The other night we took our kids to see a movie, “Chimpanzee”. I really didn’t know much about the movie, I just heard that it was good, and that there were cute chimpanzees in it. My son Triton sat beside me, and as the opening scene came, there was this cute young chimp and his mother, and it showed the love the mother and son had and how she’d nurse him and teach him how to forage for food. The whole time Triton would turn to me during the all too many cute scenes and say, “that’s me and you,” or “that’s me and you swinging from tree to tree, that’s me and you and looking for food”. It was very endearing, the love of the mother Chimp towards her son. Although they couldn’t and didn’t speak, you could see it in the gentle caresses and loving looks between the two. I was starting to identify with those chimps and so was my son. Then of course, I don’t know how I didn’t see it coming, but the mother dies and the two are separated. I’m an adult I should’ve seen that coming, but Triton is only 6, how could he have seen it coming? Triton started to cry and said he wanted to go home. I guess most mothers may have left the theatre with their obviously traumatized child in tow. But I didn’t. I sat there, tears running down my face, my arm around him telling him that it will get better, just watch, something good will come, just wait. Perhaps we all need that, someone there to tell us that everything will get better, just wait and see. I needed that three years ago when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. How could that be, how could that happen? I did all the right things to NOT get breast cancer. I ate semi-healthy, I didn’t smoke or drink, I even nursed both my children for a total of 5 years. How could I get breast cancer? I was diagnosed at 38 with Her2 positive, estrogen positive, stage 2, grade 3 breast cancer. I had a bilateral mastectomy, with tram flap (where they build you new breasts with your belly fat, yes, they can do that, pretty neat huh?), chemo, radiation, herceptin, tamoxifen, and then zolodex and arimidex. It’s a mouthful, and a lot of medical jargon I didn’t know anything about until it all happened to me.
A few weeks after radiation, I was granted subsidy to attend Rethink Breast Cancer’s Breast Fest Film Festival in Toronto. I was treated like royalty, and got to enjoy a weekend of films that shared amazing, and touching stories of young women dealing with breast cancer. I also got to connect with other women going through what I was going through. At a workshop I attended that weekend, I learned to journal my cancer journey. That was the first time where I felt I could share what I was going through, and it really helped me come terms with all that I had happened to me. While at the film fest, I also learned about another Rethink program called “Live, Laugh, Learn”, a sort of new generation support group for young women, held in some Canadian cities at a Lululemon store, and a place where each month, a different topic, activity, or speaker comes to share with young survivors. When Rethink wanted to bring the program here, to my city, I was so excited. I even got the chance to sit on the committee, to help bring this wonderful program to Vancouver. After a few years, and seeing it all unfold, finally the launch of “Live, Laugh Learn”, happened, Sunday April 29th, 2012, and it was fabulous! 
- Sandy
If you are interested in attending Live Laugh Learn in Vancouver (or another Canadian city) and for more information about Rethink's support programs please contact Shawna at support@rethinkbreastcancer.com
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