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Help Suzanne Aucoin
Nov 12, 2007 - The St. Catharines Standard
She touched us all; Cancer advocate finds peace in final moments
Her acceptance finally came with a slight smile and a single tear as she slipped away.
With her two brothers and a close friend at her bedside, cancer fighter Suzanne
Aucoin died early Sunday morning - nearly two weeks after she was admitted to
Hospice Niagara's palliative care centre in St. Catharines.
Suzanne, 37, an outspoken advocate for improved health care for Ontario cancer
patients, died at about 3 a.m.
"She opened her eyes. She was happy. She smiled. She had one tear come out of her
eye, and I swear it was a tear of joy. She was at peace," brother Gerald recounted
Sunday night at his mother's home in Port Dalhousie.
Gerald, 35, and brother Brendan, 34, said they were grateful to be at their sister's side.
Both men live in Los Angeles and returned to St. Catharines last week in time to be
with Suzanne for her final few days, along with their mother, Janet.
While Suzanne wasn't able to converse near the end, she communicated occasionally
with gestures, indicating she understood what people were telling her.
"She was so beautiful when she passed, so graceful and elegant," Gerald said.
"She's our hero, and we told her that."
Suzanne's peace came after a fierce fight on two fronts - the terminal colorectal
cancer she was diagnosed with four years ago and a provincial health system she felt
doesn't provide equitable care to cancer patients.
"You can't say enough about the fight she put up. She just didn't want to go," brother
Brendan said. "She made the decision just not to accept it."
Suzanne fought much of her battle against cancer in the public eye, hoping to spur
changes to a provincial health system she argued was far too difficult for cancer
patients to navigate.
She lobbied the government to provide patients greater and easier access to cancer
drugs that are currently not funded in Ontario.
Earlier this year, Suzanne's advocacy paid off with a major victory. Ontario's
ombudsman blasted the provincial Health Ministry for mishandling Suzanne's application
to receive out-of-country coverage for cancer-fighting drugs in the U.S.
Acting on the ombudsman's recommendations, the ministry agreed to repay her about
$76,000 she spent on the cancer drug Erbitux in New York and Ontario, as well as the
legal costs she racked up trying to recover her money.
The government also announced a review of its out-of-country drug-coverage program
to ensure other patients don't get caught in the bureaucratic red tape that Suzanne
faced.
"She showed that it's OK to question our government and make sure they make
changes," Brendan said.
"Suzanne exposed a lot of weaknesses in the system for herself and how they failed
her."
And Suzanne's decision to be so public about her private life and the challenges she
faced inspired people across the province.
Among them was Rita Smith of Thorold, who supported Suzanne's fight by penning
letters to numerous politicians, arguing for improvements to the health system.
"It was dreadful what that woman went through and totally unnecessary," she said.
Instead of cancer associations raising money solely for research, Smith said she'd like
to see a centralized fund created to help cancer patients pay for medications that are
not covered through OHIP.
"If you're ill with cancer and you're on these drugs with the effects they have, do you
really have the stamina to fight?" she said.
Maurice Charbonneau watched Suzanne develop into a powerful advocate from the
time she was a young teenager.
Charbonneau, a retired principal with Niagara's Catholic school board, met Suzanne
when she began attending Holy Cross Secondary School after moving to St. Catharines.
He later hired her to serve as chaplain at St. Francis Secondary School for a year and
then put her on staff in the same position at Denis Morris.
Even as a student, Suzanne championed social justice issues and was an advocate for
schoolmates, he said.
"She was fearless. If there was an injustice, she didn't care who she had to tangle
with. I saw that in her even as a 14-year-old," he said.
Charbonneau said Suzanne displayed the same grit when it came to battling the
provincial government over inequities in funding and access to cancer drugs.
"I knew that with her courage and determination, something was going to give, and it
wasn't going to be Suzanne," he said.
Longtime friends Julie Cheevers and Michelle Carey both said Suzanne served as an
important role model.
"She's made me a stronger person. She's given me the courage to be who I am today,"
Carey said during a visit at the Aucoins' house Sunday night.
Like Charbonneau, Cheevers said Suzanne's roots as an advocate took hold early.
"In high school, she was the voice of many people, so it was never a surprise to me
that she did what she did. I always knew she would do something great," she said.
Friend Gary Bellhouse said he felt privileged to get to know Suzanne over the past few
years.
Bellhouse sits on a committee of supporters that organized fundraising activities to
help Suzanne pay for medical expenses.
"Suzanne never stopped fighting. She never gave up," he said.
"In your lifetime, you have not too many opportunities to meet really good and really
strong people. Suzanne, in her way, was one of those people."
Suzanne's mother, Janet, said she's being sustained by family, friends and supporters.
Not only is she trying to deal with the death of her daughter, but also the unexpected
death of her husband, Norm, in August.
"I've never had so many people hug me and tell me they love me in my life," she said.
"There's been someone there at every turn."
Janet said she's also comforted by Suzanne's legacy - improvements to Ontario's
health-care system that will affect cancer patients who need to follow a similar route
outside the country for access to treatment.
"She only wanted to fix the problem," she said. "She wasn't just a complainer. She was
a doer. She just wanted to change things."
