scientist

Research and Hope

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Research makes a world of difference! Research is a reason to hope, and daily there are advances in cancer research.

Patients, survivors and caregivers can speak into the research process, making it better. There is need for people who have cancer experience to participate as research advocates.

I’m glad to finally have my computer back and running, the corrupted hard drive replaced. Not having a computer made life and advocacy much more challenging. Even without it, I’ve been busy with a lot of lung cancer activities, including ongoing research advocacy with the Canadian Cancer Trials Group and the International Lung Cancer Foundation.

If you are a lung cancer survivor advocate who is interested in learning and growing as a research advocate, please consider applying to the (IASLC) International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s “STARS” program, in which I participated as a mentor for six months last year. Such a great learning opportunity! You’ll need a reference and to set aside a few hours to apply. (The AACR Scientist <–> Survivor Program is also excellent, and open to advocates for all cancers.)

Awesome STARS advocates at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, Barcelona, September 2019.

I spoke as part of a team to a group of patient advisors at The Ottawa Hospital in January, with the goal of working together to improve cancer clinical trials. They were engaged and inspiring! We are walking in new territory and innovating new pathways. I’m hopeful.

Our monthly lung cancer hope outreach tables at the Cancer Centre continue with good coordinating work from Andrea Redway, with support from The Ottawa Hospital, Lung Cancer Canada and the IASLC. It is clear that the information and conversations make a real difference for survivors who stop by, many are newly diagnosed or in process of being diagnosed, which is one of the most challenging parts of the lung cancer journey. We are privileged to invite them into community, share information and stories, and (perhaps most importantly) listen. It is clear by their facial expressions and body language that they tend to leave much more uplifted and encouraged. We have an amazing team of compassionate and skilled people. From time to time, we talk about the emotional toll it takes on our team. Most agree that it leaves us feeling a little emotional fatigue by the end of the day, but after a bit of rest we are restored. Overall, this work brings so much joy and fulfilment to team members. We get along well and enjoy each others’ company. It’s really good to work together as a team. I’m very grateful for these people and other teammates who invest a day each month.

Some of our outreach table team members chatting with Dr. Paul Wheatley-Price in January. (That day I spent a lot of time talking with Ottawa Hospital employees as well as patients!)

There are many amazing people doing good work for people affected by lung cancer and other cancers. What a privilege to get to know some of them, and sometimes connect them with each other! It brings me joy to connect people to form strategic partnerships.

It was great to meet Amy Desjardins, Director of the Canadian Cancer Society, Ottawa Region, in person in January, and to learn that their holiday fundraising appeal which used my story has raised over $280,000 for cancer research.

I’m part of several online lung cancer communities, which offer information, empathy and support. I’ve met many hundreds of people around the world through these groups, and it’s exciting to meet in person. When Kim told me that she was coming to Ottawa for the Family Day long week-end, I asked my kids how they felt about having her family over for dinner. They jokingly gave me the “Stranger Danger” talk! They are very supportive of my lung cancer work because we’ve talked about it and they understand how important lung cancer survivor community and advocacy are. They know that it’s up to us to support people and stand up for better outcomes for people with lung cancer. We were very happy to welcome Kim and her family into our home. It was great to spend time together.

I continue to connect with many people affected by lung cancer and spend hours each month listening, encouraging and seeking to inspire hope. It’s an honour. We have the choice to live in hope or fear, so why not choose hope?

I’m doing a little art these days when I can set aside the time.

Did I mention that my youngest turned 13 recently? That’s right, now all three are teens and life is wonderful! I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be alive and be here with them and for them. I cherish these precious moments, and hope for many more. I dedicate time and effort to advocacy with hope that this will help improve outcomes for others affected by lung cancer, today and in the days to come.

My 13yo made this cake for a little Leap Year Day party we held with some good friends!

#Shift

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This past week has been one of the best of my life! It has been enormously transformational: I will never be the same. What an honour to represent Canada, to represent lung cancer, and to help spread a little bit of the tremendous amount of hope which is available.

I come home a new person with a deeper calling. I have an even bigger love for people affected by lung cancer, a stronger passion to make things better, and an unbendable will to work hard toward that goal.

It was an honour and responsibility to represent Canada and to represent lung cancer patients at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. I worked hard to make you all proud.

Twenty-three thousand people dedicated to fighting cancer gathered in Atlanta, and I wish I could have met them all! Thank you MP Catherine McKenna and your team for the Canada flag pins! I gave out almost 100 Canadian flag pins, and well over 100 business cards, telling our lung cancer story every time. I was honoured by these cancer fighters, and met brilliant leaders in the field, people who cared and listened. They are dedicated to improving outcomes for cancer patients, and research makes a difference! More research means more survivors. I thanked them for their work, and felt honoured when they thanked me for mine.

On my way to share my advocacy story at my poster session

I have many stories to tell, many photo’s to post, and more video posts to come on YouTube. I have been honoured to bring hope to people affected by lung cancer and other cancers, living in Canada and around the world. It brings me tremendous joy to serve as a channel of hope for the lung cancer community. #ChooseHope! … and keep your eyes open for more

I’m so grateful for all I’ve been privileged to experience this past week. It was an honour to represent, and I will keep working hard for people affected by lung cancer.

