daddies and some other familiar local bands, but his cancer diagnosis was spark that…

Jason Fedora

“I can’t say I’ve had an easy life. I’ve had my struggles and my demons, but cancer was by far the worst. My name is Jason Fedora and I’ve spent a lot of my life in Alberta, but I’m a Cape Bretoner, through and through. Currently, the status of my cancer is that it’s gone,…

Ellen MacKenzie

This year, Ellen MacKenzie was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Everybody has that one thing in their lives that gives them incredible strength and determination. Something that offers them power that they never knew they had and allows them to overcome any physical or emotional obstacle. Mine is my five year old granddaughter, Neico. My name…

Joan Hardy

I give monthly and I do it in memory of Joan.” Sid Hardy lost his wife, Joan Hardy, 13 years ago. A beautiful life was cut short because of cancer. Sid sat down to tell us about Joan and her giving spirit that lives on. “I feel her with me every day,” Sid smiles with tearful eyes.”…

Danielle MacKinnon

“I have two daughters, Kinsley is 18 months old and Aselin is 4. Your children should never have to see you go through what mine have seen me go through this past year. They have had to see me so sick, weak and in pain and in such fear for my life. My name is…

Connor McLellan

“Everyone is afraid to say it,” Chelsea McLellan says boldly. “Suicide – nobody wants to talk about it.” At 21 years old, Chelsea hopes to someday pursue a career in psychology – but for her, the terrifying truth about suicide became real less than one year ago. “My brother was so intelligent and bright,” she…

Patrick Joseph Burns

In the months after Patrick Joseph Burns died (on August 17, 2020) his daughter, Cheryl Gallagher, on behalf of her siblings, Kim Luke, and Todd and Stanley Burns, proudly notified the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation of their father’s gift of $200,000 as earmarked in his will – $100,000 toward the NICU and $100,000 toward…