Kathy’s story of strength and survival

I am a medical conundrum.  I have had three cancer diagnoses and two liver transplants over the last 22 years. My situation over the years has been so complex that it has seemed overwhelming. Not just to me, but to many of the medical practitioners I have encountered.

I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 40.  It was a fairly early stage diagnosis and after four months of treatment I was in remission.

So, I was shocked to learn seven years later that my cancer had returned — but this time, it was accompanied by a terminal autoimmune liver disease. Neither disease was treatable because of the presence of the other. Both the liver doctors and the cancer doctors initially said, “There is nothing we can do”.

I turned to InspireHealth for help both times. In a series of incredibly empathetic, truly interested and very wise conversations, my InspireHealth doctor invited me not to look at what could not be done, but to look at what I could do to help myself in this situation.

Little did I know that I would reach out to InspireHealth for a third time when I was diagnosed again with cancer earlier this year.

InspireHealth has seen me through grueling chemotherapy and radiation, countless surgeries, life-threatening side-effects and even depression. Without the “glue” and encouragement they have provided through my health roller coaster, I have the profound knowledge that I would not have been able to convince myself to keep going, which in turn convinced my doctors to keep going when the odds were against my survival.

Thanks to the support, tools and guidance received at InspireHealth, many individuals like me see their cancer diagnosis as an opportunity for personal growth, for new lifestyle choices, or to look at things in a different way.

Kathy McLaughlin, Patient

Vancouver, BC