Month: April 2022

RIP Brigitte Levigne

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It is with profound thankfulness for her life and advocacy, and with deep sadness we share that our dear friend and lung cancer sister, Brigitte Lavigne who is also known as B or Bee Thevine, passed last week. She and her dear friends and family have participated in lung cancer advocacy, including making ribbons as part of The White Ribbon Project and supported others of us affected by lung cancer. They have been awesome supporters and advocates. Brigitte was one of my big encouragers, and I know many other members of the lung cancer community would say the same. We are so very grateful to have known her, and to have connected with her community.

Brigitte loved Easter. Last Easter she gave me flowers and a card. She gave so much joy. She was a silver lining of lung cancer for very many of us.

Here is her beautiful obituary (pasted below):

Obituary of Brigitte Lavigne

Peacefully on Thursday, April 14,2022 surrounded by her family at the Ruddy Shenkman Hospice, Brigitte leaves behind her caring and supportive husband, Kyle, beautiful and courageous children, Kiera and Liam, wonderful brother, Ben, attentive sister-in-law Laura, lovely niece, Simone, loving parents, Michele and Ron, gracious parents-in-law, Brian and Janet, and thoughtful sister-in-law, Kathy.

Brigitte is ever so grateful to her strong community of friends, colleagues, and neighbours, who accompanied her and her family during these difficult times and throughout her life.

She will be missed by her strong and influential besties from Montreal, the poker princesses, University friends, the Bel-Air babes, her training partner and the girls from Toronto and PEI. These friends helped shape Brigitte in more ways than they could know.

Her amazing medical team was held in high regard. Compassionate and caring  oncologist, Dr. Nicholas, kind and concerned respirologist, Dr. Graver, palliative care doctors, supportive family physician Dr. Bordeleau, home care nurses, specialists, hospice caregivers. Brigitte benefitted from specialized care at the Ottawa General Hospital Cancer Centre, the IGFCC, and was regularly seen at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital. She had nothing but positive words about the medical care she received and referred to them as her dream team.

A loyal public servant who dedicated her career to public safety, Brigitte enjoyed running, spending time outdoors, engaging with people in her community and being a mom. Her children were the centre of her universe.

Brigitte was supported by a strong network of lung cancer sisters whom she fondly spoke of as her sisterhood. She learned about advocacy and was actively involved in The White Ribbon Project, participated in cancer patient research, donated her cells to a cancer line project and was a member of the ROS1ders. 

Brigitte was honoured by the ICAN International Cancer Advocacy Network through the Brigitte Lavigne Research Advocacy Program (Rare Resistance Mutations) to promote resistance research.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the ROS1ders, Please click Here or the Ottawa Race Weekend Team raising funds for Lung Cancer Canada in honour of Brigitte,Please click Here

A private gathering will be held for family. A Celebration of Brigitte’s Life will be held at a later date.

To express your condolences or make a donation please visit http://www.hillcrestfuneralhome.ca

A Tree of Remembrance for Brigitte will be planted at the McAlpine Forever Forest, Vankleek Hill.

Funeral arrangements in care of Hillcrest Funeral Home Ltd., 151 Bond Street, Vankleek Hill, ON K0B 1R0 (866) 678-2002.

The picture above is from when I first met Brigitte in person and was privileged to give her White Ribbons with love. Right from the start she wanted more than one so she could also give Ribbons with love. This picture was taken before she was ready to publicly show her face or share her name, March 17, 2021.

Some of the pictures below are from our Ottawa Community Ribbon Build in August 2021, when Brigitte and her good friend, fellow advocate and The White Ribbon Project teammate Jesse, and her two children came to work on Ribbons. Brigitte loved all her people, but her children especially meant the world to her. We were so glad they could come to the build and we could meet them. It was great spending time with them and Jesse that day, as well as Brigitte. Brigitte gathered a community of amazing people, and spoke often of her family, friends and community. Other pictures are from a later date when Brigitte came over to put labels on and receive more Ribbons to give away. The day of the Ribbon build was so hot and humid that the ribbons showed no signs of drying anytime soon, so we had to be patient. It brought Brigitte so much joy to put on French labels. She knew that The White Ribbon Project is about love, that ribbons are given with love and received with love and that language matters. This was a good fit for Brigitte who was bilingual. She loved and advocated in more than two languages.

Brigitte activated a team who rose up doing advocacy. Even in this last month, Brigitte and her team did powerful work, delivering The White Ribbon Project Ribbons to our hospital and cancer centre in the west end of Ottawa, where she received much of her care, where I received my first rounds of chemotherapy back in 2013 and 2014. She participated in as many The White Ribbon Project community zoom calls as she was able, and yearned to be part of them when she wasn’t able. She and her team have made and will continue to make Ribbons. So far they have made 24 and 6 more are in process. They have given 20 of these ribbons with love, in addition to the several Brigitte was given by me. She also received a special honour with a named program that would focus on Research Advocacy on Novel Therapeutics for Resistance Mutations, i.e. a Brigitte Lavigne Research Advocacy Program (Resistance Mutations in Rare Cancers). She kept advocating until she could not any more, and she died knowing her community would step further into advocacy.

