'An immense relief': Ontario woman's months-long wait for cancer surgery ends
In March, Sydney Loney's life-saving breast cancer surgery was postponed indefinitely because of COVID-19
Sydney Loney's agonizing 2 ½-month wait to have cancer surgery, which was postponed because of COVID-19, has come to an end.
The writer and editor from Oakville, Ont., said it was "an immense relief" to finally have her mastectomy done and to be recovering at home.
"I'm feeling pretty good, actually, all things considered," she told As It Happens Carol Off.
In March, Loney spoke to Off about learning that her life-saving breast cancer surgery had been postponed indefinitely. She also wrote about her experience for Maclean's magazine.
At the time, she described the stress that the delay was putting on her and her family. "[My children] looked to me to see how I'm reacting, and I just try to not be emotional about it for them, but there are times ... I'm upset and we're just trying to get through it."
She was one of many who were unable to undergo urgent medical procedures because of the pandemic. According to Ontario's Ministry of Health, cancer surgeries in the province were down by about 40 per cent between March and April compared to the same period last year.
Here is part of Loney's conversation on Wednesday with Off.
When we last spoke, you were in limbo. You had no idea how long you would have to wait for this very important operation and you couldn't even get a diagnostic test to monitor the cancer's growth. What was it like to get the news that your surgery was going to be back on?
It was such an immense relief.
I got the call and it was still a little bit up in the air. It was booked and cancelled and booked again, but with five days' notice. But that was fine. I was ready to take anything and it was just a really big relief for the whole family.
And how did those kids of yours, how did they respond when you gave them the news?
They were so excited and relieved. I mean, a bit worried about the surgery part itself and not being able to come and see me on the four days that I was in the hospital, but we got through that and coming home was really nice.
They're able to help me now. They feel less helpless. So they can do things for me that I can't do and they're just lighter and happier. It's just, it's really nice to see.
One of the things you mentioned in that interview in March was the stop-start [process], being told it was going to happen, then not.... And so to have that again, that stop-start, was there a moment when your family just thought, my gosh, when is this going to happen?
Yes, that part was a bit tricky to navigate and I think there's just the understanding that everything is so up in the air. And I was told that every [hospital] department only gets one operating room each week and then the doctors have to desperately try to get their patients through.
I was trying to explain to my kids that there are so many of us in the same boat and it's hard, but that we would get there, and then we did.
What were the restrictions for you while in hospital because of COVID-19?
It was eerie, even just arriving by myself and trying to figure out where to go and sort of just being dropped off at the door. And waking up there, it was hard knowing that no one could come [visit]. It was a long, lonely four days.
But I understand why, although I felt sorry for other patients. Fortunately, English is my native language, but someone on my left in recovery was Italian and couldn't communicate with the nurses.
Seeing all of the things going on and watching the nurses who were struggling, I think, and stressed and commented that they were short-staffed on every floor, it's just a very difficult time for everybody in the hospital, whether you're a doctor or a nurse or a patient.
When you agreed to come on the show in March, it wasn't because you wanted to come and tell people what was going on in your life. You thought that sharing your story would illuminate what people were going through in similar situations. We hadn't really realized the degree to which people were having all their surgeries and operations cancelled.... What kind of response have you had from people since you spoke out?
I hadn't really anticipated it. When I wrote the story, when everything started happening, and I realized I wasn't going to have the surgery for a while, I just thought, at the time, I hadn't heard anyone talking about this.
People just need to know that this is happening and there must be other people like me and, sure enough, when I wrote the article, I discovered that there are a lot of people who were in my situation.
In a way, it's been lovely because I've had communication from all across the country, literally from coast to coast, from people who were in the same boat ... and there's a lovely new support network out there that sort of arose from this piece.
Written by Adam Jacobson. Interview produced by Kate Swoger. Edited for length and clarity.
