When Meghan Kreuger discovered a lump in her breast on Boxing Day 2018, she was shocked.
“When I felt that lump I just got that pit in my stomach,” the now-40-year old North Okanagan woman said.
Days later, her worst fear was confirmed by a doctor — she had an aggressive form of cancer.
“I thought that was it for me, ” Kreuger told Global News. “My initial reaction was am I going to die and then I thought of my daughter and then I thought about my husband.”
Kreuger, who is a paramedic, had invasive surgery to remove both of her breasts, as well as some of her lymph nodes.
She also received intense treatment at the cancer clinic in Kelowna.
“I spent a total of 28 days here receiving radiation,” she said.
While her prognosis is now good, had she been diagnosed today, she may have not had to undergo a double mastectomy due to treatment advancements.
Those advancements and B.C.’s first surgical oncology research program launched last fall in Kelowna are being highlighted on this World Cancer Day.
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“We can offer treatments that very likely they’re going to have a different outcome because of improvements in cancer surgery, the radiation treatments and the medical treatments that we have,” said Dr. Chris Baliski, a surgical oncologist now heading up the research program.
The newest medical treatment being implemented at BC Cancer in Kelowna coincides with World Cancer Day.
It involves a new procedure to reduce a condition called Lymphedema which is swelling that can occur after lymph nodes are removed.
“The hope is that perhaps we could take the chances of swelling in the extremity down from about 30 per cent to 10 per cent,” Baliski said. “This is an innovative technique that’s typically being offered in major centers such as Toronto and Vancouver, and now we’re bringing this to Kelowna in the Interior.”
Baliski said new treatment options, such as the Lymphedema procedure, being offered are also helping improve quality of life for cancer patients.
“It can actually affect how they live day to day. It can affect golfing…day-to-day things that one does. If they’re a runner, perhaps they can’t run anymore,” Baliski said. “These are really important things that we want people to live well, and if we can do anything to prevent that, I think we need to do everything we can.”
Baliski said significant strides are continuously being made to help treat the roughly 40 percent of Canadians expected to fight cancer at some point in their life, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Survivorship is improving and we can expect patients to do better,” Baliski said. “Each year there are improvements in outcomes, and there’s lots of reasons for optimism.”
Despite her invasive surgery, Kreuger said she is grateful to be alive with a renewed outlook on life.
“It changed the way I look at things, changed my compassion for people,” she said “It changed everything.”
