A Sundre woman who was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer in June is determined she is going to beat it.
Rhiannan VanSprang, 33, is choosing to make her battle with cancer a positive one.
“Cancer has to live with me. I don't have to live with cancer,” said VanSprang. “In the end, when I walk away, I can still say I beat it. That's my plan.”
Family members hosted a fundraising event on Oct. 25 to help with medical, travelling and living expenses, according to organizer and cousin Danielle Bird, adding $22,000 was raised.
“If you knew my cousin she is so full of life and she loves music and she loves dancing and she is a free spirit,” said Bird.
“So we wanted to make sure that in all of this darkness and gloominess of the cancer that we were able to make it a positive moment in her journey.”
A carnival for kids was set up at the community centre during the day on Saturday, and a dinner and dance were held in the evening.
Guests were asked to dress up in Halloween costumes, and prizes were given out for best dressed. A silent auction and live auction were held to help raise money.
VanSprang's sister-in-law, Georgina Dalton, shaved her head during the event.
Although VanSprang is nervous about an upcoming surgery, she considers herself a lucky cancer patient, and says her family is what keeps her going.
Her seven-year-old son Jayce, two-year-old daughter Tianna, and fiancé Preston Savage make her battle with cancer a little bit easier.
“I think what keeps me the strongest is my kids. I could feel crappy and I could lie around and I could choose to not do things. But I look at them and I realize that I have these little warriors to keep me going,” she said.
After she was diagnosed with cancer, it spread through her lymph nodes and through her chest. She says the first round of chemotherapy she went through was tough.
And although she lost all of her hair, she has fun wearing different wigs.
The support from her family has been “overwhelming”, and she is grateful for the event held over the weekend.
“Walking in here and just seeing old childhood friends and everybody who I haven't seen in forever come together and support me – it makes me want to fight harder,” she said.
“I'm going to kick cancer's ass.”
She admitted the hardest thing for her since living with cancer has been asking for help.
“I need to learn to say I'm not OK. I'm always ‘yes I'm OK, everything is good' and I've learned it's OK to not be OK,” she said, admitting it has also been hard not having the amount of energy she would like to have.
She can't work and she can't drive, but she doesn't let that bring her down.
“I try to do everything that I would have done normally and not let it change me,” she said.
She worked as a waitress before she was diagnosed with cancer, and says she loves meeting people. She also enjoys exercising, fishing, hiking, nature, animals and music.
She grew up in Sundre, moved away for several years and moved back to town eight years ago.
“What an amazing community to live in. You're never alone. No one fights alone in this community. It's the most amazing feeling in the world.”
