Katie Widmann

Kaitie Kicked Cancer

I was only 25 when I was diagnosed in April of 2018. I needed to take 6-8 months off from work to undergo treatment and get well again. When I was undergoing treatment I was fortunate to have so much support from family and friends, and I also got my dog, Archie, who was by my side through it all and helped me to get outside even on her toughest days. I am 29 years old, have been together with my husband Josh since I was 17 (married for four year), and am now expecting a child in July. I lives in Kelowna with my family, which also makes up my Light The Night team.

In 2018, I was still undergoing treatment and was too unwell to come to Light The Night although a family member had already shared the event with me. In 2019, I walked for the first time in Vancouver with the support of my family and I was so excited to give back to my community after having been through so much and having had such great support. The people who fundraised the most of my team were me, my mother and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law, for example, works for an insurance company, and they did a special day of fundraising for me, where they did a 50/50 in office. It was so incredible to see everyone contributing because of my experience.
My favorite part of LTN is the walk itself and seeing all the lanterns. It's really a community of people and we're all there for the same reason and you can feel it. When I first got there, I felt really timid and apprehensive but I was surprised to also feel really connected to everyone. Being a part of the circle of survivors and hearing about other people's experiences was really important to me. Because I didn't have any personal connections to people who had experienced cancer, I was seeking something, and LTN was exactly what I needed and I knew that once I was there. I felt so much warmth and connection to everyone else who was at the event.

I have shared the word about this event widely, I've invited friends and family because I think it's to important to support research and patient services, and to show people that supporting these things, supports people like me. I want to personalize it! My story is the story of so many and I try to let people know that I love why I care so much about this cause in hopes that they'll also feel touched by it and want to give too. I think we're like-minded people and that we need to stand together. We're here, so how can we support each other. You never know what someone has been through, so it is just so important to be kind.

The biggest challenge was learning to go day by day and just to push myself to the next treatment. I had treatment every other Friday and some weeks were definitely easier than others. I had to dig really deep to motivate myself and tell myself to keep going and that I could do it. It was also hard to be in Kelowna and not really know anyone my age who had a similar experience. Then, after treatment there was a whole new set of challenges. I had just climbed a mountain to get over this disease and then I had to go back to work and back to life. It was like a wave hit me. I definitely also had PTSD and I struggled for a long time to be near the hospital or to even smell the smell of hand sanitizer. So, overall, keeping my mindset positive was the hardest thing.

The changes you undergo are both drastic and subtle. Getting a diagnosis really shocks you to the core and makes you realize life is so fragile. On the positive side, my good friendships became closer, and more open and affectionate. My marriage became stronger--we figured, if we can get through this, we can get through anything. I have also always really struggled with anxiety but somehow this helped to open up my perspective and deal with things differently. Most importantly what changed for me though, is this fundamental knowledge that you have no idea what someone else is going through, and we all need to shift our perspectives and be mindful of that. My life was turned upside down in a matter of two hours, so now when I meet someone and it seems like they're being rude, I think, maybe that person just got the worst news of their life, and I just try to be kind to them.