Reacting, Accepting, Fighting and Overcoming the beast
Dominique Dagenais – currently in remission – and her son Maxime Joly-Smith are launching a fund to raise awareness and help diagnose Ovarian and Endometrial Cancer in its early stages. Proceeds will be directed toward Dr. Lucy Gilbert’s DOvEE Project at the Cedars Cancer Foundation.
On January 21, 2015 my mother received the unexpected and devastating diagnosis of stage 3 ovarian cancer. Commonly referred to as the “silent killer”, ovarian cancer has few to no symptoms. Therefore her diagnosis after a routine operation came as a shock to us all.
Our blessed family life was turned upside-down as we navigated the daunting and precarious world of a cancer diagnosis. Within weeks of being diagnosed, my mother undertook numerous tests, undergoing a hysterectomy on February 3, 2015, followed by weekly chemotherapy treatments.
Then in November 2016, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor which was linked to the ovarian cancer diagnosis.
Her determination, courage and amazing physical fitness have greatly helped her in this battle. The support and love from her family and friends have shifted the odds in her favour.
My world crumbled after my mother’s diagnosis and re-occurance. I found myself wondering what I could do for someone who had so selflessly done so much for me, when it occurred to me to start a fund to raise awareness and aid in diagnosing ovarian and endometrial cancer early.
These frightening and life changing experiences have brought me to a simple conclusion, that all women deserve a second chance at the gift called life!
- 1/72 women in Canada will be affected by ovarian/endometrial cancer.
- 70% of these women will be diagnosed with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer (stage 3-4), reducing their chances of survival.
- The survival rate of a late ovarian cancer diagnosis is only 10-30%.
- Early diagnosis of this cancer has a survival rate of 93%.
That is why this disease needs much more attention, because there are still too many women dying due to late detection and lack of education.