Life-saving surgical innovation

For newlyweds Heather and Jeff, only one thing mattered most – a happy future together complete with a family of their own.

But just one month after their wedding, during the happiest moment of their lives, the unthinkable happened.

On her 31st birthday, Heather was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Instead of a celebration, the couple found themselves driving to an appointment with Dr. Allan Covens, head of gynecologic oncology at Sunnybrook. “I knew this wasn’t going to be good news, and I started crying as we sat on the highway, thinking about what was to come,” said Heather.

After initial procedures did not remove the cancer, Heather was faced with a tough decision. The standard treatment for cervical cancer is a radical hysterectomy, in which the uterus, cervix and lymph nodes are removed. Although it might save her life, having this procedure meant Heather and Jeff would be forced to abandon their lifelong dreams of having children of their own.

Thankfully, Dr. Covens had another idea. He scheduled Heather for a radical trachelectomy, a relatively new surgery which removes the cancerous cervix and surrounding tissues, yet still allows a woman to conceive and deliver a baby via Caesarean section. Dr. Covens is one of a very few doctors who perform the surgery in Canada.

“Because they wouldn’t know the extent of the cancer until the actual surgery, there was still the possibility that I might wake up from a radical hysterectomy instead of a trachelectomy,” Heather said.

The minutes ticked by as Heather’s life – and her dreams – hung in the balance. “I remember opening my eyes in the recovery room and seeing Jeff giving me two thumbs up with a big smile on his face. Dr. Covens is an expert in his field. I owe my life to him.”

Targeting breast cancer

It was November, 2007, and Toronto pharmacist Anne Cheung was planning a family holiday. She had felt a hard lump on the right side of her chest, near her sternum, and thought, “something is off there.” But, she said, “I was in a bit of denial, saying ‘It can’t be.’ ”

The then-44-year-old visited her GP, had a mammogram in December, and focused instead on a Christmas holiday with her husband Ron and their children, 14-year-old Colin and 11-year-old Veronica.

Right after the holiday, Anne learned from her GP that the mammogram showed the lump was suspicious. Next step: a biopsy. The diagnosis was shocking and frightening: She had cancer – a type called locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

The next eight months would be gruelling, but Anne always felt comforted by the care at Sunnybrook. “When I was going through this, I felt I was in good hands. The doctors and nurses reinforced that, and had a calming effect.”

“Each patient is different, and each has a different path to follow,” said Dr. Rakovitch. “Each woman will receive a tailored treatment plan by a team of health professionals who specialize in the specific type of breast cancer.”

In Anne’s case, she qualified for a clinical trial in which she would receive radiation and chemotherapy with Taxotere before surgery to shrink her tumour.

Once Anne agreed to enrol in the clinical trial and a start date was set, she felt relieved. “Now there is a plan,” she said.

Her ordeal is now over, but, like many breast cancer survivors, what lingers is a constant fear that the cancer has metastasized somewhere in her body, and will return.