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Name: Teresa (Terry) Attard Age: 36
Bowmanville, Ontario
Type of Cancer: Breast

I am Terry’s mother. Terry first discovered a lump in her breast on January 1, 2001. After the initial shock when breast cancer was diagnozed, she quickly decided on the course of treatment from the options put to her and focussed on doing everything she could to give herself the best chance of survival. The driving forces in her life were, of course, her three children: Vanessa, Nadia and Gregory, then 7, 5 and 3 respectively. She devoured information from any source she could find, and set about making her body as healthy as possible to cope with the illness and treatment. She seemed to have more energy than ever before because of her determination to beat the disease and be with her children. She had a full mastectomy followed by chemotherapy, and it seemed to work. After her treatment, Terry developed a new attitude to life and was determined to live it to the fullest. Each time she was checked out, the latest being August 2002, she was given the all clear. She was so happy: she had had reconstructive surgery and was proud of her new body, she opted out of a bad marriage and had found a new home for her and her children.

At the beginning of December 2002, she discovered a new lump in her neck and on Friday, December 13, she was told it was the same cancer that had returned and, in fact, there were two lumps on the lymph nodes. By Christmas, she was beginning to feel more ill and weak, and was feeling pain in her stomach and side. When she was tested the first week in January 2003, she was told that the cancer was also in her liver and it had surprised them how quickly it had spread. By the end of January, I had to admit her to hospital where they told us she only had a matter of weeks. She astounded all of us by recovering sufficiently after a month to allow her home, but after two weeks I had to send her back to hospital.

This time around, Terry couldn’t find the strength to battle any more and decided against continuing chemo. She was so consumed by this terrible disease (by then it had spread to her spine and brain). The only thing she wanted was to die without pain and know that her children would be in my care, free from harm. She died on Saturday, April 12, 2003.

Highlights: (Memorable moments, turning points, favourite memories)
Terry was an exceptional woman who touched the hearts of so many people with her warmth, strength and dignity, but her greatest virtue was her selfless devotion to her beloved children. I now have the children in my care, and we all talk about their wonderful Mummy and say goodnight to her every night. We visit her grave often and the children are proud of their "decorations".

During this period, I came to see how many wonderful people there are who helped us (and are still helping me and the children). I cannot begin to think of enough words to thank them: her best friends; her co-workers and the Chairman of her company, who arranged for her to take her children to Disneyworld in January - a dream of hers - as the doctor had advised "now rather than later" (unfortunately, during the latter half of the trip she began to get very sick, and we had to fast-track her back home and into hospital); the staff at the hospital, the social workers and the chaplain; and others who were complete strangers but rallied round, particularly the people from Concorde and Kenworth. My heartfelt thanks to you all.