I first met Noemia 27 years ago in Malakwa, BC. Knowing her, she would be so please to know she helped other women to live their best lives after reading her story. Will you please pass this valuable information on, not out of fear, but in honour of my friend and passing on her legacy of hope for early, early intervention of cancer. Thank you.
Prince George Free Press - Community
A legacy of hope ...
When a matriarch dies, she passes the torch to her children. She leaves a legacy.
Noemia Delay was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in August 2009 at the age of 57. She passed away February 4.
Laura Berkhoven and her aunt, Martha Primus, came to the Free Press last week with Delay’s journals and read excerpts from them. They fought to hold back tears.
The two hope that Delay’s story will help other women recognize the first signs of the disease.
“The early symptoms are vague,” said Berkhoven. “When my mother first got sick, she wrote in her journal that it began with lower back pain, frequent urination and she was really tired getting up for work in the morning. She kind of dismissed all that because most women have those symptoms from time to time.”
But in Noemia Delay’s case, they got worse.
“In July 2009, she got a serious pain in her abdomen,” said Berkhoven. “She thought at first she just had gallstones. She was also given antibiotics for a bladder infection.”
On August 12, 2009 she had an ultrasound followed by a CT scan and blood work. The investigations revealed a mass.
This news was a severe blow to the family.
“When she found out, my mother was sad but never fearful. She just left it all in God’s hands. She started her first round of chemotherapy September 1 and then had surgery in Vancouver just before Christmas.
“She lost her hair due to the chemotherapy and I remember one day when she got out of the shower, I saw these clumps of hair all over the shower (stall).”
On September 11, at Masich Place Stadium, Berkhoven joins Primus (Delay’s sister) on the local Walk for Hope.
“Last year, my mom walked with us in the Prince George Walk for Hope. She was still undergoing chemo treatments. During the walk, we heard the stories of other women who had the disease.”
Berkhoven and her siblings have fond memories.
“My mother always smiled and never felt sorry for herself.Her whole life she had served us, that was just her personality. So when she got sick, we finally got the opportunity to serve her. She was an incredible family person.”
Primus remembers her older sister as very brave during her illness and as a good athlete and runner when they were younger.
“She had a big garden where she grew vegetables. She was a very hard worker.”
Above all, she loved being with her family.
“We had a family reunion last summer and my mother was having physical problems.
“She couldn’t enjoy her food because the cancer blocks the bowels, so you don’t digest properly. My mother had lost a lot of weight but at the reunion she wanted to eat with us, as a family, so she did.”
Last November, for palliative care reasons, doctors rerouted Delay’s intestines to help her digest her food better.
“At that time, they gave her two months to live so we already knew the outcome.”
Berkhoven hopes women will heed the warning signs.
“We need to listen to our bodies. From my mother’s death, we’ve been made more aware. Our family members have been tested in Vancouver for the presence of a BRCA mutation.” (Harmful mutations in certain genes produce a hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome in affected families.)
The Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope in Prince George runs Sunday, September 11 at Masich Place Stadium. Sign up for the walk is at 12:30 p.m.
| This is who I know in Victoria: For more information for Run/Walk for the Cure click here. |
