Young mother stays positive despite devastating diagnosis

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This article was published 28/09/2017 (2911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While most people were stressing out about planning their summer vacations this year, 28-year-old Julia Stoneman-Sinclair was gearing up for the toughest fight of her life.

Tests confirmed the worst, that Stoneman-Sinclair had colorectal cancer, a diagnosis usually reserved for patients more than double her age. As a mother to two young girls — Shaynen and Naira — the news was devastating.

“She’s such an incredible person,” friend and Brandon University colleague Michelle Bessette said. “The more we can rally around her, the better.”

Stoneman-Sinclair’s journey started in July, when just days after her initial diagnosis, doctors were forced to perform an emergency surgery to remove a tumour and 35 of her lymph nodes. While recovering, her medical team planned two more surgeries and an aggressive chemotherapy and radiation schedule, which was expected to start this month.

That schedule was thrown into turmoil, however, when Stoneman-Sinclair was forced to have a surgery unrelated to cancer in mid-August. The unforseen surgery meant her upcoming treatment schedule and a PET (positron emission tomography) scan designed to further evaluate the cancer were pushed back.

Last week, Stoneman-Sinclair was finally cleared for her scan. At the time this article was written, the results were still unknown. However, the oncologist had prepared her for two possible outcomes.

When the results do come back, Stoneman-Sinclair is expected to hear that the cancer is either stage 3 and that she is expected to have a 50 per cent survival rate five years from now; or that the cancer has progressed to stage 4, which comes with a 12 per cent survival rate five years from now. Those results are based off patients who are usually considerable older than Stoneman-Sinclair.

As a result, Stoneman-Sinclair’s pre-diagnosis life has ground to a halt as she has put her employment at Brandon University on hold, as well as a research project for her master’s thesis in rural development.

And yet through it all, Bessette said Stoneman-Sinclair is staying positive.

“She has such a good outlook,” Bessette said. “We all have our bad days, but she has worked hard to stay positive. I know that she has been inspired by the way the community has rallied around her and the community support that she has received.”

Regardless of the diagnosis, Bessette said Stoneman-Sinclair intends to get treatment from the Mayo Clinic. The Minnesota-based clinic boasts leading-edge technology and world-class physicians that specialize in unique cases like this.

The next step in Stoneman-Sinclair’s medical journey — whether in Manitoba or Minnesota —will not come without substantial costs. Recognizing this, Bessette established a GoFundMe campaign (gofundme.com/juliastonemansinclair) designed to offset medical and travel expenses, including protecting her dream of a large family.

“Julia hopes for a big family and is opting to freeze eggs prior to treatment,” Bessette said, pointing out that chemotherapy and radiation treatments can negatively affect fertility.

More than anything, however, Bessette wants to continue to see the community rally around her friend, who has poured her heart and soul into Brandon after moving here from Lynn Lake.

“Julia has devoted her life to Indigenous advocacy and education, giving so much to our community,” she said.“Now it’s time for our community to walk with Julia on this journey and support her fight against cancer. And most importantly please keep Julia and her family in your thoughts and prayers.”

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