WEYBURN – Weyburn resident Melanie Sorensen is raising funds to take part in the CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, Oct. 2 in Regina, and is asking for support from the community to help her reach her goal.
“The Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure is close to my heart because breast cancer has impacted my life and those I care deeply about. I want to create a future without cancer. Some of you may know that I have also lost both parents to cancer, mom to colon cancer in 2008 (I always figured this would be the one that I would have to deal with) and dad to lung cancer in 2011,” she said.
“I’ve signed up to participate and fundraise for this year’s CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, Oct. 2. I will be walking in Regina.”
She said she is proud to be a part of a meaningful event that raises funds for groundbreaking breast cancer research and support programs and services for those impacted by this disease.
“My goal is to fundraise $2,500. With your help, I can reach my goal and make a difference for so many people,” she said, noting she was able to increase her goal from $1,500 due to the support she has been receiving.
In providing an update on her treatments, Sorensen said, “I have had two successful treatments now and had a port implanted for direct entry of chemo into a main vein – no more IV’s. I can say that my tumour has shrunk to half the size it was when I had my first treatment, which felt like it was on a mission to burst from my right side (estimated between seven and eight cm at the time).
“I feel really good for the most part, doing all the things that are suggested (gargling multiple times a day, taking all meds as directed, walks, yoga, naps). I swear between appointments and schedules, and this pill on that day and this injection for these five days, blood work, etc., anyone who navigates chemotherapy should just be granted a Project Management certificate.”
She added that she has been able to take a break from work, with the full support of her co-workers here in Weyburn at the Nexans plant and in the Finance dept. and head office in Markham, Ont.
“Without the help of my team, or the generous benefits package I have, taking this time to put all my energy into treatment and healing would not be an option for me. I shudder to think of how a single parent, working a minimum wage job, would even manage,” she said.
Her co-workers at Nexans are also fundraising across their locations in Canada to become “Electrified for a Cure”.
To donate to her goal for the Run for the Cure, go to her personal page at: https://support.cancer.ca/site/TR/RunfortheCure/RFTC_NW_odd_?px=14246131&pg=personal&fr_id=28543&s_src=CD_PC_mobile_email_button
