Meet Lianne
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We are thrilled to introduce you to our new Moderator Lianne who recently joined our team. Take a moment to read a bit about Lianne's experiences with cancer both personally and as a caregiver. Be sure to say hi when you see her posts around the site and quiz her about her favourite bands!
Hello
My name is Lianne. You will see me in the online community as Lianne_adminCCS. I thought I would share a little bit about me while I get to know all of you.
I will start with some background as to my connection with cancer and how I landed here as a moderator. In Nov of 1992 my dad, only 56 yrs old, was diagnosed with colon cancer. During surgery, it was discovered it had metastasized to his liver. While they briefly did some treatment, ultimately, he was terminal and by mid May 1993 he was gone. The following year I channeled my grief and anger and sadness into volunteering with Relay for Life as a way to honour him. Every year I would stand on the sideline during the Survivor Lap and cheer for the survivors while wishing he could have been one. But I take solace in the thought that we have come a long way since then and that had he been diagnosed today, not only would he have been diagnosed much sooner, but he likely would have survived it.
Flash forward to August 2010. I couldn’t sleep one night and so I got up and while sitting at the computer, I scratched an itch and found a lump. A flurry of tests including mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy revealed I indeed had breast cancer. For those of you who have heard those words, I don’t have to tell you how I felt. I was stunned. While there were several cases of colon cancer on my dad’s side, and that was always a concern, breast cancer seemingly came out of nowhere. Treatment involved surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy. I joined this site to connect with others going through a same or similar diagnosis. I also used the Peer Support match program. One year after completing treatment, I became a Peer Match volunteer and after four years of volunteering I switched careers from the software industry to become a Support Specialist with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2016. In 2017 CBCF merged with Canadian Cancer Society and in Feb 2018 I moved to other support programs within CCS and that includes moderating here.
During that time, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and my sister was diagnosed with a carcinoid tumour in her stomach in 2016. Both are doing well now though as many of us know, side effects can be an ongoing issue. For fun I enjoy hiking and nature and combining that with photography. I enjoy spin and Zumba classes, I am a huge music fan and my biggest vice is concert tickets.
So, I come to this forum with a perspective from many different angles – cancer survivor, family member, caregiver and CCS employee and I am excited to get to know all of you!
Thank you Lianne for sharing your story with us. We all look forward to getting to know you better.
Hello
My name is Lianne. You will see me in the online community as Lianne_adminCCS. I thought I would share a little bit about me while I get to know all of you.
I will start with some background as to my connection with cancer and how I landed here as a moderator. In Nov of 1992 my dad, only 56 yrs old, was diagnosed with colon cancer. During surgery, it was discovered it had metastasized to his liver. While they briefly did some treatment, ultimately, he was terminal and by mid May 1993 he was gone. The following year I channeled my grief and anger and sadness into volunteering with Relay for Life as a way to honour him. Every year I would stand on the sideline during the Survivor Lap and cheer for the survivors while wishing he could have been one. But I take solace in the thought that we have come a long way since then and that had he been diagnosed today, not only would he have been diagnosed much sooner, but he likely would have survived it.
Flash forward to August 2010. I couldn’t sleep one night and so I got up and while sitting at the computer, I scratched an itch and found a lump. A flurry of tests including mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy revealed I indeed had breast cancer. For those of you who have heard those words, I don’t have to tell you how I felt. I was stunned. While there were several cases of colon cancer on my dad’s side, and that was always a concern, breast cancer seemingly came out of nowhere. Treatment involved surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy. I joined this site to connect with others going through a same or similar diagnosis. I also used the Peer Support match program. One year after completing treatment, I became a Peer Match volunteer and after four years of volunteering I switched careers from the software industry to become a Support Specialist with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2016. In 2017 CBCF merged with Canadian Cancer Society and in Feb 2018 I moved to other support programs within CCS and that includes moderating here.
During that time, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and my sister was diagnosed with a carcinoid tumour in her stomach in 2016. Both are doing well now though as many of us know, side effects can be an ongoing issue. For fun I enjoy hiking and nature and combining that with photography. I enjoy spin and Zumba classes, I am a huge music fan and my biggest vice is concert tickets.
So, I come to this forum with a perspective from many different angles – cancer survivor, family member, caregiver and CCS employee and I am excited to get to know all of you!
Thank you Lianne for sharing your story with us. We all look forward to getting to know you better.
Welcome!
Great to meet you, albeit virtually.
I am so sorry that you and your family has been so affected by this insidious disease.
But we're very lucky that it has brought you here, to this place where we can benefit from your experiences and your kind, helpful manner.
I love your quote about music - too true! I've often said, if I had to lose one or the other, I'd rather lose my eyesight over my hearing as there is no way I could live without music!
Talk soon!
Thank you for your kinds words. Another music lover - awesome! Although being a huge nature lover too, if I have to chose, I will keep my eyesight and give up my sense of smell :)
have a great day
thank you for the welcome. Look forward to learning more about you
sorry that we share this experience. I look forward to chatting more as we go forward. Whats your favorite band?
Liz
Yes more experience than I would like but I agree that with each one I have gained more knowledge and I believe knowledge is power. Sorry for your losses but a big shout out to your mom for her 8 years. That is awesome!
Thank you for the warm welcome