SOUTHEAST - “You have cancer.”
That’s a phrase from your doctor that stops you in your tracks. You’re so stunned that all of your questions you were going to ask go out the window. You sit there blank.
Two local women heard those very words. Vivian MacDougall of Langbank and Lois Brickley of Kennedy were both diagnosed with breast cancer.
You have many questions: Where do I go from here? What happens next? How do I deal with this? Who can I talk to? Where do I go for support?
There’s a support group out there that just might be able to help you cope.
Circle of Caring and Support for Women with Cancer is for women of any age, diagnosed with any type of cancer, to give and receive support.
Their motto is “We’re here because we’ve been there.”
MacDougall, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, originally spearheaded a support group in Kipling but it didn't go over as well as she had hoped.
“I felt that there was still a need in the rural community to have some cancer support just because if you go to the city and you don't necessarily fall into the treatment plans or you don't meet the right people you don't get all the information that you should or all the avenues that could make life better.
“So I thought I’d try to start up a group in Moosomin.”
MacDougall had the vision to start the support group and Lois Brickley agreed to help out because she'd been to all the other meetings when they first began this group in Kipling.
They started up the group in Moosomin in 2017.
“We've been going strong for the past four years with meetings once a month,” says MacDougall. “We've had 25 to 30 ladies who have come - some don't come to every meeting and some come for a while then move on. That's really what support is all about. When you need it, it should be there for you. They are good support to the newcomers in the group.”
They commented that it was really difficult during COVID. They didn't meet for quite a while last year and then started up again last fall. Although they couldn't get together as a group, a lot of the women in Moosomin still supported one another through phone calls.
“Because we have very caring people in the group, they make a phone call or a visit and encourage recently diagnosed women to join the group.”
Caregivers, spouses and family members may also need support but Brickley explains: "Our group focuses on the person who has the diagnosis and our group is for women with any cancer diagnosis."
There has been mention of that idea of welcoming spouses or caregivers to the support meetings, although on the other hand, it may be more difficult for women to open up about their experience and emotions they are going through. Sometimes the discussions are very private.
MacDougall reminisces about her experience with having breast cancer:
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. In May of that year I first went to one of the mammogram buses that were travelling out to the rural communities and from there was sent to Regina in June for further assessment and had my surgery in August.”
MacDougall remembers being very reluctant to tell anyone.
“I had surgery but didn't have to take treatments.”
“If that's the route you get to take, you don't go to the Allan Blair and find out a lot of things because you aren't part of that program so you miss out and don't necessarily get all the information that you could. I found out that living in rural Saskatchewan there aren't a lot of support systems out there.”
That was one of the reasons that MacDougall thought a group would be invaluable and beneficial in providing that information.
Through speaking with some people at the Canadian Cancer Society, they shared with her that there were workshops for leaders for breast cancer groups, and so she made a trip out to Calgary and attended one and invited Brickley along to attend the second one.
“It's an excellent training course that we attended in May 2017. I think it’s been very rewarding to see how a group can be supportive for everyone.”
Brickley relays some of the experiences that she went through as well:
“Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say to tell people you have cancer. For me, luckily, my husband did that for me.”
A person tends to worry about the other person’s reactions.
“It’s such an individual thing on how you go about telling people.”
“The experiences with treatments or after-treatment medication is so different with each person.”
Brickley says it seems like a lifetime ago that she dealt with breast cancer.
“There’s always a possibility that cancer could come back but because I don’t have aches and pains I think I’m okay. There’s no pain so I don’t think about the cancer coming back.”
Many women are quite comfortable about opening up and sharing their emotions and experiences after they have been diagnosed with cancer.
“On the other hand some women are overwhelmed by their diagnosis and just aren’t quite ready to share that news,” says MacDougall.
To all the women out there, you don’t have to wait until you’re going for treatments to be a part of this group. Feel free to come to a meeting to find out information even if it’s only been a week since you’ve been diagnosed. The other members are more than happy to lend an ear and a shoulder to lean on and share their experiences.
The support group attracts women of all ages ranging in age from 40 to 80 years old from surrounding communities, including Broadview, Rocanville, Maryfield, Kennedy, Langbank and Moosomin. They attend these meetings to share their personal experiences and share their knowledge and wisdom in hopes of helping someone else cope.
The support group holds meetings free of charge in Moosomin the second Wednesday of each month.
For more information or if you wish to attend a meeting please contact Vivian MacDougall at 306-736-3305 or email [email protected].
