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Help Suzanne Aucoin
Nov 17, 2007 - The St. Catharines Standard
Celebrating Suzanne's life; Paying tribute to a life defined by bravery, grit and a quest
for justice
Suzanne Aucoin's fingerprints were all over her own memorial celebration.
The lineup of speakers. The topics they should discuss. The music. How elements of
the service should flow.
A former chaplain at Denis Morris High School in St. Catharines, Suzanne was used to
co-ordinating funerals and ceremonies.
Her own - Friday afternoon at White Oaks Conference Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake -
followed a similar pattern to the one she arranged for her father, Norm, just three
months ago.
Suzanne, 37, died last Sunday - four years after the outspoken health-care advocate
was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer.
Father John Vickers said Suzanne gave him clear "orders" when he met with her to
discuss the memorial service the week before her death. "Make sure you and the
others keep it short," he said, recalling Suzanne's parting advice about speeches.
And while they tried to follow her wishes, the speakers at Suzanne's memorial also
wanted to make certain they paid tribute to an inspirational life defined by bravery,
grit and a quest for justice. "When I spent time with Suzanne, I was struck with her
dignity first of all and her courageousness to live," Vickers told a crowd of several
hundred at the service.
Vickers said he and Suzanne spoke about many of her struggles during his final visits
with her at Hospice Niagara's palliative care centre.
Suzanne was upset that she would never marry and have children. She was still reeling
from the unexpected death of her dad. And she was trying to come to grips with the
finality of moving into the hospice.
"There were lots of questions she knew could never be fully answered, but she
wanted to articulate them," said Vickers, Superior of the English Canadian Holy Cross
Fathers.
But even with Suzanne's thoughts preoccupied by such serious subjects, the outgoing
and fun-loving personality that earned her such a wide circle of friends and supporters
still shined through.
On his last visit, Vickers said he blessed Suzanne and prepared to leave.
"She said, 'I have to rest now for the helicopter ride they're taking me on.' So typical -
that was Suzanne Aucoin," he recounted, referring to a chopper ride over Niagara Falls
Suzanne took with friends the week before she died.
Denis Morris graduate Chantal Nicholls told the audience Suzanne led her through a
difficult time in her own life during her high school years.
"She made me feel very comfortable in my own skin and in my thoughts," she said.
"She spoke to every individual with compassion and integrity."
Nicholls said she will try to emulate Suzanne's philosophy of trying to make every day
important.
"Her life has encouraged me to rise to the occasion and to take life for all it has to
offer," she said.
Melanie Moreau, also a graduate of Denis Morris, said she formed a bond with Suzanne
at school that continued until her death.
"She really inspired me for my whole life. It went a lot further beyond my high school
life," she said.
"She was there for you, but made you find it within yourself to deal with whatever you
were going through."
Barry Stein, diagnosed with colorectal cancer 11 years ago, also said he has been
inspired by Suzanne's passion for life to keep fighting for a better health-care system.
Stein, a Montreal-based lawyer, is president of the Colorectal Cancer Association of
Canada, a national advocacy group.
"It's really that fighting spirit and that really strong will to live that brought her this far
along," he said after the formal portion of the memorial celebration.
"She had that spirit that very few people let shine out."
Stein had been scheduled to fly from Vancouver to Montreal Friday, but changed
flights to Toronto and rented a car so he could make it to the memorial.
Like Suzanne, Stein was forced to turn to the United States for medical treatment he
couldn't get in Canada.
Stein said Suzanne's advocacy and her long battle with Ontario's Health Ministry for
out-of-country funding for cancer-fighting medication highlighted flaws in the health
system that need to be corrected.
"It really shouldn't be that hard of a battle to get the treatment when they are already
fighting a disease," he said.
St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley said Suzanne was an inspiration because she fought for
better health care for others, as well as herself.
Bradley was referring to Suzanne's victory over the provincial Health Ministry earlier
this year.
In January, Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin ruled ministry officials had incorrectly
rejected Suzanne's applications for out-of-country coverage for the expensive
cancer-fighting drug she was paying for in western New York.
As a result, the ministry refunded Suzanne $76,000 in medical costs and launched a
review of its out-of-country medical benefits program.
"She spotted deficiencies in the health-care system and brought them to everyone's
attention. Many people will benefit from that," Bradley said.
Suzanne had a very large network of friends and supporters who helped sustain her
over the past few years, Bradley noted.
"Even when feeling the major effects of the disease and the effects of treatment, she
strengthened others around her," he said.
