'My mother saved my life' says P.E.I. breast cancer patient

Loretta Coady MacAulay was the top individual fundraiser in P.E.I.'s CIBC Run for the Cure last Sunday, Oct. 2, an achievement she accomplished in just two weeks. Making the feat all the more remarkable: she'd just had a mastectomy that removed her right breast, and walked the five-kilometre route in just over an hour. 

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MacAulay's 85-year-old mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in April and is now in palliative care in Charlottetown.

I'm really just trying to take the approach 'I'm going to be a survivor and I'm not really giving myself any other option.'— Loretta Coady MacAulay

"I really feel that my mother saved my life, because but for her unfortunate diagnosis, I wouldn't have gone for a routine mammogram before I was 50," the upbeat 48-year-old Charlottetown lawyer said. 

Even though she had no symptoms, had just had a clean physical and the type of breast cancer her mother has is not genetic, MacAulay decided in late July to get a mammogram anyway, "just for my own peace of mind."

And that's when everything changed. 

'I wanted to participate'

In late August, she got her diagnosis: breast cancer. Sept. 15, MacAulay had her mastectomy, which went well — she took only Tylenol for pain, and was discharged within 24 hours. 

Feeling good, MacAualay decided three days post-surgery that she wanted to take part in the annual Run for the Cure — only two weeks away. 

"I'm really just trying to take the approach 'I'm going to be a survivor and I'm not really giving myself any other option,'" she said. 

Not an athlete before her diagnosis, she immediately began training, working up to long walks. Her family and her doctor raised their eyebrows, but gave her the thumbs-up.

"I wanted to participate and do my part to try to make a difference," she said. 

'Felt a lot of support'

She enlisted a few close friends to join her team and help her fundraise, setting a personal goal of $750. It didn't take long for word to spread, and by run day "Loretta's Lucky Charms" numbered 24. The deadline to order team T-shirts had already passed, so they applied the team name with green tape. 

"The day of the walk I felt a lot of support from the people around me," she said — she even out-walked some of her friends. "We talked the whole way and it really made a difference."

When awards were handed out at the finish line, MacAulay took home the plaque for raising more than any other participant — $3,760. The Lucky Charms raised $8,890, the second-highest team amount, and donations continue to come in. 

Feels 'lucky'

"It was overwhelming really," she said, acknowledging the whirlwind of her diagnosis and treatment had already been a lot to take in. On top of that, she's received an outpouring of personal support including meals, gifts and visits for which she's grateful.

MacAulay's treatment now includes chemotherapy and possible radiation, followed by hormone therapy. She's already gone wig shopping with some friends, categorizing it as an "adventure."

Her days are now consumed with medical appointments, but the ever-positive MacAulay said she feels 'lucky' to now have time to visit with her mother in palliative care.

And she plans to register for the 2017 Run for the Cure — her goal is for Loretta's Lucky Charms to take the top fundraising spot.

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