News about Heather
Bulletin #7 - News about Heather, May 22, 2006
►On
May 22, 2006 the SCO Health Service’s Élisabeth-Bruyère
Health Centre announced, on behalf of her family, that Heather
Crowe had passed away at 8:00 p.m.
Heather had instructed us to
let those people wishing to honour her in a personal way know that
they can make a contribution to the Heather Crowe Legacy Fund.
According to Heather’s wishes, the fund will support worthwhile
projects that are action-oriented and improve protection from
second-hand smoke or effectively enhance youth engagement in
anti-tobacco activities. Cheques may be written to the Heather
Crowe Legacy Fund, Canadian Council for Tobacco Control, 192 Bank
Street, Ottawa, Canada, K2P 1W8. Charitable donation receipts
will be issued. To make a donation or find out more about the
Heather Crowe Legacy Fund, please call the Canadian Council on
Tobacco Control at (613) 567-3050.
Bulletin #6 - News about Heather,
May 9, 2006
►Heather
received a personal visit from the Honourable Tony Clement,
Minister of Health, on Friday, May 5. Mr. Clement offered his best
wishes to Heather and expressed his admiration for Heather and her
achievements. He was also hopeful that Heather's goal -
smoke-free workplaces everywhere in Canada - would soon be
achieved. Heather suffers a great deal of pain these days, and Mr.
Clement's visit meant a lot to her. It lifted her spirits
considerably.
Bulletin #5 - News about Heather,
May 5, 2006
►Heather
has been a resident of the SCO Élisabeth-Bruyère Health Centre in
Ottawa since February 16, 2006. In the past few months
her health has slowly declined. Because of the
ever-advancing tumours on her spine, hips, pelvis and legs, she
can no longer walk unassisted. Even walking with the aid of
a walker has become difficult, as has sitting for long periods of
time. Now she mostly needs a wheelchair to get around, and she can
only sit in the wheelchair for short periods of time.
►Late
in February, Heather's hair started falling out, the inevitable
consequence of radiotherapy to her brain that she had undergone in
the early part of the month. Rather than wait for all of her
hair to fall out, Heather paid a visit to Élisabeth-Bruyère
Centre's hairdresser and had her remaining hair shaved off.
When asked how she felt about saying goodbye to her hair, Heather
replied matter-of-factly, "I'm not just losing my hair. The
cancer is making my legs weak too. I'm going to concentrate
on what's most important to me. Hair is not important.
Walking is."
►Her
cancer is now well advanced into the fourth stage. The
progress of the cancer can no longer be slowed by chemotherapy or
radiotherapy. She did undergo some radiotherapy in March in
order to shrink a large tumour on her spine and ease the
considerable back pain she was feeling.
►Pain
management is now a major concern for Heather. Heather's
pain is management is ably conducted by Dr. Ginsberg and other
members of the very competent staff at the Élisabeth-Bruyère
Centre. On some days Heather experiences considerable pain
(especially in the mornings), but most of the time, her pain is
successfully controlled. For someone in the later stages of
Stage Four lung cancer, Heather is experiencing the best quality
of life that is possible.
►When
Heather's pain is under control she can continue her campaign for
a smoke-free Canada. And campaign she does. Here are
some of the recent milestones in Heather's campaign for a
smoke-free Canada:
-
February 22, 2006: PSC
issued a news release about Heather's worsening condition. (http://www.smoke-free.ca/eng_home/news_press_Feb21_06.htm).
-
February 24, 2006:
Heather held a news conference to explain her condition and plea
for full protection for all workers from second-hand smoke.
-
March 7, 2006: Heather
replied to Senator Mac Harb (a former customer of Heather's at the
Newport Restaurant), thanking him for his initiative.
During May, Liberal Senator Harb will introduce a motion in the
Senate, seconded by Conservative Senator Dr. Wilbert Keon calling
on governments across Canada to fulfil Heather's wish - to make
Canada smoke-free.
