Nadine spent her last two years undergoing life-saving treatment. I'll never forget when we were celebrating her 33rd birthday, she looked me in the eyes with desperation, and she screamed, "Where is Nadine? Where is she?!" 

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She had been stripped of her outdoor lifestyle. She had lost a sense of who she was. Cancer does that. 

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 In March 2021, a year before she passed away, Nadine was declared cancer free. Things were looking up. Then, 8 months later, she started experiencing symptoms that she wouldn't know were cancerous until it was too late. In December 2021, she was in and out of hospital visits complaining of pain in her hip. She was told it was a torn ligament. She complained of pain in her arm. She was told it was a blood clot. The "torn ligament" and "blood clot" would require surgery. This would push her reconstructive surgery further away which was supposed to be the "final" part of her treatment. In January 2022 after a day of exams, she returned home only to receive a devastating call from her Oncologist.

 

Her cancer was back and it had spread. It was so aggressive that within weeks of her recurrence, she was gone. 

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I wish that I had known that pain in the hip is a sign of cancer spreading. Maybe I could have advocated for her, while she still had time. Nadine's story tells of a young woman and the dismissals that women under 40 are faced with. This shouldn't have happened. Things should have been different. She should have been given a better chance. We at Tits Deep won't stop, because cancer doesn't stop. To our snow bunny, we will see you forever in the mountains xx

 

August 3, 1988 - March 13, 2022

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To hear the speech I gave at her memorial, click here.