MAKING THE WEEKEND A FAMILY AFFAIR.
In the fall of 2018, Luana thought she felt a lump in her right breast. A mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy soon revealed she had two small tumours — in her left breast.
Things moved quickly from there, thanks to her GP and the team at Women’s College Hospital. After having a lumpectomy, Luana went through four rounds of chemotherapy followed by 29 rounds of radiation at The Princess Margaret. As a mother to a young daughter, she was ready to do anything it took to conquer cancer. Luana stared down cancer and said, “Bring it on!”
She completed her treatment in July 2019 and has been N.E.D. (no evidence of disease) ever since. But the experience has given Luana a new approach to life. “The day you find out you have cancer, your life changes forever,” she says. “The treatment I received from Princess Margaret saved my life. My dad passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2004 and the treatment for that cancer has improved so much since then. I only hope that treatments and cures can be discovered for this terrible disease that touches so many lives.”
After all that she endured, Luana is still devoted to beating cancer in any way she can. “I volunteered to lead my firm’s walking team in in a Princess Margaret fundraiser without hesitation. Last year I walked 15km with my husband, daughter, two sisters, and a good friend and neighbour – they were my support team during my treatment as well. This year, I will be leading the team again and am hopeful we will walk together!”