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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010 4 10 Eastern Ave, Unit 103 Acton ON Acton Physiotherapy Centre OPENING MAY 1ST In the New Acton Medical & Urgent Care Centre New Patients Welcome Physiotherapy Sports Injuries For Further Information Please Call: 519-833-0606 Annual Paul Murr tourney set for May The 26th annual Paul Murr Memorial Golf Tournament takes place at Blue Springs Golf Course on Monday, May 10, at- tracting more than 250 golfers. There are three player packages to suit all golfers abilities: 7 a.m. 18-Hole Turtle Lake Course - $175 - in- cludes scramble golf, power cart, driving range, course contests , buf- fet lunch, free p.m. play on Trillium course, buf- fet dinner and prize table draws. 1 p.m. 18-Hole Tur- tle Lake Course - $200 - includes scramble golf, power cart, driving range, course contests, buffet lunch, free a.m. play on Trillium course, buffet din- ner and prize table draws. 1 5 p.m. 9-Hole Trillium Course - $100 - includes golf, buffet dinner and prize table draws. The day concludes with a prime rib buffet dinner and evening program in- cluding presentations, prize draws, and live and silent auctions. This year, some proceeds will be donated to CAShh - a local organization providing patient care and services to Halton Hills cancer patients and families. The remain- der of the proceeds will go to Canadian Cancer Society research. Over the past 25 years, tournament organiz- ers have donated $768,000 to the Acton Branch of the Canadian Cancer So- ciety. In 2009 we donated $50,000 and our target for 2010 is to meet or surpass this amount. Letters have gone out to previous sponsors offering three levels of Company or In Memoriam sponsor- ships - Platinum ($1,000 or more), Gold ($500 or more) and Silver ($175 or more). New participants are more than welcome - for information and registra- tion forms contact John McNabb at 519-853-5615. Proof that cancer can be beaten By Frances Niblock Cancer can be beaten is not just a smart marketing slogan; it is reality thanks to research into life saving treatments. During Aprils Cancer Month several local can- cer survivors will share their stories in a public celebration of life. This week, Margaret and Bob MacKinnon, owners of MacKinnon Funeral Home, share their triumph over cancer. Margaret MacKinnon was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2003, and just months into her treatment, her husband Bob was diagnosed with rectal cancer. Q: Did you ask why me? after getting the awful news that you had cancer and needed treat- ment? A : M a r g a r e t MacKinnon: So many people get it, I thought why should I be exempt from it? I cant believe I got through it. At the time, you just take one day at a time so it doesnt feel like anything horrendous. Q : How did you get through it? MM: Just one day at a time. We just continued working. Bob MacKinnon: From a business standpoint, there are all kinds of things that Margaret does business- wise that I cant do. If I needed something from her Id get after her first thing in the morning because as the day goes on while youre taking you chemo, you start to wear down. MM: You just hope each day will be better. You cant look at it and think that you have to do it for another six months. BM: I think that both of us were lucky that we caught it soon enough and that we are survivors. When the doc- tors say they got it all, then you have to get on with the treatment and get over it and put it behind you. MM: You do think that this could be it. You go through that. I dont know if you ever saw them Bob, but I made notes on the comput- er with stuff I had around that I hadnt accounted for in the will. Everybody goes through that in case all else fails. But, I always felt I was going to get through it. Q: So, it was an optimis- tic attitude that helped you both? BM: When Margaret was diagnosed I just said to myself Id do whatever needed to be done to get her through this. Im not big on saying, You hang in and it will be all right, so, I sat down at the computer and I got the biggest font I could and printed out You Will Beat This and left it on her desk one morning. And, when I got diagnosed, I got the note back with a hand written thing on the bottom that said And So Will You which was kind of cool. Q: Did your diagnosis make your job as co-ordin- ator for transportation for the Cancer Society easier or harder Margaret? MM: It made it easier for me to relate to the people who needed rides. I never used the system though, I rode the GO Train to To- ronto because I thought that there was always someone who needed the ride more than me. Q: Do you have any ad- vice for someone with a new diagnosis or someone in treatment? BM: Number one is that cancer can be beaten if you get at it early enough. Number two is just keep a positive attitude be posi- tive and believe that youre going to get through this. Q: Now that youre both post-treatment, do you worry the cancer will re- turn? MM: The last time I went in for a mammogram, they called me back the next day and said they wanted an ultrasound of my right breast it was my left breast the first time. In the days that I waited for my doctor to call I turned over in my mind all that I had been through and decided I would go through it like the first time one day at a time. Turned out it was a benign cyst and they do nothing with them. BM: We deal with death l i terally everyday and people say to me, as a prac- titioner, all the time How do you deal with this? Its not rocket science. The Bible says you get three square and 10 and thats 70. So, when someone is 75 years old, they got five extra years and were both 70. You tend not to think about cancer until its time for your next check and then you wonder if youre going to get off. The second last time I had a checkup I was told that there was a shadow on my lung and I thought here we go. After more tests my doctor told me that what- ever had been there was not there any longer and he sent me home. MM: I look at it like everybody has to go some- time so if cancer took me, that was my way to go. BM: Its not a matter of being fatalistic. Its a mat- ter of being realistic, which makes you much more grateful and thankful when youre a survivor. Bob and Margaret MacKinnon