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Help Suzanne Aucoin
Nov 12, 2007 - The St. Catharines Standard
Suzanne inspired other cancer fighters
They shared far more in common than their first names.
Suzanne Aucoin of St. Catharines and Suzanne Lindley of Texas were brought together
by a common battle.
Both women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer when they were young — Aucoin
at 28 and Lindley at 31.
And both were determined to defeat the disease through advocacy for improved
health care and their own research into the latest, most-promising treatments.
“I think we inspired each other,” Lindley said Monday night from her home outside of
Dallas. “She always used to say I was a big inspiration to her, but I know she was the
same for me.”
Like countless people touched by Aucoin’s bravery and determination, Lindley was
mourning her friend’s passing.
Aucoin, 37, died early Sunday — four years after the colon cancer she thought she’d
beaten came back.
“She had this zest for life that so many people don’t have. When you’re faced with
something like this, I think you either become a victim or a survivor, and she definitely
became a survivor,” Lindley said.
Lindley, 40, has been living with a terminal diagnosis for nine years.
She said she and Aucoin frequently shared research about new approaches to fighting
the disease and attended conferences on colon cancer together.
“I figured she would outlive me. I knew that things were going downhill for her, but it’
s a shock,” she said.
Aucoin’s activism for more equitable health care and greater access to cancer-fighting
drugs in Ontario will benefit thousands of people, said Colleen Savage, president and
CEO of the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada.
“She pulled hope out of thin air and made it a real possibility for people,” she said.
Earlier this year, Ontario’s ombudsman was highly critical of the provincial Health
Ministry for mishandling Aucoin’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.
“What an amazing life — 37 years old and look what she did,” Savage said. “She carved
a swath through an injustice that was just so intolerable to her, not just because she
was sick but because it was wrong and she wasn’t the only person affected by it.”
Burlington resident Wendy Mundell got to know Aucoin after her own diagnosis with
terminal colon cancer in January 2006.
Mundell, 42, said she was stunned at the time to learn an intravenous medication that
offered her a chance to slow her cancer’s growth — called Avasten — was not funded
by the province’s health insurance plan.
As she prepared to launch her own advocacy campaign to get better access to funded
cancer drugs, she came across Aucoin’s website (www.helpsuzanne.com) and saw she
had already begun pushing for the same thing.
She contacted Aucoin, who pointed her in the right direction to begin navigating the
health system.
Mundell also joined a group Aucoin co-founded last year — the Colorectal Cancer
Resource Action Network — to provide people across the province with the latest
information on treatment options.
“I’ve definitely been taking my cue from Suzanne to a degree,” Mundell said.
“Suzanne was such an inspiration and so full of knowledge and willing to share it.”
Toronto resident Adam Beldycki also said Aucoin helped him find his way after he was
diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2006.
“She’s inspired a lot of people by going public with her story,” said Beldycki, who
turns 32 in a couple of weeks. “By doing so, I don’t know if it really helped her, but it
certainly helped me a lot. I appreciate her doing it.”
Staff at Denis Morris High School, where Aucoin worked as a chaplain, held a prayer
service Monday morning to begin coming to terms with Aucoin’s death.
“I think that was comforting for all of us,” principal Tony Bozza said. “We prayed
together, we grieved and we celebrated her life.”
Suzanne inspired other cancer fighters
They shared far more in common than their first names.
Suzanne Aucoin of St. Catharines and Suzanne Lindley of Texas were brought together
by a common battle.
Both women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer when they were young — Aucoin
at 28 and Lindley at 31.
And both were determined to defeat the disease through advocacy for improved
health care and their own research into the latest, most-promising treatments.
“I think we inspired each other,” Lindley said Monday night from her home outside of
Dallas. “She always used to say I was a big inspiration to her, but I know she was the
same for me.”
Like countless people touched by Aucoin’s bravery and determination, Lindley was
mourning her friend’s passing.
Aucoin, 37, died early Sunday — four years after the colon cancer she thought she’d
beaten came back.
“She had this zest for life that so many people don’t have. When you’re faced with
something like this, I think you either become a victim or a survivor, and she definitely
became a survivor,” Lindley said.
Lindley, 40, has been living with a terminal diagnosis for nine years.
She said she and Aucoin frequently shared research about new approaches to fighting
the disease and attended conferences on colon cancer together.
“I figured she would outlive me. I knew that things were going downhill for her, but it’
s a shock,” she said.
Aucoin’s activism for more equitable health care and greater access to cancer-fighting
drugs in Ontario will benefit thousands of people, said Colleen Savage, president and
CEO of the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada.
“She pulled hope out of thin air and made it a real possibility for people,” she said.
Earlier this year, Ontario’s ombudsman was highly critical of the provincial Health
Ministry for mishandling Aucoin’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.
“What an amazing life — 37 years old and look what she did,” Savage said. “She carved
a swath through an injustice that was just so intolerable to her, not just because she
was sick but because it was wrong and she wasn’t the only person affected by it.”
Burlington resident Wendy Mundell got to know Aucoin after her own diagnosis with
terminal colon cancer in January 2006.
Mundell, 42, said she was stunned at the time to learn an intravenous medication that
offered her a chance to slow her cancer’s growth — called Avasten — was not funded
by the province’s health insurance plan.
As she prepared to launch her own advocacy campaign to get better access to funded
cancer drugs, she came across Aucoin’s website (www.helpsuzanne.com) and saw she
had already begun pushing for the same thing.
She contacted Aucoin, who pointed her in the right direction to begin navigating the
health system.
Mundell also joined a group Aucoin co-founded last year — the Colorectal Cancer
Resource Action Network — to provide people across the province with the latest
information on treatment options.
“I’ve definitely been taking my cue from Suzanne to a degree,” Mundell said.
“Suzanne was such an inspiration and so full of knowledge and willing to share it.”
Toronto resident Adam Beldycki also said Aucoin helped him find his way after he was
diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2006.
“She’s inspired a lot of people by going public with her story,” said Beldycki, who
turns 32 in a couple of weeks. “By doing so, I don’t know if it really helped her, but it
certainly helped me a lot. I appreciate her doing it.”
Staff at Denis Morris High School, where Aucoin worked as a chaplain, held a prayer
service Monday morning to begin coming to terms with Aucoin’s death.
“I think that was comforting for all of us,” principal Tony Bozza said. “We prayed
together, we grieved and we celebrated her life.”