Stories

Thank you for sharing!

 

Steve and Melodie Northey – London, ON

At the very first Brain Tumour Walk back in 1993, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada co-founder, Steve Northey, held his then year-old granddaughter, Cassidy, in his arms while addressing the modest crowd at London, Ontario’s Greenway Park. Read their story…
 

Walter Robinson – Ottawa, ON

Walter lost his father 25 years ago to glioblastoma. From his initial stroke, through his diagnosis, radiation, and death it was a matter of 66 days. The speed with which he deteriorated was a shock to the entire family, and 25 years later, survival rates for glioblastoma have increased very little. Read Walter’s story…
 

Taryn Haywood – Victoria, BC

It wasn’t one big event that caused Taryn Haywood to realize something wasn’t right. It was two words. For her, sitting still was never really an option – she worked seven days a week at three different jobs and loved every minute. Read Taryn’s story…
 

Stephanie Doucet – Belleville, ON

In April, 2016, Stephanie was fresh out of university when she began to experience terrible headaches. She visited her doctor, but says she had a hard time getting them to take it seriously. Eventually she was diagnosed with a meningioma, and was rushed to emergency surgery. Read Stephanie’s story…
 

Leena Ghandi – Kitchener/Waterloo, ON

One day at work in 2003, Leena suddenly got a severe headache and eye pain. The episode lasted 15 minutes, ending with her vomiting. Six months later, it happened again. While she thought it could have been due to the stress of a new job, she decided to have a CT scan done just to be on the safe side. Read Leena’s story…
 

Angélica Demers – Quebec City, QC

Hello, my name is Angélica. It’s been eight years since I was diagnosed with a diffuse brainstem glioma. I was 13 when I was diagnosed. I remember several doctors gathered around me, while I lay in my hospital bed surrounded by my family. Read Angélica’s story…
 

Stef Scrivens – Ottawa, ON

Her commitment to staying positive has helped her grow from a pediatric brain tumour survivor to an advocate and motivational speaker. At the time, it was easy to overlook because the partial seizures and minor headaches lasted for one week every six weeks. Read Stef’s story…
 

Desmond Bennett of BUSHAH Luxury Coffee & Tea Company – Ottawa, ON

In honour of the 27 Canadians diagnosed with a brain tumour every day in Canada, BUSHAH Luxury Coffee and Tea Company donated $2.70 from the sale of select specialty coffee products to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. Read their story…
 

Jason Peterson – Camrose, AB

Few people face the prospect of death like Jason. He views it as an everyday challenge, one that occurs in a world where he remains positive in light of his incurable cancer. However, it’s a prospect that has been ever-present since the mid-2000s. Read Jason’s story…
 

Glenda Brushett – St John’s, NL

In 2018, Glenda was attending her daughter’s high school volleyball tournament when she was hit in the head with the ball. A couple weeks after that, her vision started to blur sporadically. She went to see doctors and specialists, but nobody knew what was causing it, or thought it was a possible concussion. It wasn’t until Glenda went to an optometrist that she was referred for both a CT and MRI scan. Read Glenda’s story…
 

Jen Brown – North Bay, ON

When she was first diagnosed, she really didn’t know how to take the news. She didn’t know anyone who had a brain tumour at that point, nor did she have any health conditions prior to that. Her tumour was a non-malignant meningioma. Read Jen’s story…
 

David Bloom’s Legacy – Brampton, ON

It all began the summer of 1999. David had been chosen to be part of the prestigious Young Company of the Charlottetown Festival in Prince Edward Island. The program offered young performers the opportunity to learn and perform. Read David Bloom’s legacy story…
 

Kim Stackhouse – Ottawa, ON

In April, 2020, Kim Stackhouse had a grand mal seizure, leading to a brain tumour diagnosis. She and her husband, Jim, shared their accounts of the events that took place, as well as the quick-thinking of their two sons, and the commendation they received. Read Kim’s story…
 

Theresa Acchione – Calgary, AB

Theresa is a long-time volunteer with Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, who decided to get involved with the organization as a way of keeping her father, Mario’s memory alive. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform. Read Theresa’s story…
 

Samantha Cull – Kitchener, ON

Doctors thought it was due to stress, and after visiting the emergency department, she was given migraine medication. It worked for a while, but once the medication ran out, the headaches came back. By July, they became unbearable. “I had a really bad night one night,” Sam recalls. “I was crying, and it just hurt so bad I couldn’t sleep.”  Read Samantha’s story…
 

Ethan Hayes – Toronto, ON

Following a scan the previous day, they received word that his cancer was gone – nearly two years to the day from his original diagnosis and one year after his last treatment. The original plan was to hold a big celebration to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the end of Ethan’s treatment. Read Ethan’s story…
 

Tracy Cronin – Belleville, ON

In 2014, when Tracy’s father, Doug, started to become forgetful, he was able to joke about it and pass it off. But once he started mixing her name up with her brother’s, it became apparent that it wasn’t just forgetfulness. There were other signs. Her dad would get irritated quickly. Read Tracy’s story…
 

Natalie Galarnyk – Windsor, ON

For Natalie Galarnyk and family, their relationship with the foundation began following her sister, Katrina’s, glioblastoma diagnosis in 2013. A friend referred them to the braintumour.ca website, and from there, a lasting connection was made. Read Natalie’s story…
 

Lukah Labrecque – Sudbury, ON

It’s a lottery that no family wants to win. Ten-year old Lukah Labrecque and his aunt, Josee, of Sudbury were both diagnosed with brain tumours within five months of one another in 2019. But through their shared circumstances, they both found strength in each other, and themselves. Read Lukah’s story…