Health Care & Terry Fox. Colour Me Canadian.

Happy 150th, Canada.

Count me as hugely patriotic but in an understated – Canadian, I guess – way. Flag on backpack in Europe? Check. Buy Canadian? Whenever I can, but getting tougher. Polite? Mostly, thank you. Defender of Nickelback? Sorry, too much.

When people try to define “Canadian” it usually includes universal health care, alongside hockey, Tim2017-issue01-Member-News-Highlight-1-800x514 Horton’s and other clichés. Why does universal health care belong on that list though? It doesn’t make us unique – it makes us the same as every modern nation but one.

And of course we Canadians love to complain about our health care system and we should – it’s far from perfect. But here’s one thing Tory’s journey through the Canadian health care system gave us: comfort. Not total comfort – that’s impossible when battling cancer – but comfort knowing we were getting world-class care and not having to worry about being able to afford it.

There are only two occasions I needed to use a credit card in the entire process: to pay for parking at the hospital, and to cover the portion of Tory’s drugs that weren’t covered by our provincial or private plans.

That’s comfort.

This Canada Day also has me thinking about something else, and I suppose this year more than any other: Terry Fox.

I like to say I live my life with no regrets – good or bad, the choices I’ve made make me the person I am. But I’ll tell you a secret: I have one regret. And that’s when Terry Fox came through my hometown of Woodstock on July 16, 1980, I didn’t go see him. I was 10 and lazy I guess, and when family and friends walked up to Dundas Street to catch a glimpse of the Marathon of Hope, I stayed home.

I missed a chance to see perhaps the greatest Canadian ever and someone who’d memhopebecome a personal hero on his trip across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research.

I remember like it was yesterday hearing about Terry’s death a few months later after his cancer returned, and I probably cried a bit harder because of my regret.

Kate and I have been talking about taking a road trip this summer. Not sure when or even if we’ll do it, but a visit to Thunder Bay to see the Terry Fox Memorial seems like a good destination.

Happy Canada Day. And here’s to living life with  no more regrets…

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Furious and Fast

I’ve been researching everything to do with cancer – treatments, trials, diets, comfort … you name it – so much for the past year that I thought I’d become numb to the staggering amount of cancer data available. But Tuesday’s news from the Canadian Cancer Society stopped me cold as soon as I read the headline in the morning:

Half of all Canadians will get cancer in their lifetime, report says

I know many of you were surprised too. And it’s easy to be furious about the sobering statistics, especially because of all the funding that goes into cancer research. But it turns out that much of the increase in cancer diagnoses can be explained by our ageing population – cancer affects older Canadians most – and the survival rate is increasing.

So what does this mean?

  • Well, one of every two of you reading this will develop cancer, on average. But the chances of surviving your diagnosis is higher than it’s ever been. Lose some, win some, I guess.
  • What it also means is we need a better strategy to improve the comfort of cancer patients, and we need it quickly. And we need to accommodate a growing number of patients and caregivers.

So admittedly I found the report disheartening and depressing.

Thankfully the report came out on Tuesday — I still had the rest of the week to bounce back, and I did. The good news came fast:

  • We received a proposal from the Sunnybrook Foundation to fund a program that’s a perfect fit for The Tory Day Fund’s vision – more on that another time.
  • We confirmed an all-around great act for The Tory Day Fund Night of Nonsense in October, which gives a boost to an already stellar event.
  • IBM Canada agreed to support The Tory Day Fund via their generous charitable-giving programs.
  • We met with an awesome team from an equally awesome company, Pressly, who are providing a platform to take toryday.org to the next level – more on that another time, too!

Then, finally, I got an email from someone who’s been an invaluable advisor to me through the launch of The Tory Day Fund. We bounce ideas off each other constantly, just as you’d expect with any start-up venture. And I sometimes forget that it’s more than a venture – we’re honouring Tory’s wishes and helping others who need all the comfort we can give them during their battle with this brutal disease.

Here’s what he said, which stopped me cold once again:

“If no one has thanked you today for giving them a chance to fight back and make a difference then I shall be the first. Thank you my friend.”

Thanks and back at ya, Craig. And thanks to those of you I hear from daily, either to check in on Kate and me, to make me laugh, or to give me an update on some area of The Tory Day Fund you’re working on. It’s awesome and inspiring.

Have a great weekend.

J.

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Let the kids show you how

If I’m being honest, fundraising is very near the bottom of my ‘favourite things’ list – right beside folding laundry and flossing my teeth. And I’m not the only one. Google ‘fundraising fears’ and you’ll find nearly a million results.

Well, I should say it was near the bottom of my list. Then a couple of kids showed me how easy fundraising can be.

Last month my sister-in-law Angela asked when she could bring the girls by because they had something for me. ‘The girls’ are Tessa and Molly, 8 and 6 years old, and two of the greatest kids you’ll meet. ‘Anytime,’ I said – ‘but are they going to make me cry?’ Reasonable question anytime, but especially in May because of Mother’s Day and Tory’s birthday. Angela paused, and then I knew the answer.

