Lung cancer treatment is a full-time job when living remotely (Dave’s story)

March 1, 2011

In this video, Dave talks about his treatment for lung cancer as a full-time job given that he lives in a remote village on Lake Superior

Watch as Dave talks about having to drive 400 kilometres for treatment, and how the distance along with radiation and chemotherapy took their toll.

He also talks about having the support of a pragmatic partner to make decisions and get help when needed. He discusses being his own advocate, even if he could be demanding. He shares his realization that by asking he could find people with the right specialty skills. In his case, the wound ostomy nurses at another hospital eased the pain from the radiation burns on his back. He also speaks about how cancer is life changing.

Dave was interviewed in July 2009 and passed away in January 2010. He had worked as a locomotive engineer for Canadian Pacific Rail and lived in a little village on the north shore of Lake Superior called Rossport, Ontario. Dave was a husband, father and grandfather.

It is a huge, huge shock in the beginning when you first discover this kind of thing… We’ve got tons of things we have to deal with. How long can we live in our home? Do we need to sell it now? Do we need to move to be closer to the cancer centres?

Watch the video of Dave talking about cancer treatment as a full-time job when living remotely

The Partnership’s Person-Centred Perspective initiative is committed to improving the patient experience. We are working with partners across Canada to find the best ways to offer a person-centred perspective throughout a person’s cancer journey and to help information flow throughout. The impact of a cancer diagnosis goes far beyond the physical disease. It affects every aspect of a person’s life. The initiative has focused on reporting about the patient experience, and giving health-care providers patient-centred tools and resources, which have been validated and standardized.

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