Elaine DeBock from Sedgewick has pledged to walk 100km over the summer to raise $1,500 for the Canadian Neuroendocrine Tumour Society (CNETS).

DeBock has been living with this rare form of cancer since 2013, and since her diagnosis, has been a strong advocate for raising awareness of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETS), and now is determined to also raise funds for research.

When she was first diagnosed, doctors found three tumours on her liver, one on a lymph node, and another in her colon. When caught in early stages, removal of a tumour is considered a cure. Unfortunately, DeBock was not considered a good candidate for surgery. She says, “In later stages, they can’t be removed but are generally very slow growing tumours. There is no cure.”

DeBock says it’s an unusual cancer. “When you’re diagnosed, and treated, your cancer is still there, it doesn’t go away. But the doctors don’t tell you that you have ‘x’ amount of time left. It’s a form of chronic cancer.”

After receiving her initial treatment, DeBock found that her tumours were not growing, in fact some had shrunk, and some disappeared altogether, leaving her with three.

DeBock participated in a clinical trial at the Cross Cancer Institute for 12 injections, six months apart, where she received a drug that included a radioactive isotrope intravenously. She says she received her final treatment in the trial on June 18 last year.

“Coming to the end of the treatments felt a bit like stepping off a cliff, but I’m being monitored every six months with CT scans, blood work, and clinical visits.

“That’s all coming up again in July, so I’ll know then if there’s been any change. I’m feeling 100 per cent though,” she says. “Every six months, I could get good news, or bad news.”

In addition, DeBock receives an injection of medication every 28 days. Her monthly injections are done at her home by a nurse sent by the company who manufactures the drug. The injection requires mixing and precise timing.

“Living a life around 28-day injections has definitely curtailed travelling,” something she and her husband Richard loved to do prior to her diagnosis. In fact, it was during a trip to China where the first traces of the tumours were caught.

“People who know I have cancer expect the usual, you get better, or you die. Many people assume that I’m cured, or in remission. That’s not the case.” She adds, “Chronic cancer is a good way to describe it.”

DeBock has battled three bouts with cancers over the years, most recently she discovered, a year ago, that she has a completely different form of cancer in her thyroid, which is being monitored at this time.

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Leslie Cholowsky,
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