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Help Suzanne Aucoin
Nov 12, 2007 - The St. Catharines Standard
St. Catharines Standard (ON)
Local, Monday, November 12, 2007, p. A3
Suzanne's legacy
In Canada, the name Terry Fox is synonymous with fighting cancer and raising
money for cancer research.
And rightly so.
But Niagara, in its own little corner of this country, lays claim to its own
cancer hero: Suzanne Aucoin.
Suzanne didn't battle the elements while attempting a nationwide Marathon of
Hope on one leg.
She may not have become a national figure.
But Suzanne had the courage to fight a long, hard battle with cancer, and
had the fortitude to wage most of her battle in the public spotlight.
Suzanne thought she had cancer beaten. But the 30-something chaplain at
Denis Morris High School was rocked in 2003 when she was diagnosed with
terminal colorectal cancer, which soon spread to her liver and lungs.
She could have gone home quietly and succumbed to the disease.
But she didn't.
Instead, Suzanne fought her cancer for four years and became a crusader for
broader and more equitable access to cancer-fighting drugs in Ontario.
She stared down the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care over its coverage
of out-of-country cancer treatments. She won a backer in Ontario Ombudsman
Andre Marin, who blasted the ministry in a scathing report earlier this
year.
Marin's investigation revealed a flawed process that is extremely
complicated for sick patients and their physicians to understand and
navigate.
"There's a whole cloak-and-dagger (approach) by the Ministry of Health,"
Marin said in January. "It's as if they hand a dying cancer patient a
Rubik's Cube and they've got to figure it out themselves. It's a real cruel
game."
As a result, the ministry agreed to repay Suzanne about $76,000 that she had
spent on the intravenous drug Erbitux. It also agreed to conduct a review of
out-of-country coverage, but that has yet to be completed.
Suzanne's victory against the ministry is a victory for all of Ontario's
cancer patients.
That is her legacy.
The word hero gets thrown around a lot, and is often undeserved or
misunderstood.
But not in Suzanne's case.
Suzanne Aucoin is a hero in every sense of the word. We will miss her.
Suzanne's victory against the Ministry of Health will benefit all cancer
patients
St. Catharines Standard (ON)
Local, Monday, November 12, 2007, p. A3
Suzanne's legacy
In Canada, the name Terry Fox is synonymous with fighting cancer and raising
money for cancer research.
And rightly so.
But Niagara, in its own little corner of this country, lays claim to its own
cancer hero: Suzanne Aucoin.
Suzanne didn't battle the elements while attempting a nationwide Marathon of
Hope on one leg.
She may not have become a national figure.
But Suzanne had the courage to fight a long, hard battle with cancer, and
had the fortitude to wage most of her battle in the public spotlight.
Suzanne thought she had cancer beaten. But the 30-something chaplain at
Denis Morris High School was rocked in 2003 when she was diagnosed with
terminal colorectal cancer, which soon spread to her liver and lungs.
She could have gone home quietly and succumbed to the disease.
But she didn't.
Instead, Suzanne fought her cancer for four years and became a crusader for
broader and more equitable access to cancer-fighting drugs in Ontario.
She stared down the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care over its coverage
of out-of-country cancer treatments. She won a backer in Ontario Ombudsman
Andre Marin, who blasted the ministry in a scathing report earlier this
year.
Marin's investigation revealed a flawed process that is extremely
complicated for sick patients and their physicians to understand and
navigate.
"There's a whole cloak-and-dagger (approach) by the Ministry of Health,"
Marin said in January. "It's as if they hand a dying cancer patient a
Rubik's Cube and they've got to figure it out themselves. It's a real cruel
game."
As a result, the ministry agreed to repay Suzanne about $76,000 that she had
spent on the intravenous drug Erbitux. It also agreed to conduct a review of
out-of-country coverage, but that has yet to be completed.
Suzanne's victory against the ministry is a victory for all of Ontario's
cancer patients.
That is her legacy.
The word hero gets thrown around a lot, and is often undeserved or
misunderstood.
But not in Suzanne's case.
Suzanne Aucoin is a hero in every sense of the word. We will miss her.
Suzanne's victory against the Ministry of Health will benefit all cancer
patients