Arrangements for a memorial celebration are still being finalized.
pdowns@stcatharinesstandard.ca
She touched us all; Cancer advocate finds peace in final moments
Her acceptance finally came with a slight smile and a single tear as she slipped away.
With her two brothers and a close friend at her bedside, cancer fighter Suzanne
Aucoin died early Sunday morning - nearly two weeks after she was admitted to
Hospice Niagara's palliative care centre in St. Catharines.
Suzanne, 37, an outspoken advocate for improved health care for Ontario cancer
patients, died at about 3 a.m.
"She opened her eyes. She was happy. She smiled. She had one tear come out of her
eye, and I swear it was a tear of joy. She was at peace," brother Gerald recounted
Sunday night at his mother's home in Port Dalhousie.
Gerald, 35, and brother Brendan, 34, said they were grateful to be at their sister's side.
Both men live in Los Angeles and returned to St. Catharines last week in time to be
with Suzanne for her final few days, along with their mother, Janet.
While Suzanne wasn't able to converse near the end, she communicated occasionally
with gestures, indicating she understood what people were telling her.
"She was so beautiful when she passed, so graceful and elegant," Gerald said.
"She's our hero, and we told her that."
Suzanne's peace came after a fierce fight on two fronts - the terminal colorectal
cancer she was diagnosed with four years ago and a provincial health system she felt
doesn't provide equitable care to cancer patients.
"You can't say enough about the fight she put up. She just didn't want to go," brother
Brendan said. "She made the decision just not to accept it."
Suzanne fought much of her battle against cancer in the public eye, hoping to spur
changes to a provincial health system she argued was far too difficult for cancer
patients to navigate.
She lobbied the government to provide patients greater and easier access to cancer
drugs that are currently not funded in Ontario.
Earlier this year, Suzanne's advocacy paid off with a major victory. Ontario's
ombudsman blasted the provincial Health Ministry for mishandling Suzanne's application
to receive out-of-country coverage for cancer-fighting drugs in the U.S.
Acting on the ombudsman's recommendations, the ministry agreed to repay her about
$76,000 she spent on the cancer drug Erbitux in New York and Ontario, as well as the
legal costs she racked up trying to recover her money.
The government also announced a review of its out-of-country drug-coverage program
to ensure other patients don't get caught in the bureaucratic red tape that Suzanne
faced.
"She showed that it's OK to question our government and make sure they make
changes," Brendan said.
"Suzanne exposed a lot of weaknesses in the system for herself and how they failed
her."
And Suzanne's decision to be so public about her private life and the challenges she
faced inspired people across the province.
Among them was Rita Smith of Thorold, who supported Suzanne's fight by penning
letters to numerous politicians, arguing for improvements to the health system.
"It was dreadful what that woman went through and totally unnecessary," she said.
Instead of cancer associations raising money solely for research, Smith said she'd like
to see a centralized fund created to help cancer patients pay for medications that are
not covered through OHIP.
"If you're ill with cancer and you're on these drugs with the effects they have, do you
really have the stamina to fight?" she said.
Maurice Charbonneau watched Suzanne develop into a powerful advocate from the
time she was a young teenager.
Charbonneau, a retired principal with Niagara's Catholic school board, met Suzanne
when she began attending Holy Cross Secondary School after moving to St. Catharines.
He later hired her to serve as chaplain at St. Francis Secondary School for a year and
then put her on staff in the same position at Denis Morris.
Even as a student, Suzanne championed social justice issues and was an advocate for
schoolmates, he said.
"She was fearless. If there was an injustice, she didn't care who she had to tangle
with. I saw that in her even as a 14-year-old," he said.
Charbonneau said Suzanne displayed the same grit when it came to battling the
provincial government over inequities in funding and access to cancer drugs.
"I knew that with her courage and determination, something was going to give, and it
wasn't going to be Suzanne," he said.
Longtime friends Julie Cheevers and Michelle Carey both said Suzanne served as an
important role model.
"She's made me a stronger person. She's given me the courage to be who I am today,"
Carey said during a visit at the Aucoins' house Sunday night.
Like Charbonneau, Cheevers said Suzanne's roots as an advocate took hold early.
"In high school, she was the voice of many people, so it was never a surprise to me
that she did what she did. I always knew she would do something great," she said.
Friend Gary Bellhouse said he felt privileged to get to know Suzanne over the past few
years.
Bellhouse sits on a committee of supporters that organized fundraising activities to
help Suzanne pay for medical expenses.
"Suzanne never stopped fighting. She never gave up," he said.
"In your lifetime, you have not too many opportunities to meet really good and really
strong people. Suzanne, in her way, was one of those people."
Suzanne's mother, Janet, said she's being sustained by family, friends and supporters.
Not only is she trying to deal with the death of her daughter, but also the unexpected
death of her husband, Norm, in August.
"I've never had so many people hug me and tell me they love me in my life," she said.
"There's been someone there at every turn."
Janet said she's also comforted by Suzanne's legacy - improvements to Ontario's
health-care system that will affect cancer patients who need to follow a similar route
outside the country for access to treatment.
"She only wanted to fix the problem," she said. "She wasn't just a complainer. She was
a doer. She just wanted to change things."
Arrangements for a memorial celebration are still being finalized.
pdowns@stcatharinesstandard.ca