For most people going through a cancer diagnosis once in a lifetime is traumatic enough. Terrie McEwen went through it twice, 22 years apart.
McEwen, who lives on a farm north of Carstairs with her husband, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1982 at the age of 26.
After having a hysterectomy, she was healthy and cancer-free until 2005 when at the age of 48 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After choosing to have a mastectomy, McEwen was once again healthy and cancer-free and has remained that way.
"It's made me a stronger person, everything I've gone through," she said. "I'm strong as a result of it. It's never slowed me down. I've never looked back."
McEwen lives on the original homestead of her husband Shaun McEwen's family on a farm pretty much halfway between Didsbury and Carstairs.
"The McEwens purchased it from Hudson's Bay Company in 1902," she said. "They're original homesteaders. There has always been a McEwen here."
Terrie and Shaun raised five children together who are all now grown and they have nine grandchildren.
McEwen grew up near Kitimat in northern B.C. The family then moved to Sparwood, which is near Fernie in southwestern B.C. She moved to Alberta as a young mother to give her son better opportunities for hockey.
McEwen transferred from Clearwater, B.C. to a credit union in Didsbury where she worked for three years. She then left to join Shell where she worked until she retired three years ago.
"My sister, who is in child care, had an opportunity to buy a child care agency and asked if I wanted to go in on it with her," she said. "I went, 'I can do that because I can retire.' So I retired and now I'm self-employed."
McEwen was living in Clearwater when she was first diagnosed with cancer. She said it was a very frightening time with not much information being available at the time.
"The first one I had I was 26 when I went for a Pap test and it came back irregular," she said. "They told me they were sending me in for a biopsy, so now I'm freaking. It was 1982, they didn't tell you anything. They just sent you for stuff but didn't really inform you of what you were going for."
McEwen said she was stunned when she walked into the building and saw the sign for the cancer clinic.
"Honestly, it was a beautiful, bright cold day out in January," she said. "I remember just thinking I don't want to die. Back then you didn't even know the risks."
McEwen was eventually told by one of the specialists that she had cervical cancer and was referred to an oncologist.
"Back then the only corrective action they had was having a hysterectomy," she said. "I was 26 then and had two kids and they said basically this is your option. I had a hysterectomy and moved on. With a hysterectomy it's about a 92 per cent success rate. So that was good. I couldn't have kids anymore but it was successful."
McEwen moved to Alberta shortly after and met Shaun. They got married and raised their blended family on the homestead.
"Everything was fine until I went in for a mammogram on my left side (at age 48)," she said. "They are now telling me they are sending me for a biopsy to confirm that I have breast cancer."
McEwen said that when the oncologist came in to talk about options around her breast cancer it really hit home and she basically shut down.
I was shocked when he told me I had breast cancer, she said.
"How can this happen to a person -- you get it twice?" said McEwen.
"He was telling me all about what was happening and my surgery options. I'm glad I had my sister there because at that point I just shut down."
McEwen was told the breast cancer she had was ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is contained within the milk ducts.
"It was two-thirds, so they could do a lumpectomy (removal of the lump) but they would take two-thirds of the breast," she said. "He gave me all the options: you can have a lumpectomy, you can have nothing, you can have a lumpectomy with radiation, or you can have a mastectomy (removal of the whole breast) and you will not have to have radiation as long as the lymph nodes are clear. If they did that it's a 96 per cent success rate."
McEwen said she made the decision to choose a mastectomy after hearing from a friend who passed away after having multiple lumpectomies.
"My friend had breast cancer and had died the year before," she said. "She said she had made the wrong choice. That's why I went to do the mastectomy because of her. She kept going back and having lumpectomies.
"By saying that, my friend helped me make my decision. I'm glad I did it. I've had nothing since."
McEwen asked her doctor how she could've gotten cervical cancer in the first place.
"I asked how could this have happened," she said. "I wasn't even a candidate for cervical cancer. They had patterns. I wasn't a candidate. Breast cancer -- not even close. My mom had breast cancer but it wasn't hereditary."
McEwen was told afterwards by her family doctor that her cervical cancer was a result of the HPV virus, which also increased her chances of breast cancer.
"That's why I tell those young girls to take that shot (HPV vaccination)," she said. "I strongly recommend it. Go get your shots. I 100 per cent believe that if you can go get a shot that stops you from getting cancer of the cervix, why wouldn't you? I know I had the HPV virus and I got cancer of the cervix as a result of it and probably breast cancer."
Today McEwen is a healthy 62-year-old. She does go in for an annual mammogram but has been cancer-free since having her mastectomy.
"I'm 14 years a survivor," she said. "They said after 10 years if it doesn't reoccur then you should be fine."
