“I’m grateful for every moment of the 18 years Doug and I got to spend together. To every one of our health care providers, we could never thank them enough.” – Marg Richardson, legacy donor.
We were married in 1981 and looked forward to years spent outdoors; we loved snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, and enjoying the great Alberta outdoors. But out of nowhere, Doug was sidelined by a painful lump in his stomach.
Doug underwent major surgeries to remove a tumour that had attached to many major organs. But when the cancer came back, we were told to prepare for the worst. Little did we know, his journey of surgeries and recoveries had just begun.
We had been married for only 6 months before his diagnosis, and it seemed we wouldn’t get the life we planned for ourselves.Then we received a life-changing call: Doug was a candidate for a brand-new cancer treatment called cryosurgery.
Doug was one of the first Albertans to have the experimental procedure that prolonged his life twice. I was so grateful for the gift of more time with my husband. We even toured Alaska in our RV that year.
In all, we were shared 18 years and countless moments together. I’m so thankful our province’s top doctors have access to the latest advances in cancer research and treatment. We’d talked often about how we could turn our gratitude into something meaningful. So we decided to include the Alberta Cancer Foundation in our wills. In gratitude, I’m paying it forward by including the Alberta Cancer Foundation in my will.
Today, it brings me peace to know Doug’s kind heart lives on.
Inspired by Marg Richardson and her story? Learn more about Legacy Giving here or contact Christy Soholt at christy.soholt@albertacancer.ca
