Healing bench installed by Sudbury, Ont. cancer survivor
CBC
Kimberley Wahamaa-Deschenes first wondered whether it could be an April Fool's joke. On that day in 2013, she found a lump in her breast.
"No joke," she said. "It was as big as a golf ball. There's no breast cancer in my family. [I was] 47 and I wasn't looking to get a mammogram at that point."
She did follow up with her doctor and got news she didn't want to hear a few months later.
"I was working for Northern Ontario Business and I was co-hosting the Influential Women's Awards over the lunch hour. At 2 o'clock on June 6, 2013, I found out …. I had breast cancer."
What followed next was a biopsy, lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and the will to try and help others going through something similar. Wahamaa-Deschenes started the Trust Your Bust fund through the Northern Cancer Foundation. The fund has raised more than $18,000 since she started it in 2013.
"Early detection is key," she said. "I was Stage 2. I still have my breasts. Had I waited to Stage 3 they might be gone."
She said she wants to encourage people to trust their bodies and follow up for care if they feel something is wrong.
Through the foundation, Wahamaa-Deschenes has been able to work to help others.
"You know, one woman in particular was in her 30s, single mom like me," she said.
"[There] was no breast cancer in her family. Being able to help her with her finances — it's such a great way to give back."
A few years ago, the Coniston Community Garden set up a healing garden dedicated to Wahamaa-Deschenes. On the tenth anniversary of her diagnoses, she unveiled a healing bench at the garden.
"It's a place where we can sit and pray and have a quiet moment looking at the beautiful gardens which represent all colours for all cancers and illnesses," she said.
"It's a place of tranquillity. It's a legacy for me. It's a place to come together as a community, to come together as a family."
The Northern Cancer Foundation has taken note of the work done by Wahamaa-Deschenes.