"She touched people well beyond the borders of St. Catharines."
Suzanne's cousin Louise Roper told the audience Suzanne was a teacher who gave
those around her lessons on how to live with dignity, compassion and determination.
"All of us in this room have been her students," she said.
"I learned from Suzanne the importance of passion. She was passionate about many
things."
Above all, Suzanne was passionate about life and she refused to give up fighting, Roper
said.
"Cancer may have taken her body, but we refuse to allow cancer to take her spirit,"
she said.
Friend Gary Bellhouse said Suzanne's legacy will continue to live on.
Bellhouse sits on a committee of supporters that organized fundraising activities to
help Suzanne pay for medical expenses.
"Suzanne has had a huge impact on our lives and on the health-care system. That
impact will benefit thousands of people," Bellhouse said.
Music at Friday's memorial service was performed by sisters Deanna and Stacey Hunt,
along with Stefanie Richter and J.P. Shalala.
In her own words
A selection of quotes from Suzanne Aucoin :
"It happened so quickly. It was a difficult transition. Part of me just doesn't want to
give in. I'm doing this under pressure, it feels like."
- Nov. 1, 2007 on her decision to take a room in Hospice Niagara's Stabler Centre in St.
Catharines, a place where people go to spend their final days in more comfort than a
hospital.
"Yeah, there's still part of me that likes a good fight, I think.... Just normal living for me
is such a challenge and yet here I am thinking, 'Maybe I would like to take them on
again. Maybe I'd like to go a round or two with OHIP again.' "
- July 5, 2007 as she considered filing an appeal of the Ministry of Health's decision to
reject her for funding for a form of radiation therapy she received in North Carolina at
a cost of approximately $50,000.
"I'm really about wanting to ensure people get the best and the latest treatment. I can
usually figure it out for myself, and I just want to make it easier for others to have the
opportunity."
- July 5, 2007
"I don't know any other way to be. I don't do it with the expectation of getting
something back. I do it with the hope of making a difference in someone else's life so
that they can have an easier road."
- Dec. 22, 2006 discussing why she chose to go public with her private battle with
cancer in hopes of exposing problems with Ontario's health-care system so they can
be fixed.
"It's frustrating. It's disappointing and it's just another reflection of how this
health-care system doesn't take care of us. It's the health-doesn't-care system. It's the
health-screw-you-care system."
- Nov. 17, 2006 after Ontario's Health Services Appeal and Review Board rejected
Aucoin's appeal to reimburse her more than $52,000 she spent on the cancer
treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"I don't have a lot of choices and I don't have a lot of time. Living with a
life-threatening disease is very scary. I'm not asking for botox, I'm asking for life-saving
treatment."
- Sept. 22, 2006 testifying at a hearing before Ontario's Health Services Appeal and
Review Board on why she spent more than $52,000 out of her own pocket on cancer
treatment in the U.S., which she believed Ontario's Health Ministry should pay for.
"I get why people go postal now. I truly get it. People push you to the edge when you
have so much other stress in your life.... My brothers and OHIP can get me from zero
to boiling point in less than a few seconds."
- July 4, 2006 after OHIP initially turned down her request for reimbursement for more
than $52,000 she spent on the cancer treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"The way that I'm going to get my justice, whether I get my money or not, is through
exposing them. I want to let the public know things aren't right and things have to
change."
- July 4, 2006 after OHIP initially turned her down for more than $52,000 she spent on
the cancer treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"I feel like a CEO running my own business. That's exactly what I feel like."
- March 10, 2006 on her approach to raise money to pay for cancer treatment not
routinely covered by OHIP.
"You can look at this and say I've done all the right things. I was a good kid, I was good
in school, I've always worked, I helped my community - so why do I get this sh-- ...?
"As you get wiser, you recognize that nobody goes through this life unscarred."
- Feb. 4, 2006 on the question most people with cancer contemplate at some point:
"Why me?"
pdowns@stcatharinesstandard.ca
In her memory
Two events to remember the life of Suzanne Aucoin are being planned. A mass in
Suzanne's memory will be held Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at St. Julia Church at 251
Glenridge Ave.
A "Live Life Large" golf tournament in Suzanne's memory is scheduled for Sunday, May 4
at the Niagara Falls Golf and Country Club.
A portion of proceeds from the event will support the Suzanne Aucoin Memorial
Scholarship for a graduate from Denis Morris High School in June 2008. Additional
proceeds from the tournament will support a variety of charities.
