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Name: Norah Stephen Age: 90
Bridgetown, Nova Scotia
Type of Cancer: Ovarian, breast

My mother, Norah Elizabeth Stephen was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1973, at the age of 61. Determination, chemotherapy, surgery and the support of family and friends enabled her to survive this, and the onset of breast cancer several years later. As a cancer survivor and advocate, she has been a dedicated volunteer within the Nova Scotia cancer care system for thirty years. She was recently recognized for her service by the announcement of the Norah Stephen Oncology Scholar Awards by Cancer Care Nova Scotia in her honour. The attached picture shows Norah participating in the Middleton, NS Relay for Life, which last weekend raised $100,000 for cancer research. Norah is 90 years young this month.

Highlights: (Memorable moments, turning points, favourite memories)
For me, being told by my mother’s doctor that I should consider "saying goodbye to Norah – she may not make it through the night". She was very weak and barely conscious when I went in to see her, but Mom asked me what the doctor had told me. Taught since childhood never to lie, I told the truth. "Well", she said, "you go find him and tell him he’s WRONG!". And he was.

Norah’s family (6 children, 16 grandchildren and 8 great-grand-children) will travel from all over the world in July 03 to Bridgetown, NS to celebrate our mother’s birthday.

Lowlights: (Moments of courage, digging deep within)
A quote from the news article announcing the Norah Stephen Oncology Scholar Awards (December 2002): "When Norah was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 61, her prognosis wasn’t good. Her doctors hinted that she might only have months to live. But she very quickly found within herself a well of positive energy and determination not to let herself become emotionally defeated, both of which served to carry her through the darkest moments of her struggle.

"I remember after my very first chemo treatment, I came home and for three or four days I just lay on my bed and cried. Then the sun came out and I realized that if I could just force myself to eat something, I’d get stronger. So I did, and after a while the food began to taste better again." Once she got used to the treatments, Norah never minded going to chemotherapy. "It still made me sick, but it made me feel like I was in charge of my life, like I was making myself better. I would look forward to it."

Soon after the diagnosis, Norah celebrated Christmas with her family. They gave her two gifts she will never forget – a Siamese cat named Highliner, and a little green Toyota with a red bow around it. "Those two things really meant a lot to me. Highliner was with me for years, and I’m sure I couldn’t have gotten trough everything without him. It was so nice not to have to come home to an empty apartment. The car was my family’s way of saying ‘you’ll be around in the spring to drive this’. It was a real vote of confidence."

In the years that followed, Norah underwent her treatments and continued to grow stronger. And she never stopped working (she was an executive assistant to a Minister in the NS government). Often she would hop on the bus directly after a chemotherapy treatment to go to her job; if she felt sick, she would hop off, throw up in the bushes and get right back on again. "That was the only way I could stand it, was to cope with it".
It didn’t take long to discover that she had the ability to inspire the same kind of positive thinking in other cancer patients.

"The doctors would have me come in and talk to people that maybe had to go through chemotherapy but didn’t want to", she says. "I didn’t know if it was doing any good, but they told me ‘you should hear them talking after you leave!’ So I figured I was doing some good, and I might as well continue."

Several years into her treatment for ovarian cancer, Norah also developed breast cancer. She had her left breast removed, and kept right on going. She retired from her job at the age of 78.

Norah never gave up her devotion to and interest in cancer survival and research. She was a founding member of both Cancer Care Nova Scotia, and the Nova Scotia Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, and served on the Boards of both organizations until 2002. She has influenced several generations of doctors and cancer care specialists, and helped hundreds of victims deal with their disease. This is her assessment of her contribution:
"I think the cancer system has given me far more than I’ve ever given them. The people I’ve met, the support I’ve had … it’s amazing how many people are living with cancer. That’s something I never realized until I got involved with the system. They’re just busy people going about their lives – we don’t often hear about those people."

Current Status:
Celebrating her 90th birthday this month. Her doctors have advised her that she no longer has cancer. Lives in her own house with her cat, and is still involved in cancer support activities.

Favourite Activity(s) now:
Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, Toastmasters, church and community activities.