A retired daycare worker and proud mother of three, Karyn, was enjoying a full and active life with her husband on their 10-acre property near Swan River. Just days after returning from a vacation in Mexico, everything changed. Karyn received a call from her doctor urgently asking her to come in for a follow-up appointment. It was the last thing she expected to hear: “You have cancer.”
After many scans and tests, Karyn’s diagnosis was confirmed as stage 3 esophageal cancer. “I was stunned,” she recalls. “I was 59 at the time—just a year older than my dad was when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He passed away from it, so I was really scared.” Karyn knew what the road ahead could look like, and how much it would take to face it—but with her family by her side, she wasn’t giving up.
Your support ensures that patients like Karyn have access to expert care and the resources they need to navigate a cancer diagnosis.
Thoracic surgeon, Dr. Biniam Kidane, along with a team of health professionals, developed a research-informed treatment plan for Karyn. In April 2023, she temporarily relocated to Brandon to begin five weeks of chemotherapy and 23 rounds of radiation. The experience was physically and emotionally draining, and full of uncertainty. When it ended, she returned home to Swan River to rest and recover. But her journey was far from over.
Thanks to your support of cancer research, Karyn was able to access a clinical trial at CancerCare Manitoba that combined a minimally invasive surgery followed by innovative immunotherapy. It was the kind of treatment her father didn’t have the chance to receive. Back then, the science simply wasn’t where it is today. For Karyn, donor-funded research changed everything.
For the next year, Karyn and her husband travelled to Winnipeg each month so she could receive critical immunotherapy that would train her immune system to target and destroy any remaining cancer cells as well as reduce the risk of recurrence.
Today, more than two years since the diagnosis that changed her life, Karyn is cancer-free. She recently celebrated in Mexico with her entire family. She reflects on how different things were when her father was diagnosed with cancer nearly 20 years ago. “Back then, there were no tests or clinical trials. Esophageal cancer was a death sentence. Research and donor support changed that for me.”
