Getting the phone call no parent wants to receive
When the phone rang in our home last December, we could never have imagined that our family’s world was going to be changed in an instant.“Not so well,” Jordan replied. “I think I have cancer.”
Our son’s journey has been tumultuous. After his diagnosis was confirmed, things moved fairly quickly. He had a tumour removed within two weeks. Just under three months later, he started chemotherapy treatments in Victoria, which continued over several more months. But days before he was scheduled to complete his last session, just ahead of his chance to ring the bell signalling his treatment was complete, he developed a serious, life-threatening infection.
A month or so after he was released, he faced another major operation that also came with more complications, but not nearly as serious as the earlier ones. Throughout it all, our son demonstrated an inner fortitude and uncomplaining external stoicism that was unfathomable. After nine months of seeing B.C.’s cancer system up close, I can say it is filled with incredibly inspiring and highly trained individuals who are saving lives every day. But the brutish pressure that comes with a job that is highly complex and emotionally taxing is being exacerbated by a shortage of nurses, doctors and other staff needed to handle the extraordinary demand being placed on the system every day. A demand that’s only getting worse as boomers age and the incidence of cancer rises.
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