“It Was ‘Just’ a Heaviness” - Mary’s Story
Mary couldn’t say what it was exactly that brought her to her family doctor that day. She just knew that there was a heaviness in her breast that was new, and while she wasn’t worried, she thought it was worth a discussion. Her doctor immediately referred her to the Breast Clinic at West Parry Sound Health Centre. After that, things started happening quickly.
“Dr. Glass at the Breast Clinic at WPSHC sent me for a mammogram and an ultrasound in February and I was called back in for a biopsy March 5. On March 17 I was told I had breast cancer. I had my first chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments on March 26.”
Mary’s cancer was aggressive, and with no symptoms it could have easily gone undetected. “I never thought it would happen to me,” says Mary. “But if it did have to happen, I could not have handpicked a better team to look after me.”
Thanks to a partnership between the West Parry Sound Health Centre and Health Sciences North in Sudbury, oncologists in Sudbury and the surgeons, chemotherapy and immunotherapy teams in Parry Sound coordinated her care to keep travel to a minimum. Even so, with radiation treatments in Sudbury and surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy in Parry Sound, Mary and her partner were often exhausted.
“Even when things were very hard, we never felt like I was labelled by my disease. Everyone treated me like a person who was sick and needed help. I often felt like I was among family. Cheryl and Sara and the other nurses here at WPSHC were always compassionate and kind.
They were so supportive and understanding of everything we were going through,” says Mary.
In spring of 2026, Mary was told she was cancer-free and in remission. She is grateful her surgeons Dr. Glass and Dr. Champion, will continue to monitor her progress. Mary’s immunotherapy treatments will be ongoing in Parry Sound.
“I thank God every day that it was caught, and that the hospital is right here,” says Mary. “I donate to help the next person, and that’s why I am sharing my story cancer-free and in remission.”
Cancer Care in Parry Sound
Mary’s story is one example of how cancer care is delivered through a partnership that connects expertise in Parry Sound with specialized services across the region. As a satellite site of Health Sciences North’s Northeast Cancer Centre, West Parry Sound Health Centre provides chemotherapy, immunotherapy and supportive cancer care in an outpatient setting, helping eligible patients receive more of their treatment at their hospital in Parry Sound.
Building on Cancer Care
Connected Cancer Care - WPSHC works with the Northeast Cancer Centre to coordinate treatment and clinical support, connecting patients with specialized oncology expertise while providing eligible services in Parry Sound.
Expanding Surgical Care - This $2.5 million campaign to upgrade and expand surgical services has supported new surgical options for people with breast cancer and prostate cancer. With new equipment and technology, patients can now have procedures in Parry Sound that previously required hours of travel before and after surgery.
Donor-Funded Equipment & Technology - Donations help provide the equipment and diagnostic tools hospital teams rely on to provide advanced health care for patients. Hospital funding covers operating costs; generous donors cover the cost of medical equipment and technology.
The Nurse Who Needed a Nurse
I’m a nurse myself. That day, I needed someone else to be one for us.
I’m a Registered Practical Nurse. I work in dialysis. Most days, I’m the one trying to give someone else the kind of care I’d want for my own family. None of that made it easier the day my daughter needed care. She was fi ve months old, running a high fever, and we were in the emergency department at West Parry Sound Health Centre. My partner and I were fi rst-time parents, and in that room, I wasn’t a nurse. I was just her mom, and I was terrifi ed. Blood work was needed. We felt helpless watching our daughter go through something she could not understand. Your hospital in Parry Sound is here for you. Give today to keep the hospital ready for whatever care is needed. The Nurse Who Needed a Nurse What I remember most is Andrew, the nurse who cared for her that day. He was gentle. He was patient. He was calm in a way that helped us be calm too. He explained what was happening at every step. He answered every question we had, even the ones we were too shaken to ask clearly. Maybe it’s because of the work I do that I noticed it so clearly. Andrew wasn’t just competent, he was unhurried and gentle in a way I know takes real skill to hold onto on a busy shift.
That’s the moment I stopped feeling helpless.
That’s what changed an overwhelming night into something we could get through. The clinical care mattered, the blood work, the fever, watching her numbers. But so did the way it was delivered, like our daughter was a whole person who mattered, not just a chart at the end of the bed. It’s a small example, in the scale of everything a hospital does. But it’s exactly what family-centred care looks like up close: skilled people, the right tools, clear communication, and compassion, all working together for a baby too young to ask for any of it herself, and for a nurse-mom who, that night, needed someone else to carry it.
“He advocated for our daughter before she could speak for herself.” — Ayrika Marshall
Palliative Care
Love Doesn’t End at Visiting Hours. For 115 days, John Green spent eight hours a day beside Lynda, his wife of 54 years.
John Green remembers the palliative care floor not only as the place where his wife Lynda spent the final months of her life, but as a place where both of them were cared for.
Lynda had a heart problem that could not be fixed. As she became weaker, John came to the hospital day after day, spending eight hours at her side for 115 days. During those long days, he remembers a care team that knew them, noticed them, and made sure neither felt forgotten.
“We never felt forgotten or overlooked. It always felt like everyone on the floor knew who we were and genuinely cared for both of us.”
One day, John held Lynda’s hand as she slowly stopped breathing. It was the end of a 54-year marriage.
Palliative care is different from many other kinds of hospital care. The goal is not always recovery. It can be comfort, dignity, time together, and support for a family facing the hardest part of a life shared.
Over the years, John has also received care at the hospital for his own health needs. Today, he gives back as a volunteer with the West Parry Sound Health Centre Auxiliary, welcoming others as they arrive and offering the same sense of reassurance he once received.
His support of the hospital is quiet and personal. It comes from knowing what compassionate care can mean to a patient and the person sitting beside them.
Year in Review
SURGICAL SUITE This campaign to complete a fl oor-to-ceiling upgrade on the entire Surgical Suite and expand surgical services is resulting in new procedures for cancer patients, new procedures for ophthalmology patients and fewer patients having to travel away from Parry Sound for care
EQUIPMENT FUNDED
The Foundation has provided the hospital with more than $20 million for new equipment and technology since April 1, 2020. Upgraded equipment and new technology in every department means health care professionals have more time for each patient and can provide more effective care.
EMERGENCY CARE
With a growing population in the Parry Sound region, and more and more people spending vacation time here, the Foundation has funded new and updated equipment for the Emergency Department.
ICU
Thanks to generous donors the Foundation provided funding for a complete replacement of the patient monitoring systems in the ICU, including new computer programs that link directly to the hospital’s electronic health records system. This means that patient information is immediately available to every member of the ICU team.
“SPACE-AGE” PHARMACEUTICAL
The Foundation was able to fund an automated pharmaceutical dispensing system that has increased the number of medications in the hospital’s pharmacy while decreasing costs and increasing effi ciency. This means medications are now available for patients within minutes of the doctor prescribing them and each dose is tracked from the pharmacy to the nurse to the patient.
This Thanksgiving, we’re celebrating the people who make a difference for patients and families at West Parry Sound Health Centre. The Board of Directors of the WPSHC Foundation, the staff and volunteers are so thankful for your generosity. Your donation means that your family, your friends, your neighbours, and people you may never meet all can depend on the best possible medical equipment and technology at your hospital here in Parry Sound. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are thankful for you!
