Patient Stories: Karen Donald
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"What she gave to me was hope — the kind of hope a person desperately clings to in a situation like this." Dr. Val Capstick and Karen Donald. |
Karen Donald is a survivor of cervical cancer. Even today those words sound odd to her, not because she survived, but because it happened at all.
"My story starts with a routine check-up, an annual exam that turned into something more. Much more," says Karen. "After the colposcopy, later followed by a cervical biopsy, I remember sitting in that room, wearing my little gown and hearing the doctor say, ‘It's worse than we first thought.'"
Karen would learn that "worse" was a grade three tumor, mere centimeters away from spreading beyond the wall of her cervix. The rest, she says, is a blur. She was in shock. After all, she had no symptoms, no warning signs, and no pain - just some irregular pap tests.
"Now I had cancer. To save my life, I would need a radical hysterectomy. I was 32."
Karen says she believes there are people in this world who cross your path right when you need them most. After her prognosis, who Karen needed most was Dr. Val Capstick, a Gynecologic Oncologist and researcher at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
"Well, as you would expect, Dr. Capstick brings an impressive list of credentials, but more than anything else, what she gave to me was hope — the kind of hope a person desperately clings to in a situation like this," says Karen. "The care and compassion was very real, and it was backed up by the best medicine for my case."
Karen always tells people that she is so grateful to be able to tell her story: "It means I survived," she says with a grin.
But even with the advances in cancer treatment that have been made, Karen also tells people that further research into gynecological cancers treated at the Royal Alexandra, and the Lois Hole Hospital for Women when it opens in 2009, will allow our healthcare experts to achieve more.
"My course of treatment included a complete hysterectomy. It's what was necessary and I'm grateful that this surgery by Dr. Capstick helped to save my life. I will never carry a child of my own but, but getting my life back means I can still be someone's wife, someone's sister, someone's best friend."
"That's such a precious gift, and it's changed my life forever."