Sens goalie’s wife leading fight against cancer
Hockey Fights Cancer ambassador talks about her difficult journey
I look at life totally different. I look at things now and things that used to stress me out ... I think, ‘Is this important?’
Nicholle Anderson was welcomed with open arms Saturday at centre ice at the Canadian Tire Centre.
What a difference a year makes for the wife of the Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson and their family.
Last October, Nicholle was diagnosed with Stage 4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma — a rare form of cancer in the nose and throat — and though the news was difficult at the time, there she was Saturday afternoon at centre ice in her role as the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer ambassador for the annual November campaign.
Accompanied by 10-year-old Ryan Mercer, a cancer patient Nicholle met while visiting the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, they dropped the ceremonial puck between Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson and Vegas alternate captain David Perron as part of Hockey Fights Cancer day at the rink.
A touching part of the ceremony came at the end when Karlsson and Perron presented Mercer with their signed sticks. He was invited into the dressing room by coach Guy Boucher before the game to read the club the starting lineup.
Nicholle was excited about the chance to drop the puck but admitted in a one-on-one interview before the game to being a little antsy.
“I am excited for today to raise the awareness and to raise money for cancer,” said Nicholle, who came to Ottawa from the couple’s home in Coral Springs, Fla.
“However, to be honest, I’m little nervous about the dropping the puck, because I think it’s going to be a little overwhelming at that point.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve been in Ottawa much since being (declared) cancer-free, so it’s going to be a moment, for sure.”
Declared cancer-free on May 25, the day the Senators were eliminated from the playoffs in Game 7 of the East Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nicholle is telling her story because she wants the many people touched by cancer — including their family and friends — that the disease can be beaten and that she’s living proof.
“Visiting these lodges and seeing different patients and I know that I’m a very open person and we all deal with our problems differently,” Nicholle said. “I’ve seen patients that are so quiet, shy and scared to share their story, and if I can be a voice for other people and I can feel comfortable doing it, then I need to be that person.
“There’s different fears that you go through every day. One day you feel fine and the next minute you’re hit with chemo and you feel like you’re at your lowest point and you’re thinking, ‘Just get me to the next day.’ When you sit and talk to different patients, you totally understand what you’re going through.”
Not only do the radiation and chemotherapy take their toll physically, they’re also difficult mentally. Nicholle said she wants those who are battling cancer to know that they’re not alone and said she wants to pass along her experience because she feels she can be a positive influence.
She never doubted that she would get through this, and that’s what she wants people to know.
“You have to put your mind there,” Nicholle said.
This battle is as difficult mentally as it is physically.
“They’re two separate things, but they’re two hard things,” Nicholle added. “Physically, some days you’re drained and you can’t get out of bed and it takes all your energy to even walk to the bathroom.
“Mentally, you have to tell yourself to surround yourself with positivity, and you have to tell yourself you can do it.”
She gives plenty of credit to husband Craig for his support through all of this and especially when he took a two-month leave of absence from the Senators to help her through treatment in New York.
A mother of two boys — Levi and Jake — she felt she had to be strong for them.
“I look at them and they drive me every day saying, ‘Nicholle you’re going to be fine’ and they push me.”
She went to the NHL’s head office in July to speak to league officials about how to raise money for the fight against cancer. They talked about several areas where they could lend a hand and the talk evolved into Nicholle becoming the Hockey Fights Cancer ambassador.
“I said yes right away, because it’s something I feel passionate about and the NHL has been great.”
Nicholle’s life has changed as a result of the diagnosis.
“Every minute counts now,” she said. “I look at life totally different. I look at things now and things that used to stress me out ... I think, ‘Is this important?’
“I say, ‘Nope, I’d rather just go the park and swim with my kids and do other things.’ It makes you really value your life and each moment counts.”
Sharing her story is important, she said.
“I think it’s very beneficial to share because I think when people are told, ‘Here’s your cancer card,’ they think, ‘Oh no, I’m going to die,’ ” she said. “Just because you have cancer it doesn’t mean you’re going to die. You just have to tell yourself mentally you’re going to get through this.
“I know all cancers are different, and there are some cancers that you don’t have a chance because I’ve talked to so many different cancer patients about their diagnosis, but there are cancers you can get through.”