-
March 11, 2006:
Heather received a visit from the Commando Oxygène of École
sécondaire polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau. Heather joined the
Oxygen Commando for their skit. And photographer Peter Stockland took the arresting photo of Heather that now graces our
masthead. To learn more about Quebec's Oxygen Commandoes,
visit the website of the Quebec Council on Smoking and Health -
http://www.cqts.qc.ca/.
-
(click on picture for larger
version)
-
April 8, 2006:
Heather participated in a news conference to launch a new
television advertisement featuring herself and Moe Atallah, the
owner of the Newport Restaurant, where Heather worked for the last
15 years of her career. The advertisement will support the
implementation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act which will make all
Ontario workplaces and public places smoke-free, beginning May 31,
2006. The press conference was organized by the the Heart
and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. In addition to Heather and
Moe, other participants in the news conference were Rocco Rossi,
Chief Executive Officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of
Ontario, and Jim Watson, Ontario's Minister of Health Promotion
and another former customer of Heather's at the Newport
Restaurant.
►Heather's
achievements continue to be recognized in many quarters. Here are
some of the awards and
recognitions that Heather has received in the past few months.
-
February 21, 2006:
Ottawa's Mayor Bob Chiarelli declared this day to be Heather Crowe
day in Ottawa. A ceremony in her honour was held at
Immaculata High School. Heather was too ill to attend the
ceremony that day. Her daughter Patty graciously filled in
for Heather and accepted the award from Mayor Chiarelli on
Heather's behalf.
-
April 11, 2006: Heather
attended a reception sponsored by Ottawa Life Magazine.
They had nominated Heather as one of the "Top 50 people in Ottawa.
Heather was well enough to attend the reception in her wheelchair.
-
April 23, 2006: April 23 was
Heather's 61st birthday. Many of her friends and admirers
gathered in the Gilberte Paquette Room of the Élisabeth-Bruyère
Centre to help Heather celebrate her birthday. Heather's
special day has been chronicled by Suzanne Charest, Communications
Manager for the SCO Health Services. Check it out on the SCO
website (http://www.scohs.on.ca/bins/news_display_page. asp? cid=11-113-3174).
Some of Heather's young friends from the Exposé programme (the
highly successful anti-tobacco youth engagement programme in
Ottawa's high schools)
transformed themselves into Hawaiian dancers at the birthday party
- and put a big smile on Heather's face.
-
►Many
people have voiced concern that Heather's life and achievements
should continue to be honoured for a long time to come.
Thanks to Heather's friends at the Canadian Council for Tobacco
Control (CCTC), this will come to pass. The CCTC is creating
the Heather Crowe Legacy Fund, a fund that, according to Heather's
wishes, will fund worthwhile tobacco control projects that are
action-oriented and will create greater protection from
second-hand smoke, or that effectively engage youth in tobacco
control activities. Cheques may be written to the Heather
Crowe Legacy Fund, Canadian Council for Tobacco Control, 192 Bank
Street, Ottawa, Canada, K2P 1W8. Charitable donation
receipts will be issued. To make a donation by telephone, or
find out more about the Heather Crowe Legacy Fund, please call the
Canadian Council for Tobacco Control at 1 613 567 3050 or visit
their website at http://www.cctc.ca/.
Bulletin #4 - Heather's Health,
February 21, 2006
►Heather
continued to live in the Alta Vista Manor over Christmas.
Radiation treatments and the successful pain management strategy
that was put in place before Christmas were successful and allowed
her to enjoy a happy and reasonably pain-free Christmas and
New Year in the company of her family.
►Early
in the new year, she consulted with her oncologist. He noted
that her fall treatment regime had succeeded in slowing down the
spread of cancer and that no further treatments were needed for
the time being. That was early in January. In just a
few weeks however, her condition would worsen.
►Heather
was in good spirits for most of January and even managed to get
out and about and enjoy a bit of a social life in Ottawa.
