Opera singer joins mother’s journey from cancer patient to survivor in Brampton

In the spring of 2020, while Canadians were in the grips of the newly emerged COVID-19 virus, an opera singer from Brampton was focused on fighting a different but all-too-familiar disease – cancer.

With the border closing to international travel in March 2020, opera singer Othalie Graham boarded the last flight from Philadelphia back home to Brampton after learning her 67-year-old mother Marjorie found a lump in her breast.

“I didn’t think of breast cancer,” Marjorie said when she first found the lump, saying her “mind couldn’t recognize” what was happening as she tried to block the possibility of a frightening diagnosis.

But Othalie had a hunch and, after losing her father to cancer less than a decade prior, was determined “to do everything physically possible” to support her mother’s cancer journey.

“I was there every minute of every treatment, back and forth from Philadelphia,” she told INsauga.com, not just for treatments but also for after care and support.

Brampton opera singer Othalie and her mother Marjorie Graham. (Photo: William Osler Health System)

The professional opera singer who splits her time between Brampton and the U.S. described sitting in the hospital waiting for another parent’s cancer diagnosis as “emotionally overwhelming” and “horrific.” But having dealt with the disease once already, the family said they were determined to fight Marjorie’s stage 2 cancer diagnosis.

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“We decided to, with help and advisement, throw everything at it,” Othalie said of Marjorie’s treatment regimen which included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

The Grahams were referred by their family physician Dr. Brian Kessel to the team at  William Osler Health System, where breast cancer lead Dr. William Raskin worked on Marjorie’s care plan which was made a bit more complicated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But whether in-person or attending virtually, the Osler team made sure Othalie was a key part in her mother’s care.

“You really have to push yourself to do it,” Marjorie said of her treatments. “If I was having a bad day, Othalie would help through that. And you do have a lot of bad days, where you just want to cover your head and go to sleep.”

Raskin said patients will have good days and bad, comparing going through cancer treatment with only a positive outlook to “sprinting for an entire year.”

“It’s impossible,” Raskin told INsauga.com. “It’s a long time to feel physically and mentally unwell.”

Raskin said that the staff at Osler work with patients to let them know they have “permission” to feel any way they need to feel while going through treatment – staff that both Marjorie and Othalie said were excellent, comfortable and caring.

In particular, Marjorie has a fear of getting blood drawn. But she said the staff at Osler made the experience as easy as possible, both physically and emotionally supporting their patients.

That quality of care continued after the treatments were done and Marjorie moved to Osler’s Survivorship Clinic, which sees patients return for check-ups every six months to a year for three to five years, depending on their cancer diagnosis and risk level.

Marjorie has her final check-up at the Survivorship Clinic scheduled for August, and says the family will have a small gathering with friends to mark the occasion.

Now with cancer in the rear view mirror, Marjorie said she still has days “where I have my aches and pains,” but had some words of wisdom for those going through a similar struggle or who may be avoiding the doctor out of fear.

“If you wait too long they can’t help you,” she said.

Osler is the health system in charge of Brampton Civic Hospital, the Peel Memorial Centre and Etobicoke General Hospital. The province has committed to helping fund a new $365-million cancer treatment centre at Brampton Civic Hospital – something Raskin said will allow Osler to provide radiation treatment to patients “close to home.”

Raskin also highlighted the new Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine set to open in 2025, saying he’s excited about the “research and education that comes with it.”

For more information on Osler’s cancer care visit www.williamoslerhs.ca.