Celebrating Suzanne's life; Paying tribute to a life defined by bravery, grit and a quest
for justice
Suzanne Aucoin's fingerprints were all over her own memorial celebration.
The lineup of speakers. The topics they should discuss. The music. How elements of
the service should flow.
A former chaplain at Denis Morris High School in St. Catharines, Suzanne was used to
co-ordinating funerals and ceremonies.
Her own - Friday afternoon at White Oaks Conference Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake -
followed a similar pattern to the one she arranged for her father, Norm, just three
months ago.
Suzanne, 37, died last Sunday - four years after the outspoken health-care advocate
was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer.
Father John Vickers said Suzanne gave him clear "orders" when he met with her to
discuss the memorial service the week before her death. "Make sure you and the
others keep it short," he said, recalling Suzanne's parting advice about speeches.
And while they tried to follow her wishes, the speakers at Suzanne's memorial also
wanted to make certain they paid tribute to an inspirational life defined by bravery,
grit and a quest for justice. "When I spent time with Suzanne, I was struck with her
dignity first of all and her courageousness to live," Vickers told a crowd of several
hundred at the service.
Vickers said he and Suzanne spoke about many of her struggles during his final visits
with her at Hospice Niagara's palliative care centre.
Suzanne was upset that she would never marry and have children. She was still reeling
from the unexpected death of her dad. And she was trying to come to grips with the
finality of moving into the hospice.
"There were lots of questions she knew could never be fully answered, but she
wanted to articulate them," said Vickers, Superior of the English Canadian Holy Cross
Fathers.
But even with Suzanne's thoughts preoccupied by such serious subjects, the outgoing
and fun-loving personality that earned her such a wide circle of friends and supporters
still shined through.
On his last visit, Vickers said he blessed Suzanne and prepared to leave.
"She said, 'I have to rest now for the helicopter ride they're taking me on.' So typical -
that was Suzanne Aucoin," he recounted, referring to a chopper ride over Niagara Falls
Suzanne took with friends the week before she died.
Denis Morris graduate Chantal Nicholls told the audience Suzanne led her through a
difficult time in her own life during her high school years.
"She made me feel very comfortable in my own skin and in my thoughts," she said.
"She spoke to every individual with compassion and integrity."
Nicholls said she will try to emulate Suzanne's philosophy of trying to make every day
important.
"Her life has encouraged me to rise to the occasion and to take life for all it has to
offer," she said.
Melanie Moreau, also a graduate of Denis Morris, said she formed a bond with Suzanne
at school that continued until her death.
"She really inspired me for my whole life. It went a lot further beyond my high school
life," she said.
"She was there for you, but made you find it within yourself to deal with whatever you
were going through."
Barry Stein, diagnosed with colorectal cancer 11 years ago, also said he has been
inspired by Suzanne's passion for life to keep fighting for a better health-care system.
Stein, a Montreal-based lawyer, is president of the Colorectal Cancer Association of
Canada, a national advocacy group.
"It's really that fighting spirit and that really strong will to live that brought her this far
along," he said after the formal portion of the memorial celebration.
"She had that spirit that very few people let shine out."
Stein had been scheduled to fly from Vancouver to Montreal Friday, but changed
flights to Toronto and rented a car so he could make it to the memorial.
Like Suzanne, Stein was forced to turn to the United States for medical treatment he
couldn't get in Canada.
Stein said Suzanne's advocacy and her long battle with Ontario's Health Ministry for
out-of-country funding for cancer-fighting medication highlighted flaws in the health
system that need to be corrected.
"It really shouldn't be that hard of a battle to get the treatment when they are already
fighting a disease," he said.
St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley said Suzanne was an inspiration because she fought for
better health care for others, as well as herself.
Bradley was referring to Suzanne's victory over the provincial Health Ministry earlier
this year.
In January, Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin ruled ministry officials had incorrectly
rejected Suzanne's applications for out-of-country coverage for the expensive
cancer-fighting drug she was paying for in western New York.
As a result, the ministry refunded Suzanne $76,000 in medical costs and launched a
review of its out-of-country medical benefits program.
"She spotted deficiencies in the health-care system and brought them to everyone's
attention. Many people will benefit from that," Bradley said.
Suzanne had a very large network of friends and supporters who helped sustain her
over the past few years, Bradley noted.
"Even when feeling the major effects of the disease and the effects of treatment, she
strengthened others around her," he said.
