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THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014
Vol. 2 Edition 29
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The Yankee Lady packs them in
Bruce Corcoran/The Chatham Voice
The Yankee Lady turns around at the main buildings at the Chatham-Kent Airport during Flight Fest Wednesday under the watchful eyes of hundreds of spectators. See story on page 2.
A head and neck above
By Bruce Corcoran bruce@chathamvoice.com
In March of 2012, Kathy Poirier received the grim news by her doctor. She had cancer. And not just any form of cancer, but a very rare strain of the disease – adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC).
There’s no cure. But that doesn’t mean Poirier, 45 doesn’t have hope. If she’d been diagnosed with ACC 10-15 years ago, she’d have likely been dead by now. Instead, the mother of four and grandmother of three underwent extensive surgery in London and has an extended
lease on life. The surgery involved a laryngectomy – she had her vocal chords removed – a thydroidectomy and an esophageal rebuild. To call it invasive would be an understatement. While the surgeries and radiation treatments got the worst of the cancer,
it’s not gone. “I still have cancer. I will always have cancer,” she said through a special voice box. “There are 27 tumours in my lungs.” Husband Claude Poirier said ACC is a slow-growing type of cancer, however. “It does not go away. The best you can hope for
is a period of remission,” he said. Through it all, Poirier remains positive. She’s so thankful of her extension on life she wants to give back to the group responsible – Head & Neck Cancer Research at London Health Sciences Centre’s London Regional Cancer program. In
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fact, she started last year by organizing the Head & Neck Above Cancer 5K Charity Walk. The inaugural event raised more than $19,000. This year, Poirier would love to double it at this year’s Aug. 10 walk, which starts at Western University.
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