Christine’s Battle
Donation protected
Being brave doesn’t mean you don’t always feel afraid. Being brave means doing the right thing inspite of feeling afraid. - Christine Leger
Christine is many things to many people - she is a nurse, daughter, sister, aunt, friend and co-worker. She would give the shirt off her back in a heartbeat and like many people who would do anything for others, she would never want or expect the same in return. She is one of the kindest, bravest, stubborn and fiercest people to have ever graced this Earth.
We have created this page for Christine with her permission (although she fought us on it) because she is, again, so unfairly, fighting for her life.
Our hope is to be able to cover the cost of a private hospital room ($5,000 for this alone), hotel, gas and parking for her parents and siblings who will be driving back and forth to Toronto regularly and lastly, to help her with any medical expenses she may be faced with post surgery.
Here is Christines storey which we have summarized as best as we can:
Christine battled stage 5 cancer (Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma) in 2000 at 17 years old and beat it. The cancer was very far along when it was finally discovered so the doctors had to be very aggressive to save her. She was treated with both radiation and chemotherapy and was given the maximum amount of radiation a person could have in their lifetime.
Despite all of this, she continued to fight to have a normal life and graduated from Durham College becoming a Registered Practical Nurse in 2003. She chose this career path because of the amazing care she received from the nurses at Princess Margaret and she hoped to make a difference. Over the past 18 years in remission, Christine has kept her head up (as only she could, she is the living and breathing LIVESTRONG example) working full time as a mental health nurse, purchasing her own home at 26, and taking care of her fur baby, Hunter.
It turned out though, beating cancer was the easy part. In 2005, the radiation caused the bone to rot in her face and 12 of her teeth abscessed. She underwent a 17 hour surgery for teeth removal and had her jaw broken to implant a prothesis. The prosthesis was not successful and she now suffers from severe lockjaw. To prepare for and to help her body recover from this surgery she had 55 hyperbaric oxygen treaments.
From these treatments, she lost all her saliva glands and needs to drink water constantly to lubricate her mouth and throat. Approximately 3 years ago she had to go off on disability as she was going deaf due to the ongoing long term effects the radiation. Christine underwent 4 surgeries as the right side cochlear implant had to be done in phases due to the radiation damage. Her body did not heal well from these surgeries and she has had complex infections and neuropathic nerve damage. She is now fully deaf in one ear and partially in the other.
Christine was diagnosed again on May 30th of this year with cancer on her soft palate and right buccal mucosa (Insitu & Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma). This cancer is an oral cancer that is cause by all the radiation she received from her first fight with cancer. She was initially informed that there was no cure and she may live 6 months. After much discussion the surgeons decided they could operate but that it would be highly risky and she may not survive, but she was told that she had a chance.
Again, she is fighting. She is fighting because she is a rockstar. She is fighting for her family, for her friends. She is fighting for her life.
On Wednesday July 4th, she is undergoing this major 12 hour surgery where the surgeons hope to save her again. She will be in the hospital for weeks and there is no guarantee. But there is hope and until they open her up and go inside they do not know if they can cure her.
Anything you are able to give helps.
Please pray for a happy ending but also quality of life, having one without the other isnt the same - Christine Leger
Christine is many things to many people - she is a nurse, daughter, sister, aunt, friend and co-worker. She would give the shirt off her back in a heartbeat and like many people who would do anything for others, she would never want or expect the same in return. She is one of the kindest, bravest, stubborn and fiercest people to have ever graced this Earth.
We have created this page for Christine with her permission (although she fought us on it) because she is, again, so unfairly, fighting for her life.
Our hope is to be able to cover the cost of a private hospital room ($5,000 for this alone), hotel, gas and parking for her parents and siblings who will be driving back and forth to Toronto regularly and lastly, to help her with any medical expenses she may be faced with post surgery.
Here is Christines storey which we have summarized as best as we can:
Christine battled stage 5 cancer (Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma) in 2000 at 17 years old and beat it. The cancer was very far along when it was finally discovered so the doctors had to be very aggressive to save her. She was treated with both radiation and chemotherapy and was given the maximum amount of radiation a person could have in their lifetime.
Despite all of this, she continued to fight to have a normal life and graduated from Durham College becoming a Registered Practical Nurse in 2003. She chose this career path because of the amazing care she received from the nurses at Princess Margaret and she hoped to make a difference. Over the past 18 years in remission, Christine has kept her head up (as only she could, she is the living and breathing LIVESTRONG example) working full time as a mental health nurse, purchasing her own home at 26, and taking care of her fur baby, Hunter.
It turned out though, beating cancer was the easy part. In 2005, the radiation caused the bone to rot in her face and 12 of her teeth abscessed. She underwent a 17 hour surgery for teeth removal and had her jaw broken to implant a prothesis. The prosthesis was not successful and she now suffers from severe lockjaw. To prepare for and to help her body recover from this surgery she had 55 hyperbaric oxygen treaments.
From these treatments, she lost all her saliva glands and needs to drink water constantly to lubricate her mouth and throat. Approximately 3 years ago she had to go off on disability as she was going deaf due to the ongoing long term effects the radiation. Christine underwent 4 surgeries as the right side cochlear implant had to be done in phases due to the radiation damage. Her body did not heal well from these surgeries and she has had complex infections and neuropathic nerve damage. She is now fully deaf in one ear and partially in the other.
Christine was diagnosed again on May 30th of this year with cancer on her soft palate and right buccal mucosa (Insitu & Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma). This cancer is an oral cancer that is cause by all the radiation she received from her first fight with cancer. She was initially informed that there was no cure and she may live 6 months. After much discussion the surgeons decided they could operate but that it would be highly risky and she may not survive, but she was told that she had a chance.
Again, she is fighting. She is fighting because she is a rockstar. She is fighting for her family, for her friends. She is fighting for her life.
On Wednesday July 4th, she is undergoing this major 12 hour surgery where the surgeons hope to save her again. She will be in the hospital for weeks and there is no guarantee. But there is hope and until they open her up and go inside they do not know if they can cure her.
Anything you are able to give helps.
Please pray for a happy ending but also quality of life, having one without the other isnt the same - Christine Leger
Fundraising team (4)
Jennifer Powell
Organizer
Oshawa, ON
Christine Leger
Beneficiary
Michele Marie
Team member
Jeannette Daubney
Team member
Lindsey Boone
Team member
