She took me to emergency where they did a CAT scan and to our shock, they found a brain tumour. Within 48 hours, instead of getting on a plane for our holiday in NYC, I had brain surgery. The next day, in the neurosurgery recovery unit, I could not tell the nurses my name, the date or where I was without prompts. Thankfully, I improved quickly, and I was sent home in three days.

The tumour was sent to pathology and unfortunately it came back as glioblastoma. With this type of cancer, it?s important to start treatment promptly, ideally four weeks after the surgery. My treatment started after nine weeks due to the sheer volume of cancer in Newfoundland, multiple times the national average.

In mid-August, I finished my 6-week concurrent treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. It went well with no ill-effects except trouble with sleep and hair loss at the radiation site. I will be starting the second part of my treatment this coming week: 6 months of chemotherapy only.

If you are in the St. John's area and would like to walk with us. The event starts at 9am and the walk starts at 10:30 at Paradise Park.