A Cancer Nurse's Journey with Breast Cancer
Published Monday, October 20, 2025
Angela Saunders (centre) with (L to R) Jolene Jarva, Jessica Dubinsky, Susie Ostrowski and Laura Kehl, her friends and Northwest Regional Cancer Centre staff, during the Terry Fox Sleeping Giant Hike.
For more than 15 years, Angela's days at the Northwest Regional Cancer Centre were filled with compassion. As a cancer nurse, she supported patients through the hardest moments of their lives.
“I'd tell them to take it one step at a time, and remember they're not alone,” she says.
Like many others, Angela kept up with cancer screening and tried to live a healthy lifestyle. When she got a letter in the mail reminding her she was due for a routine mammogram with the Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP), she booked her appointment with a colleague. Shortly after, Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I didn't have any risk factors. I always thought ‘I'm such a healthy person, I don't have a family history - there's no way I'm going to get cancer,'” she explains, “And then I did.”
Her experience as a patient was both humbling and transformative. “I knew the treatments, the side effects, the medical side of things. I had never truly understood the emotional weight until I lived it,” she recalls. “I felt very vulnerable.”
Throughout her treatment, Angela stayed active and leaned on the same support systems she once encouraged her patients to rely on. Her family and friends carried her through the hardest days. Her colleagues at the Cancer Centre became her champions.
“I'm used to being independent, so learning to accept help was difficult,” she says. “It also showed me how powerful community can be.”
Today, Angela is cancer-free. She's back to enjoying travel, with her most recent trip taking her to Europe with friends including nurses from the Cancer Centre. She's also heading into her fourth year as a nurse on the Screen for Life Coach, a mobile screening bus that brings breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening services to communities across Northwestern Ontario.
“My breast cancer was found early because I stayed on top of my mammograms,” Angela shares. “It feels good to be part of bringing that same opportunity to others, especially in communities where accessing these services can be challenging.”
On the Coach, Angela meets people where they are: in their own communities, surrounded by their own support systems. For her, it feels deeply personal.
“I understand now that the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference,” says Angela. “Kindness goes a long way especially when people are feeling anxious. Creating a connection is important, and now I can look someone in the eye and say, ‘I've been where you are.'”
This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, speak to your primary care provider to see if breast cancer screening is right for you. The OBSP recommends that most eligible women, Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people ages 40 to 74 get screened with mammography every 2 years. A referral from a primary care provider is not required for individuals at average risk.
For more information about breast cancer screening, visit tbrhsc.net/breast-cancer-screening.
Jasmin Fisher, Cancer Promotion and Communications Planner