►Heather
received some significant tributes in December. On December
16, Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty and Jim Watson, Ontario's
Minister of Health Promotion (and a former customer of Heather's
at the Newport Restaurant), paid her a visit to present her with
the first Heather Crowe Award, a new award created by the Province
of Ontario which will recognize the local efforts of individuals
and organizations in promoting a smoke-free Ontario. Heather
was the first recipient of this award, and many more will follow.
Indeed, Heather herself presented another Heather Crowe Award in
January to the Westin Hotel in Ottawa in acknowledgement of their
new policy. The Westin Hotel in now an entirely smoke-free
facility.
►Heather
was also delighted to receive in December a personal letter of
thanks from Philippe Couillard, Quebec's Minister of Health and
Social Services, for Heather's assistance in helping to make
Quebec a province that, like Ontario, will become smoke-free on
May 31, 2006.
►Towards
the end of January, Heather's condition worsened. First she
noticed new pains in her arm. Subsequent diagnosis revealed
that the cancer had spread not only to her arm, but to her brain
as well. Early in February, she was readmitted to the Ottawa
Hospital for further radiation treatments for the new tumours in
her brain.
►On
February 16, she was discharged from the Ottawa Hospital and was
admitted to the Elizabeth Bruyère Health Centre, a palliative care
hospital in Ottawa. The radiation treatments left her
drained and fatigued. Despite new and more aggressive pain
management, the pain Heather feels all over her body is severe and
unremitting. Heather rarely feels down in the dumps, but the
fatigue, pain and implacable spread of her cancer have left her
feeling uncharacteristically demoralized. We are all hoping
and praying that further adjustments to her pain medication,
together with more good wishes from her friends and supporters all
across Canada and around the world, will bring her some relief and
brighten her spirits in the coming days and weeks.
►And,
still, Heather keeps working. On November 28, 2005, she
wrote to Tony Blair and asked him to make the United Kingdom
smoke-free. Her voice was added to many others in favour of
a smoke-free United Kingdom. Finally, Heather's wish came
true when the British Parliament voted on Valentine's Day for a
smoke-free United Kingdom. The ban will come into force in
the summer of 2007. In the past few months, Heather has also
given her support to campaigns for smoke-free workplaces in
Saskatchewan, in Lethbridge, Alberta, and in Minnesota, USA.
Bulletin #3 - Heather's Health,
November 7, 2005
►During
October, Heather was settling in to her new surroundings at Alta
Vista Manor, a nursing home (and her new home) adjacent to the
General campus of the Ottawa Hospital. Her new surroundings
suit her needs well. She needs some nursing care and her new
home is convenient for her frequent visits to the hospital for
cancer treatment.
►A
couple of Heather's chemotherapy treatments were particularly
arduous. One on October 6 left her in considerable pain and
discomfort over the Thanksgiving weekend. She recovered from
that, only to suffer another setback during another chemotherapy
session on October 28. While she was undergoing
chemotherapy, her doctors noticed a potentially serious
circulatory disorder, probably brought on by her cancer. Her
blood vessels were filled with many small blood clots that caused
them to stop the chemotherapy and put her on a regime of blood
thinners that will be administered by daily injection
indefinitely. Doctors also kept her in hospital for rest,
recovery, observation and further diagnosis and treatment.
She is now feeling better and expected to return to the Alta Vista
Manor on November 8.
►Heather's
overall physical condition continues to deteriorate. She has
difficulty walking and has to use her walker most of the time.
Much of the difficulty she has with walking can be traced to a
large secondary tumour on her spine. Her radiologist has
scheduled more radiation treatments in November to shrink this
9-centimetre tumour on her spine, in the hopes of easing some of
the discomfort she feels from walking.
►Notwithstanding
all this bad news, Heather is feeling better than she was and
remains cheerful and in good spirits. Also in the good news
department is that, after several setbacks, Heather's pain
management strategy is now working effectively. Doctors have
found the right combination of pain management drugs that Heather
can administer herself. As long as she keeps taking them
(which she does), they are effectively preventing the terrible
pain that she was experiencing off and on since August.
