On October 1st (still playing catch up, bear with me), I had the privilege of being part of a lobby day organized by the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. Along with Niya Chari (CBCN's Government Relations Manager) and CBCN President Cathy Amandolea, I met with Members of Parliament for the NDP, Liberals and Conservatives.
Specifically, we spoke of the need for greater awareness of metastatic breast cancer and funding and research needs, such as steering the focus away from early detection towards finding a cure. We addressed the fact that there is no centralized database of Canadian cancer statistics (we rely heavily on American data) and the need for a Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
We ended the day with a reception on Parliament Hill that was attended by representatives of all political parties, despite being a very busy evening on the Hill. Daniel and Tim came too, which made me happiest of all.
A highlight of the evening was the video "Living Legacy" (pasted below). It's pretty powerful.
I was supposed to be a part of the video but I had to cancel at the last minute (I'll explain why another day). I think it's pretty complete without me. These women are incredible and just as impressive and lovely in person as they are on screen.
It was really hard to tell my story over and over. I wanted to do it though, because I know how much more effective it is to generate interests when people can attach a real person to an issue. For the most part, I really felt heard though. Cathy and Niya were brilliant and I think we did a good job getting our message across.
Metastatic breast cancer is often invisible, especially in October. This day meant a long way to making us be seen and heard.
4 comments:
Wow. That's incredible.
Good to see that Canadian Breast Cancer Network became so active in advocating for MBC.
It is really hard for us metastatic breast cancer patients to do more than deal with this horrible disease on a daily basis.
We never know what the next day is going to bring. I have lost so many of my breast cancer friends in the last 5 years of my journey.
Way to go Laurie.
K.
It truly is a powerful video. Thank you for lobbying for us! ~Kate
It’s really harsh condition which they all shared. Cancer is like slow poison its kill’s person mentally as well as physically no one can envision what will happen next. These women are brawny that they had tackled this situation.
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