I tried psyching myself up before they came over, and my steely nerves lasted about 3.5 minutes, when the girls sat on either side of me and gave me a gift bag. Here’s what I found inside:

Tessa and Molly letter

I swore after reading it (sorry, Tessa and Molly!). I was amazed by the thoughtfulness of these girls — at a time when they should be excited about receiving presents, they gave so generously to a cause they believed in (no doubt helped along by Angela and Pete, who organize an annual fundraiser for the CIBC Run for the Cure).

That was the first donation to The Tory Day Fund, and it’s been a catalyst ever since for my own fundraising.

My biggest motivation of course has been Tory’s wishes. She wanted desperately for us to raise funds once she got healthy so other chemo patients at Sunnybrook could rest in a comfortable bed while receiving treatment. And I saw daily how she and patients like her are deprived of the comforts we used to take for granted.

In just the first week since the launch of The Tory Day Fund, we’ve raised $13,574 (plus $435 from the girls).

Crazy motivating, right? Good. So here’s how you can help fulfill Tory’s wish:

  • You can make a donation of any amount at any time by donating now. You’ll be taken to our charitable-giving platform, Chimp: Charitable Impact Foundation (Canada) and all donations will go to The Tory Day Fund and receive a tax receipt.
  • You can create a fundraising campaign of your own with Chimp: Charitable Impact Foundation (Canada) and all funds raised by your campaign will go to The Tory Day Fund and receive a tax receipt.
  • You can buy a ticket to The Tory Day Fund Night of Nonsense – all profit from the event will go to The Tory Day Fund.
  • You can ask your employer if they have programs that match your donation or that donate directly to charity (I did both of these week at Hewlett Packard).

Thanks to all of you who have donated and bought tickets so far. What a start! We have a long way to go before we meet and exceed our fundraising goal. If you need help getting started – just remember Tessa and Molly … and of course Tory.

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Now the Hard Work Starts…

What a day yesterday! Launching The Tory Day Fund was crazy bittersweet … Hearing from great friends, and seeing the many tickets purchased and donations were a definite highlight. Thanks to all of you.

OK, now the tough news: the event is going to sell out, and there are many from Eastdale and IBM (and even a few family members!) who have not yet bought their tickets. Do it today, OK?

And while I’m humbled (truly) by the generosity of those who donated to the fund, we have a long way to go to meet our goal. The campaign continues through October and let’s keep up the momentum — every dollar donated gets us closer to our goal to make a really meaningful improvement in the comfort of cancer patients.

Onward.

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Day One for Improving the Comfort of Cancer Patients

Folks, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of The Tory Day Fund, a charity to improve the comfort of cancer patients.

Actually, thrilled is a tough word to use. This fund exists only because of the heartbreaking loss of an extraordinary mother, friend, sister, daughter, aunt and my wife, Tory Butler. It’s been just three months since we lost her to breast cancer and typing these words still feels surreal.

Tory’s death could’ve gutted a close circle of family and friends, just as cancer does each day to countless others. I’ve talked to people whose lives have been impacted by similar loss, and they describe the days, months and sometimes years after as horrible. And no doubt, we’ve had horrible days.

But it hasn’t gutted us. We’ve celebrated Tory’s life, we’ve laughed at the ridiculous stories of her 50 years, and we’ve toasted the beautiful person we knew.

And in many ways it’s actually made us stronger. Tory’s family and friends have rallied to support our daughter Kate, her greatest legacy. And they’ve rallied to ensure her other legacy – the comfort Tory brought to those around her – endures.

The goal of The Tory Day Fund is to bring comfort – any comfort, really – to those undergoing cancer treatment. Despite the efforts of a world-class treatment facility like the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital, Tory experienced firsthand just how rare comfort is when undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

What’s comfort in cancer care?

  • Comfort is having a bed available for you on the days you’re feeling weak and unable to sit in the usual chemo chair.
  • Comfort is having a buddy to teach you the tips and tricks of navigating a complex treatment centre.
  • Comfort is having a volunteer named Greg offer you mushroom soup every chemotherapy day.
  • Comfort is having a wig donated to you so you don’t lose your self when you lose your hair.
  • Comfort is having a week at a cottage donated so you can recharge with family and friends during a time you feel empty.

Comfort is a bunch of seemingly little things, but things that add up to something much bigger.

So today is day one for The Tory Day Fund, and we won’t stop until we’ve exceeded our fundraising goal of $50,000 to improve the comfort of cancer patients.

It’s a big, audacious goal for a bunch of friends and family of a girl from The ‘Shwa. But we are thrilled to make it happen.

Yeah, maybe thrilled isn’t such a tough word to use after all.

Who’s in?

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