A local woman who is active in the community is currently taking treatments for Stage 3 esophageal cancer in Mexico.
Tanya Sayer was diagnosed with the disease on Oct. 8, a day after she and her husband celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. While she had developed persistent heartburn shortly before the birth of the couple's fourth child Aaron on Jan. 1, 2013, Tanya's husband Graham said it was still a shock when the diagnosis was delivered. While Tanya took Aaron for a doctor's appointment in May, she mentioned she had vomited blood on one occasion. A gastroscopy was ordered in October, which detected the cancer.
“It was a bit of a surprise,” Graham said on Dec. 2 from Mexico, where Tanya was receiving treatments. “She had been having trouble swallowing since the last week of her pregnancy.”
He said a combination of factors went into the decision to go to Mexico for treatment, such as a recommendation for the clinic from friends.
“(The clinic was) able to offer the same (chemotherapy) we would have gotten in Canada, but without affecting her quality of life. She wouldn't have to go through the same signs and symptoms that you would with chemo in Canada,” Graham said.
When the Albertan spoke to Graham, Tanya was due to have a third treatment the following day on Dec. 3, followed by a fourth treatment next week. Tanya arrived in Mexico on Nov. 13 with Aaron while Graham arrived a week later with the rest of the family.
“We'll hopefully have some results here by the end of this week and then decide if surgery is the next best step back in Canada,” Graham said.
The plan is to return to Alberta on Dec. 13 and then head back to Mexico again in March 2014 for a 10-day followup.
Initially, all the treatments were being paid for by the family out of pocket, but with Graham currently on leave from his job as a paramedic for Alberta Health Services, friends decided to get involved to ease the financial stress on the family.
Ali Reichenbacher, one of the organizers of fundraising events to help the family, said about $1,500 had been raised since Nov. 25 through a bottle drive. People wishing to donate bottles can either drop them off at the bottle depot in Olds or at Holy Trinity Catholic School. People can also arrange for pickup by calling 403-556-9444 and asking for Ali. A rummage sale and live auction is also planned at Holy Trinity School on Dec. 7 beginning at 11 a.m. A lunch will also be available, with all proceeds going toward the Sayer family.
The Sayer family has three children that attend Holy Trinity Catholic School, where Reichenbacher works in the front office.
“We have gotten to be good friends as well,” Reichenbacher said. “Tanya and Graham have just done so much for the community at large. We want to give back to them. We just want to alleviate some of that (financial) stress.”
