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OkillLiving LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.comDaffodils end up paying dividends in hopeBy Angela Blackburnwas likely a cyst. The woman pursuedOAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFit anyway and her cancer was moreadvanced than Davis.he went for her regular check upDavis also gives thanks to Princessand got a call back.Margarets Fast Track program. SheSShe went back feeling some-was tested and by days end had herwhat uneasy. That was last spring,diagnosis cancer rather thanalmost a year ago. It was May 17, thetesting and waiting weeks.date is etched in my mind, she says.She was slated for surgery.More tests and then the horrid newsDavis was unprepared for someonefollowed quickly by surgery.to tell her she had cancer, to poten-Chemotherapy came next. Lots of tially face her mortality while in thetreatments, lots of bad days.prime of her life and to know what wasOne treatment short of her fill, sheto come as she dug in to do what wasand her doctor called it quits. necessary in order to survive.Her body couldnt take any more of No one told her chemotherapy wasthe chemical cocktail that had beenan individual mix (cocktail) of drugsconcocted as the best mix to eradicatemixed to attack an individuals cancer.the cancer that was affecting her.She knew it would make her sickNot long after, radiation began.and that shed lose her hair.Burns, discomfort, more pain. EveryIn retropect, Losing hair andday, for 28 days.throwing up were the least of my con-Now its done. Healing finally cerns, she said.begins.She didnt know it would attack herRIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVERThe ordeal will never be forgotten.joints or that losing her hair wouldLife has changed.actually physically hurt, or that shedSUPPORTING A GOOD CAUSE: Long-time local Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) volunteer Joan Gibb (left) and Jill Davis, editor in chief of Metroland have chemo brain, see her finger-Metroland Media Halton Division General Manger Dave Harvey flank Halton Division Editor in Chief Jill Davis with the new Medias Halton Division that includes nails fall off or be left with massivedaffodil pin making its Ontario debut for the CCS' annual daffodil and residential canvass campaigns this April.the Oakville Beaver, Burlington Post, amounts of tingling that would impedeMilton Canadian Champion and teers in Oakville.Gibb said she knows of a group of women, allher abilities.Flamborough Review will wait to see whatIt takes hundreds of helping hands in order seniors, who are all cancer survivors for someRadiation doesnt hurt but it does leave youher future holds.to make Daffodil Month a success, said Lisa time. They get together regularly to play cards.with burns and extreme tiredness, said Davis.A strong soul with lots of support, she is Dale, Halton Unit fundraising co-ordinator.You know, before I couldnt say that, saidWith treatment over, Davis said she wasnevertheless finding her feet again after beingThe daffodil is the Cancer Societys flower of Gibb, of their being survivors.ready to have her life back, but she doesnt haveknocked for more than the proverbial loop byhope and the local unit will be selling the fresh Davis, too, is now a survivor. She, too, knowsthe same life back.the ordeal that is breast cancer.blooms from Thursday, March 31 through the ropes for, apart from her own experience,I often say, Jill has left the building, sheBut she will now have hope.Sunday, April 3 at various malls, liquor stores both her parents are also cancer survivors.said. Others have assured her shes still there,Despite the haunting and debilitating experi-and Canadian Tire stores.Her mom, Joan, was first diagnosed withbut a look in the mirror can leave her wonderingence that was her treatment, that treatment hasResidents may also hear a knock on the door uterine cancer in her 50s and now at age 82, notwhere the Jill Davis she saw there less than anonetheless changed the statistics of her chanc-as the annual door-to-door Community only survived, but has since survived diagnosesyear ago went.es of survival.Campaign runs April 1-30.of breast cancer and lymphoma.Still, she has had support, she has had treat-No longer is breast cancer, or any cancer, the This year, a bright yellow flower full of hope Davis dad, Stan, survived lung cancer 15ment and she is alive.death sentence it once was. Times have changedand promise will be on the lapels of those who years before being diagnosed with prostate can-The Cancer Society is looking for volunteersand that change was brought about by advancescome knocking.cer. He, too, has survived to offer support to histo sell daffodils at various retail locations fromborn out of cancer research.It will also be available in lieu of the real flow-daughter through her recent ordeal.Thursday, March 31 to Sunday, April 3.Davis is alive and looking to the future.ers and will be available for a donation in dona-Davis is a firm believer in advancing cancerIt has donation boxes and daffodil pins forShe hopes for a long life. She hopes research tion boxes around town.treatment, but believes the best treatment islocal businesses and organizations who wantwill cure cancer, or at the least take its treatmentSimilar to the Remembrance Day poppy, the preventative.them.out of something akin to the Dark Ages.daffodil was introduced in B.C. and the Yukon She said she cant stress enough the impor-And it needs help to canvass local neighbour-Still, she is alive to ponder why major retail-last year and people liked it.tance of annual mammograms and beforehood routes of two dozen homes and collecters dont carry clothing, lingerie, undergar-So this April it will make its introductions to age 50.donations for the Society throughout Aprilments for women who have had breast cancerOntario residents.I would never have felt these tumors, but(April 1-30). theyre a big part of the population.Our hope is that by the end of April, every my surgeon in Toronto said it was growing likeHigh school students can also volunteer toAs she greets another spring, Davis and the resident in Oakville will be wearing one on their a patch of weeds, said Davis.drop off Community Campaign envelopes inCanadian Cancer Society, Halton Unit know thelapel, said Dale.Having had a mammogram the previousneighbourhoods where there are no canvassers.promise that can flower from the SocietysLocal resident and long-time Cancer Society year, it was shocking to hear the next years hadFor information, contact Dale at ldale@annual Daffodil Days campaign and door-to-volunteer Joan Gibb is a stalwart Cancer Society turned up several tiny tumors, which hadontario.cancer.ca or 905-845-5231, ext. 3164.door canvass.champion and fundraiser. She has been involved already spread cancer to four lymph nodes.The CCS, Halton is located at 760 Pacific Rd.,Daffodil Month is one of the Canadian Cancer in the annual April fundraising for more than 40 Davis looks to her roommate at PrincessUnit 7.Societys (CCS) largest fundraising campaignsyears. She knows the value of the research it has Margaret Hospital, a woman in her late 30s withFor information about the Canadian Cancerand it takes the support of hundreds of volun-supported.two children who was told a lump shed foundSociety, visit www.fightback.cawww.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 11, 2011 14