WESTLOCK — When Lorene Larsen first felt the ache in her back after shovelling snow in the winter of 2022, she didn’t think much of it. But what seemed like a simple muscle strain soon spiralled into a diagnosis that would change her life forever.
“I said to Richard [her husband], ‘My back is really hurting.’ I figured I’d just overdone it with the shovel,” she said. “But the pain kept getting worse and worse.”
After multiple doctor visits and an initial X-ray that revealed nothing, a CT scan finally confirmed the unthinkable for the then-60-year-old. The doctors found cancer spotted throughout her chest, abdomen and pelvis.
That scan was just the beginning.
Two months later, an MRI showed the full picture. Doctors said the cancer had started in her ovaries but it had spread to her spleen, liver, lungs, kidney, and spine. She was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer—a disease often called the "silent killer" for its subtle symptoms.
Now 63, Larsen continues to live with cancer. It’s no longer curable, but for now, it’s stable.
“I’m living with it. They told me it would never be cured, but it’s not progressing,” she said.
After undergoing radiation on her spine to reduce back pain, Larsen began intensive chemotherapy every three weeks, with each session lasting six hours. Her treatment plan later expanded to include Herceptin, a drug traditionally used for breast cancer that is now being tested in ovarian cancer patients. She now receives this immunotherapy drug every three weeks at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre.
But then came another terrible blow, this time to her brain.
“One day I was talking to Richard and apparently I wasn’t making any sense,” she said. “He thought I was having a stroke.”
At the hospital, a CT scan revealed a mass in her brain. She was transferred to Edmonton’s University of Alberta Hospital, where neurosurgeons performed a surgery followed by a Gamma Knife procedure, which is a laser treatment that destroys lingering cancer cells.
Today, the cancer in her brain is gone.
“Every MRI since has been good,” she said, and her next one isn’t due for four months.
But the cancer remains in her body, along with the physical and emotional toll that came with it.
“It was a total life-changing experience,” Larsen said. “At first, when they told me there was no cure, I even thought about medical assistance in dying.”
Instead, she started treatment and was enrolled in a palliative Blue Cross program that covers her medications. With the help of her medical team at the Cross Cancer Institute, she began building a new life.
Still, cancer-related fatigue remains a daily struggle.
“You get tired really easily,” she said. “You stop and rest, then do a bit more.”
She has retired from her day home business and is now on Alberta’s AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) program. But she keeps her spirits up by travelling when she can. She recently returned from a trip to Mexico with family and is planning more adventures, like visiting her brother in northern B.C. and hopefully returning to Victoria this summer.
“I just try to keep busy. It really helps to have something to look forward to.”
For Larsen, even small joys carry new meaning, like a heating pad on her back, an adjustable bed in the living room, flower pots in summer, a hot shower. And above all, the people around her.
“Richard’s been amazing. He helps with everything. My family, the staff at the Cross (Cancer Institute), the support has been incredible.”
Larsen has also undergone radiation for a fracture in her pelvis—likely caused by the cancer—and is now awaiting a procedure called cementoplasty, where a medical-grade material is injected into the bone to stabilize it and reduce pain. She’s currently on morphine to cope.
As she navigates ongoing treatment, she said one of the best decisions she made in the process is to accept the help and support from the medical community.
“When they tell you it’s cancer, you go into shock. But give the doctors a chance. They will absolutely do their best.”
Now Larsen takes things one day at a time and the phrase has become her new mantra.
“It’s a cliché,” she laughed, “but it’s true. Some days are good, some are bad. But you just get up, and you do what you can. And if you get stable like I am now, just look around and appreciate what you have.”
Larsen says she’s not dwelling on what might happen next. Instead, she’s forward-focused—looking to her next trip, her next garden season, and soaking in the moments that matter.
“I never thought it would be me,” she said. “I was healthy. I didn’t expect this. But here I am. I’m still living my life.”