She powerfully loved people her whole life, and that did not change after her lung cancer diagnosis. A cherished member of our Ottawa Lung Cancer Support Group, she reached out with love to members of the lung cancer community locally and all over. She cared about people with her specific kind of lung cancer, and people with any kind of lung cancer. So many people talk about the difference she made for them. She loved us and she messaged us so much! She also loved her care team, spoke highly of them and thanked them. She made a special presentation at the West end hospital where she received much of her care and they did a special story about her. She embraced the inclusive nature of The White Ribbon Project, and gave Ribbons to a wide variety of people connected to lung cancer in various ways, including members of her care team. Even in the short time I knew her I could see that everywhere Brigitte went she brought joy and love. I’m so thankful to have met her, loved her and welcomed her into the lung cancer community. I’m so very thankful for our oncologist who encouraged her to connect and told her about our support group.

A few thoughts about faith, hope, love and lungs

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I don’t often write about faith or my personal life in this blog. This post is a little different, a glimpse into my inner life. Whether you choose to read further is naturally up to you.

I’m a follower of Jesus and my identity as a follower of Jesus is what inspires my actions and attitudes. The faith community has played a significant role in my life over decades and I am very grateful to connect with, be prayed for and supported in many ways by many different individuals, groups and congregations. It has also been one of my life’s deep joys to speak to so many individuals, groups and congregations.

Being a follower of Jesus was an intentional decision when I was 17 years old, and following Jesus is intentional every day since then. This is what motivates my life, and gives me love for people. This is what motivates my advocacy and what gives me love for people affected by lung cancer. When I say love, I don’t mean a soft and squishy feeling. I mean deliberately working hard for the good of people affected by lung cancer and other kinds of cancer. This is also where my hope comes from. This is what has kept me going all these years, through many difficulties, many hard times. Being a lung cancer advocate has been challenging. I have almost stopped many times. Much encouragement from Chris Draft and a number of other people has helped keep me going, as did a strong sense of calling. Advocacy is what I strongly believe I’m meant to do in this season of life. I have seized this opportunity and I keep seizing this opportunity, looking to live as best as I can given the circumstances, controlling what I can control. Saying yes. Thank you, God.

Below is a hymn that has been very meaningful to me for decades. My parents were both diagnosed with cancer when I was 20 years old, and died within a year, and that was when I first heard this hymn. I was introduced to it by opening up a used hymnal that I had just bought to a “random” page. I was planning to sit at the piano to play and sing some hymns, and the first time I opened it was to that hymn. The hymn captured me and spoke deeply to me right from the first moments I saw it, played and sang it. It was especially significant that year. It helped keep me going.

My Ottawa church, Parkdale United Church, sang this same hymn at the Maundy Thursday evening service this week. One of the ministers is planning to come over to anoint me with oil and pray for healing again this week. So grateful. I had a very significant talk and prayer time with another one of the ministers the other day, who has been praying for me and others affected by cancer for years. She is a strong supporter, a game-changer. She strengthens the soul. I’m very grateful for the pastors and members of this congregation who have supported us and kept us fed both physically and spiritually for years.

We’re strongly supported, and not just by Parkdale. So many of you have told me you’re praying, your team is praying, your church is praying. Thank you. I just got a lovely card and letter from someone from another Ottawa church the other day. Words cannot express our appreciation. I know I’m alive because God is merciful, because God hears and answers prayer. God gives skill to researchers, compassion to clinicians, wisdom and insight all around. God gives love. So very grateful.

The lung cancer community needs more love. I am working hard to pour more love into this community.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go (Public Domain)

O Love, that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.

O Light, that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain That morn shall tearless be

O Cross, that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be.

#hope

Port update and today’s advocacy highlights

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Several people have asked how things are going with the port, so it seems good to tell you that it’s going well! I’ve had chemo through it twice now, and having it changed the whole flavour of the chemo appointment. Instead of wondering with some measure of dread how many pokes would be required before success, each time the nurse had success on the first poke. Such relief! No more heating of the arms, no more slapping or pressing in search of sneaky veins. Both times the nurse simply inserted the needle into the port and all was well. Such relief!

Right after port insertion surgery, March 8, 2022
Receiving chemo through the port for the first time, March 10, 2022.
Just prior to having the dressing removed, March 15, 2022

Full disclosure: it hurts a little when the needle (for chemo) goes in. But so much less than when the nurse has to poke around for the vein. There are several pain relief options which could be used. Also, the phlebotomists at the Cancer Centre lab need to poke for blood draws for the blood test that we do every 24-48 hours before treatment, since they are not authorized to use the port. Blood draws don’t tend to hurt, and usually work on the first attempt.

