The Christmas of 1997 was turned upside down for the Montreal mother of three. Days before the holiday she learned she had a rare tumour on her left lung. The lung was removed on Christmas Eve. Wilson was a 30-year-old non-smoker and had a six-month-old baby at home. Even her doctors were stunned.
"Everything went so fast," she says. "I didn't know what was happening to me."
Worse, Wilson had to recuperate during the infamous ice storm, which knocked out power and heat to her home for days. Eventually she turned to the Canadian Cancer Society's information service for support and help in understanding her condition. It was a life-changing call. Three years later, Wilson joined the service herself.
"Knowing there was a professional there who was with me and researching this disease too meant a lot. I felt a lot less isolated," says Wilson, a biologist and former health services worker. "One morning I woke up and said, 'I have to do this job.'"
The service is Canada's toll-free bilingual source of cancer information. Trained and caring specialists provide information about cancer and community resources. This helps newly diagnosed patients and their families understand their condition and act as informed members of their healthcare team.
Should We Treat Cancer Or Prevent Cancer?Cancer is one of the biggest killers around the world. In America alone, 25% of all deaths are related to cancer.
Many people think of cancer as a single problem but in fact, it is a number of problems spread throughout the body. Generally speaking, if cancer is caught in the early stages of development, it can be treated and cured.
Although there are several different types of cancer, the most common ones are Lung, Prostate, Breast, Testicular, Skin and Colon cancers.
Genes control the multiplication and growth of cells. If these genes are defective in the first place, then the cells ..
When you want to know more about cancer, call the Canadian Cancer Society's information service at 1 888 939-3333 or e-mail info@cis.cancer.ca.
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CancerCancer is a common illness, a complex disease. Cancer is the name given to any illness resulting from one of our body s own cells growing out of control. There are many processes that control a cell s growth and division, each of which can go wrong. Several of these control mechanisms need to be damaged before a cell becomes cancerous. The cells of our bodies grow and multiply in a process known as cell division. It must be extremely tightly controlled if all the cells in your body are to grow in the right place, and for all our organs and tissues to function properly. If cells divide too quic ..
News CanadaCancer Survivor Turns Cancer Information Specialist
