“You really find out about yourself when you have cancer. You find out you’re much stronger than you think.”

Joe Timmins is quite proud of the fact that since he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma 10 years ago, he’s only missed half a hockey season. “I have this disease that I live with, but the improvements in treatment that have come along let me have a great quality of life,” says the 49-year-old management consultant and recreational hockey player.

Joe was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1997. Since then, he has undergone a variety of treatments, including low-grade chemotherapy, radiation, a stem cell transplant and a clinical drug trial. The father of two adult children has also undergone a change in mindset. “I decided to leave a large consulting firm and work on my own to get more balance in my life and to be with my family more. In a way, some of the most difficult things that have happened in my life have given me a better life.

“During treatments, I’ve talked to other people with cancer who say that they have been ‘blessed by the experience.’ And I know what they mean. You really find out about yourself when you have cancer. You find out you’re much stronger than you think. You find out how giving and supportive your friends are. You also find out what give you joy in life. That’s what you learn from the experience.

“Cancer is [not always] a death sentence. If you have a diagnosis of cancer, the important thing to remember is to focus on how to live with it, instead of dying with it.”

In his spare time, this self-described “adequate musician” plays guitar and enjoys woodworking, reading and volunteering for the Ottawa Unit council of the Canadian Cancer Society. The former chairman of the local Relay For Life sponsorship committee says he likes volunteering because of the sense of community it gives him. “I’ve grown up on a farm, in a community where everyone would get together to bring in the crops or wood for the winter, so volunteering is a way to keep in that spirit.”