After the dressing was removed
Receiving chemo March 31, 2022
Healing up well, March 31, 2022.
Today, April 7, 2022 The port is small, coin-sized below the scar. There is no pain and the scar will continue to heal in days to come.

Advocacy highlights: Great day today! Two significant conversations this morning to tell you about: one with someone diagnosed with lung cancer looking for support. She is interested in doing some advocacy also. The other with another person diagnosed with lung cancer who has set up a meeting for us with her MP to attempt to move access to Lorlatinib further forward. We spoke this morning to discuss strategy and make specific plans for this upcoming zoom meeting. I really appreciate being teammates with people who care and who appreciate the value of being part of a good team. Advocacy and life go better with good teammates.

Of course there were many more things on the agenda for today, but those are two being highlighted for today. Those and also this lovely card which just arrived from Martina, another good teammate and fellow cancer research patient representative good teammate. What a treat to receive such a thoughtful gift from a good teammate! #blessed #grateful #team

Disappointing News

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One advantage of needing help getting into the cancer centre is being allowed to bring a friend into my appointment with the oncologist. I’m very grateful that I could bring dear friend and awesome lung cancer survivor advocate, Andrea Redway, into the little room to talk with the oncologist about test results. It means a lot to have her ears and wisdom, and know that she will feel free to speak up with questions and ideas. (Of course I ran it by the oncologist beforehand.)

Part of the disappointing news is that there is no news from the blood biopsy that was sent to Canexia lab in Vancouver BC. Just because they didn’t spot any cancer info doesn’t mean there is none present, similar to the way we don’t find a chunk of chicken in every spoonful of a bowl of chicken soup.

My awesome oncologist looked back over several ct scans, comparing multiple scans rather than merely the most recent to the one previous scan. When he put five scans in a row, it became clear that it looks like slowly progressing cancer growing. Disappointing news.

We control what we can control.

There are several potential options to consider choosing. I would love to participate in a clinical trial, but unfortunately the cancer is growing in a way (without “measurable disease”) that does not meet criteria for the trials that we’ve looked into so far. Currently I don’t qualify for any trials that we’ve found. I’m very grateful for the team who have influenced our thinking, including patients, survivors, caregivers, doctors and researchers, very thankful for those who have offered input to guide our choices. My oncologist and I have been communicating with each other, and including the thoughts of other experts.

A big shoutout to Colin Barton and the ALK+ Research Acceleration Committee who are made up of patients, survivors and caregivers. They not only stay on top of cutting edge research related to the type of lung cancer we’re affected by (ALK+), but also drive research. They are a brilliant bunch who also care.

Another big shoutout to our Canadian team of doctors and researchers. Through years of advocacy it has been a privilege to get to know and partner with many top lung cancer researchers, surgeons and oncologists from across the country, as well as around the world.

My oncologist reached out to several people including Dr. Alice Shaw, MD, PhD, also known as the Queen of ALK. Dr. Alice Shaw remembers me as the Canadian advocate who chased her from the escalator and interviewed her for this YouTube video at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Atlanta, 2019. #AACR19

Dr. Ross Camidge spoke to the importance of testing to find the most appropriate treatment. Here he is at an event in April 2019 at The Ottawa Hospital where Dr. Paul Wheatley-Price obtained permission for me to invite people to be part of a special presentation to patients. Dr. Camidge also fielded questions from people across the country who were able to participate remotely. Dr. Christine Lovly is another top ALK doctor/researcher who genuinely cares about people and remembers us. They are part of our lung cancer team, and they are terrific teammates! So very thankful! (I also included a few photo’s below from our ALK+ family summit in Atlanta in August 2019. Such a great gift to be with these amazing people.)

Dr. D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD
Canadians at the ALK+ Summit in Atlanta, August 2019. Four were diagnosed with lung cancer. Can you tell which three are the caregivers?
Dr. Christine M. Lovly, MD, PhD, BA

But back to the news… my oncologist has asked a thoracic surgeon at The Ottawa Hospital about doing a procedure to get a biopsy to test. I’m waiting to hear back. Waiting is hard, but we can only control what we can control.

In the meantime, we continue the same course of treatment which is holding back much of the cancer, and we also take symptom management steps ahead. This seems to be a slowly progressing cancer, and being slow is a mercy which we’ll take.

The pain and symptom management clinic at The Ottawa Hospital gave an appointment next week. Research shows that people whose symptoms are well-managed tend to live not only better, but also longer. I’ll take it!

Yesterday morning I presented a White Ribbon to my awesome respirologist, Alyson, who came by to replace the oxygen machine which had started beeping. She has listened to a lot of advocacy talk about lung cancer, is very informed and empathetic. She goes above and beyond. Very thankful for her.

#hope

This just in! A call from the doctor’s office for a phone call appointment to discuss the potential procedure on Friday afternoon, April 29. (I asked and they don’t have a cancellation list.)