As a cancer survivor, Prue Boyd knows the value of hope, and of connecting to other people.

Now 64, Prue was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) in January 1999. Conventional chemotherapy and radiation don’t work for GIST, so, as Prue says, “the only treatment was surgery, and then cross your fingers that it won’t come back.”

But the cancer did come back. In December 1999, doctors found another tumour, this time in Prue’s liver. They operated again, removing part of the liver. Again she waited, and again the cancer returned another abdominal tumour was found. This time, her doctors didn’t feel it was operable. They sent her to the Vancouver Cancer Agency, and there she got the hope she needed.

“The nurse told me there was going to be a new drug trial for GIST, and asked if I would like to be part of it. Of course, I said yes!”

Prue started taking the drug Gleevac in 2001, and continues to this day. Since then, the tumours have ceased to grow any larger, and indeed have partially shrunk.

During her years of intense cancer treatment, one moment in particular stands out for Prue: “After my second surgery, when I wasn’t feeling so well, one of the nurses in particular sat down and took the time to talk with me. She just listened. She didn’t say, ‘There, there,’ or tell me that everything was going to be all right. She just let me talk about the things that were upsetting me. That made a big difference.”

Read about Prue's daughter E-J's experience as a caregiver