Carol Cundall wants everyone to know about the great treatment that she and her family have received at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan.
She’s a two-time survivor of Stage 4 breast cancer who credits the hospital’s employees with providing compassionate and outstanding care. They have always been there for her, and her family.
Cundall has been tabbed to be this year’s Face of the Radiothon for Life on April 14. The event will feature testimonials, tributes and more that will air on Golden West Broadcasting’s Estevan radio stations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will be directed towards the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.
Cundall has already filmed a video, and she will participate in other promotional activities before the benefit. She admits the video was more difficult than she thought it would be, as she became emotional several times.
“It’s to explain to people the services that are at the hospital that you might receive or encounter when you’re going through a cancer diagnosis, or the treatment you might receive,” Cundall told Lifestyles.
Cundall has publicly discussed her battles with cancer since she was first diagnosed in 2006. She was the honourary event chair for Estevan’s Relay for Life in 2009. She has also been a peer support volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the survivor committee co-chair for the Relay for Life in Estevan, and helped bring a CCS Living Well with Cancer retreat to Estevan.
She has always paid tribute to the care she received in Estevan, and now she’s taking her praise for the hospital to another level.
“It was the nurses who suggested my name (for the Radiothon), and all of the staff … from when you walk in the hospital … has been so supportive of me, so that’s why I agreed to do it,” she said.
“I’ve always felt so supported by the staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital. When you’re going through chemo, they make sure that you’re looked after. It’s unbelievable.”
People might not realize how much support there is at the hospital for people who are fighting cancer. Chemotherapy is offered locally, although the type of chemo she needed wasn’t available in Estevan, so she had to travel to Regina. But she has received other types of treatment and her blood work in Estevan.
“If anything’s wrong, you go here,” she said. “They have your back.”
She goes to St. Joseph’s Hospital twice a month for treatments, including bone-building, since the cancer spread to her bones in 2006. She also goes in for blood work each month at St. Joseph’s.
Cundall has carried a positive attitude since her first diagnosis, and she believes it’s easier to have such an outlook when receiving excellent care.
“You do have dark moments and you feel sorry for yourself, but you just have to pick yourself up and keep going,” said Cundall. “When I go for my treatment for my bones, I’m always offered a warm blanket. They’re smiling and they’re friendly. They care about how you’re doing.
“And if you have any questions, you can ask them.”
The staff members at the hospital are always willing to listen and to respond to every need she has.
“There were times when I was worried about if I was coming down with a cold, and I wondered if I should go or if I shouldn’t go, and they always said ‘Of course you should come here. That’s what we’re here for,’” she said. “That response, that support, makes you feel like there’s no question that’s too insignificant to ask them.”
She could also phone and talk to a chemotherapy nurse or another staff member. Employees would make phone calls to Regina and ask questions on behalf of a patient when necessary.
When she found out in September 2006 that her cancer was gone, not only was it a cause for celebration for her, but for the staff, because they played an instrumental role in her recovery.
The cancer came back in January 2015, and Cundall had to draw on the support of the hospital again. When she found out in November that she was once again cancer-free, the staff was ecstatic.
Cundall’s encounters with the hospital’s employees have extended beyond the services of the cancer department. Her husband, Lynnwood, had open heart surgery in Regina and received care in Estevan. Her daughter, Michelle, had kidney stones. Both medical issues happened just before her first cancer diagnosis.
Also, her son, Matthew, suffered a spiral fracture in his leg two days before she was to have a breast removed in 2006. Once again, the staff was there for her family.
“You don’t realize how important it is to have it,” said Cundall. “We take it for granted, and then when you need it, you realize they greet you with open arms. You realize how much you do need it. You think of the X-rays and the blood work and the hospital stays. Everyone was so supportive.”
The doctors at the hospital understood the tough times her family was enduring back in 2006, and made every effort to accommodate her. When there wasn’t a hospital bed available for her to spend the night in Regina after her breast removal surgery, they made sure she could recover at St. Joseph’s.
“Honestly, that happens in here in Estevan a lot,” said Cundall. “They bend over backwards for the care of the person, because the person matters.”
The new CT scanner at St. Joseph’s Hospital will also make a big difference. The hospital foundation was tasked with fundraising for the purchase and installation of the scanner, and they raised more than $2 million.
She had to make trips to Regina for CT scans, but now she can receive them locally.
St. Joseph’s Hospital is a wonderful facility, and she hopes people realize how fortunate they are to have it in Estevan.
“When you think about how blessed you are and how lucky you are, it’s hard not to be positive. It’s like you’re not on your own,” said Cundall. “And that’s what St. Joseph’s means to me.”
