Teacher who wrote about cancer fight dies
Educator’s blog about her illness gave encouragement, support to thousands
FORT MCMURRAY — Elizabeth Dessureault, a teacher who gave support and encouragement to thousands of followers as she blogged about her battle with lung cancer, died Feb. 25 in Ottawa. She was 27.
Dessureault, who taught math and science at Father Patrick Mercredi High School, and organized a glee club, was five months pregnant when she was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma cancer in April 2015.
At the time, she was studying for a master’s of education at Western University through correspondence, and was thinking of securing more teaching qualifications. Her first son, Jack, would be born prematurely two months later.
Doctors gave her one year to live and she moved to Ottawa where she could be closer to her family. But she was determined to spend as much time possible with her son and husband, Dax, an RCMP officer.
She chronicled her experiences on her blog, From Lizzie’s Lungs, and a Facebook page. It was named best health blog of 2016 by Healthline, a health information website based in San Francisco.
‘LIFE INTERRUPTED’
“It didn’t make sense to me that a 26-year-old, healthy, non-smoker could get lung cancer,” she wrote in her first blog post, titled Life Interrupted.
“Seeing as I was about fivemonths pregnant at the time, I was completely consumed with baby planning prior to receiving my diagnosis,” she wrote. “My entire life was turned upside down in a day.”
Dessureault arrived in Fort McMurray in 2013 with Dax after looking for teaching jobs around her hometown of Cornwall, Ont. Teaching math and science became subjects she enjoyed and as a trained music teacher, she was happy helping the school’s glee club.
“She really cared about what she did and loved her job,” said Dax. “She would come home from work and said she couldn’t believe she was getting paid for what she was doing, caring for kids, helping them grow and learn.”
As a trained singer, the thought of her lungs being attacked directly was terrifying, but she faced it with optimism.
“I’ve always thought of my lungs as being such an important part of who I am, but now they will have to prepare for an entirely new challenge,” she wrote on her blog.
Even when the disease became increasingly aggressive late last year, living with lung cancer would become her “new normal.”
“Despite everything that has happened … I absolutely love my life,” she wrote in November. “I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world because I am surrounded by the most amazing people. Without them, I would never be able to have the outlook on life that I do.”
Although she was out of the classroom, some of her final lessons would take place online about her disease. Lung cancer is one of the biggest killers among women, but gets little attention outside smoking campaigns. Dessureault wanted to change that.
She sometimes wrote about the nature of lung cancer and how it is not limited to smokers. There was no family history of lung cancer and no genetic signs of the disease. She grew up in a non-smoking household.
PERSONAL MOTTO
Her former students ran fundraisers. She sold Just Breathe bracelets to raise awareness. At times, it was a personal motto.
When she visited Fort McMurray, she answered any questions her former students had about the disease when she was not catching up with them. She planned to return to the school.
“She taught everyone how to live life and embrace it,” said George McGuigan, superintendent for the Fort McMurray Catholic School District.
“There was such a positive impact on everyone she came in contact with.”
And while much of her final years were spent in hospitals, Dax said there was still time for her family.
“She was super committed to being a mom during her cancer,” he said.
“She somehow managed to always stay positive.”
I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world because I am surrounded by the most amazing people.