After treating and caring for thousands of patients over an illustrious decades-long medical career, Sundre physician Dr. Hal Irvine is doing his best to be a good patient himself these days.
A 2013 recipient of the prestigious Canadian Family Physician of the Year award (FPOY) from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Irvine is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumour.
“It's been a change of roles and it's a little different being the patient,” Dr. Irvine said in an interview at his Sundre home. “In general doctors are not good patients but I'm trying to be. We are used to telling people what to do and now the roles have changed.”
Dr. Irvine's wife Dianne added: “He told me his patients have been the model for him over the years. He is being a good patient.”
Dr. Irvine was in B.C. to receive his FPOY award in November when he suffered a seizure just prior to the ceremony. It was then that the tumour was discovered.
“It's a brain tumour that came out of the blue,” he said. “I was in Vancouver and had a seizure and ended up in ICU for three days. For this type of tumour it is fairly common that seizure is the first sign of it.”
He is now receiving weekly treatments at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.
“The biggest problem I'm having is with speech because the tumour is right in the speech part of the brain. Finding the right words is sometimes difficult,” he said.
“Between the tumour and the treatment I find I don't have much stamina. I need to lie down and rest a couple times a day.”
A Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada since 1989, Dr. Irvine attended the University of Calgary where he earned certification in family medicine in 1979 before completing his residency at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. in 1980.
During his career Dr. Irvine has won numerous awards, including two Robert Hartley Fellowship awards in anesthesia in 1983 and 1990, Clinician of the Year in 2002 by the David Thompson Health Region medical staff, and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada Fellowship of Rural and Remote Medicine in 2009.
Dr. Irvine entered semi-retirement from the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre prior to his seizure, with a well-attended community celebration of his career held in Sundre.
Dr. Irvine and Dianne both say the support from medical colleagues, friends, family and the community at large has been remarkable.
“I've just been overwhelmed by the amount of support,” he said. “It has been incredible how much people have been willing to help. It started on the third of November and I don't think we've had to cook supper since then.
“There is so much support through this that you realize that everyone has been touched by cancer somehow, whether it's their friends or family. It's amazing how people have come to help out.”
In one example of the support the Irvines have been receiving, they returned from a recent stay in Calgary to find their walk and driveway cleared of snow and several bouquets of flowers left at the home.
“When we came home it was incredible. Presents and decorations and food. I cried,” said Dianne.
Despite being kept fairly busy with his treatment these days, Dr. Irvine has managed to keep up with one of his favourite pastimes.
“My main hobby over the years has been photography so I've been doing some of that. I am doing a little kind of photo essay of this whole adventure, and I'm keeping a little journal,” he said.
Asked if he sees himself returning to practise medicine part-time somewhere down the road, Dr. Irvine said, “At this point, we'll just have to play it by ear. We'll just have to wait and see.”
As part of the FPOY award ceremony, a video was made highlighting Dr. Irvine's career and achievements. It can be seen at http://fpoy.cfpc.ca/2013-recipients.
Dr. Irvine and his wife are planning to attend a College of Family Physicians of Canada conference in Banff in March to finally receive his FPOY award in person.
In the meantime Dr. Irvine says he is trying to heed the advice he gave his patients over the years: Think positive.
“You have to make the most of life because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow,” he said.
Dianne added: “Hal says we've got to enjoy each day to the fullest. It really helps our kids and me to have that kind of attitude.”
The Irvines have three children: Sarah, Bronwyn and Brody, and a grandson Sebastian.
