At 31 years old, a cancer diagnosis was not on Const. Matt Oakes’s radar. But after experiencing chest and jaw pain and a rapid 20-pound weight loss late last year, the Hamilton police officer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Following an eight-month hospital stay, chemotherapy, many blood transfusions and
Three-year-old Amelia Saunders loves to play with toy cars. She laughs as she pushes them along the floor in the living room, with her parents Doug Saunders and Veronica Vardy looking on. Without Canadian Blood Services and blood donors, she probably wouldn’t be here today. Amelia has leukemia. Since her
Richard Packman first donated blood after a family at his church organized a blood drive because their child had been diagnosed with cancer. More than two decades later and after more than 1,000 hours, Packman sat Friday morning in a blue chair inside Vitalant’s office in the James R. Thompson
Anna Gwinnup, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in September 2017. Within weeks, it advanced to stage 2, forcing her to undergo a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, which required blood products. Though she was a blood donor prior to her diagnosis,
On Aug. 30, 2008, Connor Fennessy passed away. The 17-year-old succumbed to a childhood cancer called Ewing Sarcoma after a brave battle with the disease that lasted 865 days. During that battle, Connor received “countless blood transfusions,” which is why the family is marking 10 years since his passing with
Hartselle Junior High student Kooper Rooks has been battling cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and his family appreciates the blood donations that aid in his treatment. He requires platelets each day to help his body form blood clots. He also received a unit of hemoglobin this week to