  • Evening receptions were opportunities to spend time with stellar people
  • Beautiful Atlanta

Ottawa to Atlanta

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I can’t tell you how excited I am to be heading from Ottawa to Atlanta on Friday for the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. This is a huge conference, with 20,000-30,000 of the top cancer researchers in the world, plus many clinicians and so many others … including me! I’m participating in their “Scientist <–> Survivor Program”, which groups cancer survivor advocates with mentors, both in advocacy and also science. That’s right: we get connected with an expert in cancer advocacy, and also a scientist mentor to help us make the most of this amazing conference! There are so many sessions, but no one can go to them all. I’ve been trying to plan which to attend, and I’m facing scheduling conflicts. So many great options!

I’m thankful they have a conference app to help us figure it all out, because this event is packed with possibilities! If you are curious about what’s happening and who will be presenting, you can browse the sessions and check out abstracts from the comfort of your own home. Here’s a link to investigate the sessions and presentations. Here’s the link to my abstract. And this is the link to donate to the great work that the AACR does, through supporting my 5K walk on Saturday morning.

The app also has maps to help us find places. No getting lost at AACR Annual Meeting 2019! It will even show the path to walk from where one is to where a particular session is taking place. (In case you were wondering, it would take about 15 days to walk from where I am now to the Georgia World Congress Center, home to this preeminent cancer research showcase. I’ll stick to my plan to fly!)

Yes, I am quite excited about this privilege to participate in the AACR Scientist <–> Survivor Program. I feel very honoured that I get to be at the Annual Meeting, and I know I’m representing Canada as well as lung cancer patients, survivors and advocates. I will endeavour to make the most of this opportunity, and I expect I will spend time with exceptional people and learn a lot while I’m there.

I wish I could take all of you with me! Since we can’t all go, I’m going to try to do the next best thing. Here is one of the ways I’m going to step out of my comfort zone while I’m in Atlanta: I’m planning to post videos on YouTube of my time there.

Here’s a link to my first one! I hope you’ll follow my adventure in Atlanta on YouTube!

Choose HOPE! Inspire courage. Incite hope. Foment communities of hope.

#AACR19 #AACRSSP19

Not even a migraine…

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No, not even a migraine could stop me, last December, from submitting my application to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting Scientist – Survivor Program, which takes place March 30 – April 3, 2019, in Atlanta Georgia! #AACR19 #AACRSSP19

This program intentionally connects scientists with cancer survivors during this big, exciting international cancer research meeting. It may be difficult for some of you to understand why I would be so terribly keen to go, but trust me! I really, really wanted to go and be part of this amazing opportunity to connect with people, learn things and tell my community about them!

The AACR’s website says their Annual Meeting’s program, “covers the latest discoveries across the spectrum of cancer research … and highlights the work of the best minds in research and medicine from institutions all over the world.”

I’d been trying to work on my application, as the days raced towards the December deadline. Busy days, Lung Cancer Awareness Month activities, end-of-year extra’s, concerts, wrapping up details from the November “Living with Lung Cancer: Ottawa’s 1st Patient-Driven Mini Summit”, kids’ activities, special Christmas events, family travel, etc.

Suddenly I was down to the wire with thoughts swirling in my head, so fast I couldn’t write them down. I had answered most of the questions, only a couple left plus the BIG ONE: an abstract for a scientific type of poster that I would actually make and present if I was accepted into the program. (No pressure!)

What made it worse was that my hands weren’t working well. Nerve pain is a side effect of the new drug I’m on. Writing or typing can be very painful.

A dear friend helped by sitting at a coffee shop with me the evening of the deadline, jotting down my words on paper, helping me to compile my myriad of lung cancer ideas and thoughts into one clear concise “sort-of-scientific-sounding” abstract. When it was time to go home I still didn’t have it, and my headache was growing worse. I started to feel terribly sick …

I’m not going to tell you how physically awful I felt that night as I struggled at the computer to get the words together and inputted to the computer so I could submit my application. But I did it!

And here it is, all official, at this link, or you can read it below.

I am so happy to say that I am incredibly honoured to have been accepted into the program! A lot of people didn’t make it. Only 40 of us did.

As I go to this amazing conference, I’m representing those who weren’t accepted and those who didn’t apply. That’s a big responsibility, and I intend to share the things I will learn with as many people as I can.

You’ll be hearing more in days to come, but for now, I’ve got to go work on that poster! 😀

ADV06 / 6 – Informed, inspired, empowered: The new era of lung cancer patients/survivors in Ottawa, Canada

 March 31, 2019, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Section 29

Presenter/Authors

Jill Hamer-Wilson. Independent Advocate, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Abstract

This poster will discuss many aspects of Living with Lung Cancer. Jill Hamer Wilson’s mission is to raise up a team of lung cancer advocates whose voice cannot be denied and who will influence for change. Caring until there is a Cure through more research will equal more survivors. Initiatives include monthly support meetings for lung cancer patients, regular online support and communication, monthly outreach tables in the cancer centres, annual lung cancer patient summits, regular encouragement, inspiration and spreading of hope which goes beyond ourselves, beyond lung cancer, which breaks down walls that divide us. Constituencies include local lung cancer patients, and focus locally, but also reach to all affected by any kind of cancer, anywhere in the world. Ottawa’s 1st Patient-Driven Mini Summit took place on November 27, 2018. It provided a terrific stimulus to provoke discussion and networking with peers and leaders of interest. The psoter will also explore the experiences of lung cancer patients at the Ottawa Hospita; the journey from scarcity to abundance and the under resourcing to forming a community of hope and providing of resources for others. Examples of collaboration, such as speaking on panels about bench to bedside research and care, clinical trials, and fundraisers will be outlined along with learning and growth opportunities for lung cancer patients/advocates.

AACR Annual Meeting 
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