| This book has been researched and written by breast cancer survivors. It is for the thousands of women who have been told, "I'm sorry, but you have breast cancer." This book is also for the husbands, lovers, partners, friends, daughters, mothers, colleagues, coworkers, and family members who are trying to help and understand. |
| The idea for this book began in Burlington, Ontario, in 1988. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and later met Barb Sullivan, who had been diagnosed a year earlier. Each of us was looking for support, information, and encouragement. Fortunately, we found each other. We knew there were probably other women like us, so we decided to hold a meeting. In April of 1988, we first met at the local YMCA where 35 other women from our community joined us. Very quickly, membership grew as other women came to share stories, to give support and information, to cry and to laugh, to mourn together for those who died-and most importantly-to live after cancer. |
| Much has happened since that first meeting. In 1991, the Canadian House of Commons Subcommittee on the Status of Women tabled the report, Breast Cancer: Unanswered Questions. The federal government established the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative in 1992 with funding of approximately $5 million per year. This initiative covers a number of areas: early detection, communication, clinical practice guidelines, and research. Partners, including the Medical Research Council, the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Health Canada, and the corporate sector, have joined to form the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative. Through this new program, funding has been channeled specifically into breast cancer research. As a result, new scientists have been attracted into the area, and the scope of breast cancer research in Canada has increased dramatically. In 1994, Health Canada also established five regional Information Exchange Projects to provide co-ordination of effort in the dissemination of information and education materials. Following the federal election in 1997, the government indicated continued support for the Federal Breast Cancer Initiative. |
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