Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Sharon Daley has been affected by cancer for most of her life, losing family members and being diagnosed herself.
But for the past 18 months she has been living cancer-free and remains optimistic and confident in clinical research.
sa国际传媒淚 sincerely do believe in the power and purpose of research,sa国际传媒� says Daley.
A daughter, mother and grandmother, Daley, 68 lost her father to lung cancer in the 1960s sa国际传媒� a type that today, thanks to research, is curable. She also lost a granddaughter, Paige, to brain cancer in 2003 at the age of 10, who had also been admitted to a clinical study that is likely to have prolonged her life.
In the late fall of 2011, Daley herself was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Within a month of receiving the news, she had undergone surgery and by the spring of 2012, Sharon was treated with both chemotherapy and radiation at the BC Cancer Agency Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior.
There, she was cured and given a clean bill of health. But just before her four year mark of being completely cancer-free, she noticed some irregularities, swiftly booking an appointment with her gynecologist. In the appointment her doctor noticed a mass, and after being biopsied, the results concluded it was, in fact, cancerous.
With two MRIsa国际传媒檚 less than two weeks apart, her oncologist, Dr. Juanita Crook, expressed to Sharon she was not a candidate for surgery, but thought she would be an ideal candidate for another treatment sa国际传媒� High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy sa国际传媒� part of a new clinical trial.
Sharon made the decision to take part in the clinical trial because of her faith in her oncologist and the BC Cancer Agency.
sa国际传媒淗aving that faith that my oncologist and gynecologist were there for me and everybody at BC Cancer was there for me sa国际传媒� it was a very personalized experience.sa国际传媒�
The treatment itself involved very invasive preparation and was quite lengthy. Although extensive and intensive, Daley says she would do it again if she had to.
Sharon finished her treatment within three months, eradicating the tumour and she is now 18 months cancer free. She continues to have regular check-ups and feels quite confident again.
sa国际传媒淢y granddaughter, Paige, has been my strength behind me,sa国际传媒� says Daley. sa国际传媒淪he was the one in my corner encouraging me sa国际传媒� I did it, you can do it too.sa国际传媒�
The BC Cancer Foundation is raising $600,000 to support the expansion of the BC Cancer Agencysa国际传媒檚 clinical research program sa国际传媒� to save more lives like Daleysa国际传媒檚a国际传媒檚.
The expansion will allow researchers to make breakthroughs that will directly benefit British Columbians sa国际传媒� roughly 77,000 of whom will require cancer care this year.
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