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mm mz f tf 7 j-3- i 1 economist sunihbuhe r hellth is sues saftmiy gtet 72000 t c threewords keep me going t acknowledgement accepfanceand adjustment 1 1 newmarket woman bares her head heir soul to help others with breast cancer bydawnliersch rj staffwriter dianerousseaii eagerly shows a photo album filled with shocking images depicting the aftermath of her mastectomy her first day of aggressive chemotherapy and the horrifying experience of losing her hair rousseau believes in being open and honest with herself and others about her breastcancer thats why she was chosen for a national advertising campaign to raise awareness about cancer rousseau a newmarket resi dent modelled for upcoming canadian breast cancer society posters promoting breast cancer month and has just appeared in a television commercial to raise awareness of cancer- to be aired nationwide later this month or early- november the commercial -entitled- changes shows people in various stages of life and concludes with a closeup shot of rousseau bravely baring her bald head three words keep me going acknowledgment acceptance and adjustment im not ashamed to remove mywig im still the same t person and i love myself she said rousseau likens her transforma tion to asriake shedding its old skin an analogy she learned from an inspirational friend ive lost my hair and my weight but im stilline you shed the old aftd cbmeinto trie new at firstifs hard to look at yourself that way she said now im an open book i have nothing to hide- but i wasnt always thatjway i feel the cancer has c broughtput mystrength but adjustment has not come easily especially when rousseau continues to weakened byfthe- effects lot harsh chemotherapy treatment- 1 the day she filmed the cancer staff photosjoerd witteveen diane rousseau centre in baseball cap is surrounded by from left fellow cancer survivor shawn farewell brotherinlaw francois juneau sister helene rousseau and mom denyse dussaultrousseau commercial in midseptember she was admitted to southlake regional health centre formerly york county hospital in newmarket due to sideeffects from chemotherapy during her twoweek hospital stay rousseau said she became uncharacteristically depressed- i hit rock bottom was dis couraging to see my results keep going down even after i had a blood transfusion sometimes when youre down physically ybu dont have the strength to be positive she said a hospital volunteer showed rousseau- a newspaper article about cancer survivor shawn farewell who now dedicates his life to motivating people to survive rousseau called farewell who rushed to her side to help her out of the dark period by teaching her visualization techniques breathing exercises mind imagery and medi- tationboth quebec natives they hit it off immediately she said- we laughed and i felt so much better- rousseau said you have to have support you cant survive alone l rousseau and farewell also share a common goal to take something positive out of their bat- ties with cancer ive lost my hair and my weight but im still me you shed the old and come into the new at firstits hard to lookat yourself that way farewell has set up a website sharing his own inspirational story a monthly column on alternative medicine and a forum for people to 7 write in letters or pbems- a book telling full details of his story will be sold on his website early next year he also does mqti- vational seminarsfor a fee and speaks to the sick free of charge rousseau hopes to touch people through her commercial and posters and she too t willing to lend an ear to those who need to talk if people are trying to avoid you because you have cancer it hurts even more i always take the time to reach out to people its the sup port and love that gets youthrpugh it she said i dont want to stop here i want to help people rousseau said support from family and friends has been critical during her battle with cancer espe cially when she received devastat ing news that her cancer had spread to a lymph nodein most of rousseaus photos family mem bers are by her side theres a heartwarming picture of rousseau tenderly kissing her youngest son michael after he shaved her head during her first chemotherapy sessions t and her relatives some who have riot spokeivtoeach other in sometime have all come togeth er to help her cope rousseau recalls jhow her sister and brotherinlaw travelled more than 20 hours from quebec to newmarket and oh to the us to drive rousseau to a wedding her mom sisf er a girlfriend and her sons anthony mark and michael also joined her in the cibc run for a cure last sunday pushing rousseau along in her wheelchair the toronto event raised more than 16 million for breast cahcen rousseau couectebvcldse to 100 cards from wellwishers since her mastectomy in may which she has used to decorate- her home for inspiration i never knew i had such sup port one of my friendscalls me four of five times a day she said rousseau points to one particu lar photograph which is also blown up on the wall of her living room it depicts a trail in holland landing where the golden light of the sun peaks out from behind a row of dark trees thats my light at the end of the tunnel she said thats what keepsrne going rousseau can be reached at 853 to contact farewell call 7261170 email him at shawnspmtualmotivatorcom or check out his website at wwwsplntiialmouvatorcom what you can do on wednesday oct 18 the south central region branch of the canadian cancer society in richmond hill hosts a grand dessert night from 7 pm to 10 pm at la vedette banquets 150 north rivermede rd in vaughanthe night will feature a silent auction local talent guest speakers arid an array of unique desserts for more information call 905 770- 1144 r s the markham office of the canadian cancer society has distributed pink ribbon coin boxes to various businesses while the branch in newmarket held a fall fashion show at the cardinal golf club the canadian cancer society urges women to get screened for breast cancer prefer ably through mammography and a breast examination by a trained health pro fessional each year 19200 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in canada one in nine women arid5500 women dieofthe disease each year v- for more information- contact the canadian cancer societys website at wwwcancerca v j i xv h 1 vi rvyh v