“When I was 13 my mom got breast cancer, and I always knew I wanted to get into health care from that point on. She’s been through the whole system, got passed around the system and she never got the time of the day from any of her health care practitioners and I don’t feel like her story was heard. She never got her questions answered, she always felt like she was super dismissed and from that point on, I’m like ‘you know what, I’m going to be in health care, I’m going to make a difference, I’m going to make people feel like they matter and your stories been heard.’
My mom, grew up not very wealthy, she sacrificed so much for my brother and I. I just want to make her as proud as I could, that’s all I remember. She got sick but she was a super mom. When she had her first dose of chemotherapy, she had mastectomy so she didn’t like showering alone in the dark because after mastectomy your body changes, it’s almost like taking part of your women away. She would ask me to sit in the dark with her, she turn off the lights in the washroom and she came out of the shower, put on her clothes and I just remember that’s when her hair started falling out. She started tearing it out and tearing it out and it was just all over. I was 13 and I didn’t know what to do. You always see your mom, and she’s the strongest person in the family but when you see that happen, it’s traumatizing.” – Jessica Cheng, Physiotherapist, Real Estate Agent, Weight lifter. (1/5)