"She touched people well beyond the borders of St. Catharines."
Suzanne's cousin Louise Roper told the audience Suzanne was a teacher who gave
those around her lessons on how to live with dignity, compassion and determination.
"All of us in this room have been her students," she said.
"I learned from Suzanne the importance of passion. She was passionate about many
things."
Above all, Suzanne was passionate about life and she refused to give up fighting, Roper
said.
"Cancer may have taken her body, but we refuse to allow cancer to take her spirit,"
she said.
Friend Gary Bellhouse said Suzanne's legacy will continue to live on.
Bellhouse sits on a committee of supporters that organized fundraising activities to
help Suzanne pay for medical expenses.
"Suzanne has had a huge impact on our lives and on the health-care system. That
impact will benefit thousands of people," Bellhouse said.
Music at Friday's memorial service was performed by sisters Deanna and Stacey Hunt,
along with Stefanie Richter and J.P. Shalala.
In her own words
A selection of quotes from Suzanne Aucoin :
"It happened so quickly. It was a difficult transition. Part of me just doesn't want to
give in. I'm doing this under pressure, it feels like."
- Nov. 1, 2007 on her decision to take a room in Hospice Niagara's Stabler Centre in St.
Catharines, a place where people go to spend their final days in more comfort than a
hospital.
"Yeah, there's still part of me that likes a good fight, I think.... Just normal living for me
is such a challenge and yet here I am thinking, 'Maybe I would like to take them on
again. Maybe I'd like to go a round or two with OHIP again.' "
- July 5, 2007 as she considered filing an appeal of the Ministry of Health's decision to
reject her for funding for a form of radiation therapy she received in North Carolina at
a cost of approximately $50,000.
"I'm really about wanting to ensure people get the best and the latest treatment. I can
usually figure it out for myself, and I just want to make it easier for others to have the
opportunity."
- July 5, 2007
"I don't know any other way to be. I don't do it with the expectation of getting
something back. I do it with the hope of making a difference in someone else's life so
that they can have an easier road."
- Dec. 22, 2006 discussing why she chose to go public with her private battle with
cancer in hopes of exposing problems with Ontario's health-care system so they can
be fixed.
"It's frustrating. It's disappointing and it's just another reflection of how this
health-care system doesn't take care of us. It's the health-doesn't-care system. It's the
health-screw-you-care system."
- Nov. 17, 2006 after Ontario's Health Services Appeal and Review Board rejected
Aucoin's appeal to reimburse her more than $52,000 she spent on the cancer
treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"I don't have a lot of choices and I don't have a lot of time. Living with a
life-threatening disease is very scary. I'm not asking for botox, I'm asking for life-saving
treatment."
- Sept. 22, 2006 testifying at a hearing before Ontario's Health Services Appeal and
Review Board on why she spent more than $52,000 out of her own pocket on cancer
treatment in the U.S., which she believed Ontario's Health Ministry should pay for.
"I get why people go postal now. I truly get it. People push you to the edge when you
have so much other stress in your life.... My brothers and OHIP can get me from zero
to boiling point in less than a few seconds."
- July 4, 2006 after OHIP initially turned down her request for reimbursement for more
than $52,000 she spent on the cancer treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"The way that I'm going to get my justice, whether I get my money or not, is through
exposing them. I want to let the public know things aren't right and things have to
change."
- July 4, 2006 after OHIP initially turned her down for more than $52,000 she spent on
the cancer treatment Erbitux in western New York.
"I feel like a CEO running my own business. That's exactly what I feel like."
- March 10, 2006 on her approach to raise money to pay for cancer treatment not
routinely covered by OHIP.
"You can look at this and say I've done all the right things. I was a good kid, I was good
in school, I've always worked, I helped my community - so why do I get this sh-- ...?
"As you get wiser, you recognize that nobody goes through this life unscarred."
- Feb. 4, 2006 on the question most people with cancer contemplate at some point:
"Why me?"
pdowns@stcatharinesstandard.ca
In her memory
Two events to remember the life of Suzanne Aucoin are being planned. A mass in
Suzanne's memory will be held Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at St. Julia Church at 251
Glenridge Ave.
A "Live Life Large" golf tournament in Suzanne's memory is scheduled for Sunday, May 4
at the Niagara Falls Golf and Country Club.
A portion of proceeds from the event will support the Suzanne Aucoin Memorial
Scholarship for a graduate from Denis Morris High School in June 2008. Additional
proceeds from the tournament will support a variety of charities.