►As
usual, Heather never stops working. The news conference she
held on October 6 in conjunction with Exposé, Ottawa's youth-led
anti-tobacco team was reported on the following day by Kenneth
Jackson in the Ottawa daily Metro. Here is an
excerpt:
Crowe fought back tears as
she was congratulated yesterday for her work. She said she's
thankful for the last three years she's had to spread her message.
"It's the circle of life
but we've got to make sure we protect ourselves," she said.
"Living means standing up in the shadows of death. I hope to
squeak out another year or so."
There will be others to
carry on her work, her supporters assured Crowe.
"We are here today and we
will carry the torch," said Aveleigh Gateman, an Ottawa public
health worker and youth facilitator of Exposé.
►Heather's
story was featured in Challenge, the quarterly magazine of the
Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre. And Heather was the
cover girl.
Bulletin #2 - Heather's Health,
October 6, 2005
►After
being discharged from the Queensway Carleton Hospital on August
28, Heather realized that her ability to live on her own was fast
disappearing. She stayed in her own apartment only another
two weeks before moving to a nursing home near the Ottawa
Hospital. There, attentive nursing home staff help her with
her pain management and activities of daily living, such as
cooking and getting around, that are becoming increasingly
difficult for her to do without some assistance.
►New
diagnoses conducted late in September show Heather's condition to
have worsened. Secondary cancer has spread widely through
her skeletal system - to her spine, hips, pelvis,
coccyx, legs and one arm -
and to her liver, lungs and kidneys. She is in pain and her pain
management regime needs to be continually adjusted. She has
trouble sitting and now can only get around with the aid of a
walker. She will undergo more chemotherapy and radiotherapy in
October.
►Depending
on how well Heather responds to her upcoming rounds of treatment,
she can expect to live another three to twelve months.
►Ottawa's
youth-led anti-tobacco team, Exposé, finds inspiration in
Heather's heroism. On October 6, 2005, the first day of
Heather's new round of chemotherapy, they organized a news
conference with Heather in the Ottawa Hospital chemotherapy
waiting room to bring attention to Heather's struggle and to
celebrate her life and work.
►Despite
all her pain and anguish, Heather never stops working on behalf of
workers all across Canada. While Saskatchewan has a new law
that protects waitresses and some other workers from second-hand
smoke, many other Saskatchewan workers still have no protection
from tobacco smoke at work. In the midst of packing up her
apartment for good to leave and move into a nursing home, Heather
spoke out about tobacco smoke in Saskatchewan workplaces.
Here is the article that appeared, quoting Heather, in the Regina
Leader-Post on September 8, 2005.
_____________________________________________
Ban urged for all workplaces
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Thu 08 Sep 2005
Page: B1 / Front
Section: City & Province
Byline: Heather Polischuk
Source: Leader-Post
Heather Crowe is packing up her
belongings, trying to decide what to keep and what to give away as
she prepares to move into a care home.
Crowe, 60, from Ottawa was diagnosed with inoperable lung
cancer three years ago, which has since spread to her liver and
spine. That means another round of chemotherapy, more medication
to ease constant pain and a need for 24-hour care.
Crowe -- who was told she has just three months to a year left
to live -- was awarded compensation for lung cancer caused by
occupational exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke. The
non-smoker had spent 40 years working as a waitress in
restaurants, bars and banquet halls.
"The only reason I'm in this condition is because I went to
work every day and this really is what happens to the unprotected
worker," said Crowe. "I don't want to take (smokers') rights away
from them, I just want legislation that states when you go to
work, you're going to be protected."
And that legislation is too long in coming, argued June Blau,
president of the Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction,
saying such regulations have been under review for more than a
year. According to Statistics Canada figures, in 2004 Saskatchewan
had the lowest number of workers protected from second-hand smoke
at 62 per cent.
"We don't see any light at the end of the tunnel," said Blau.
"Meanwhile people continue to be exposed to second-hand smoke and
our death and disease toll is continuing to accumulate."
Health Canada statistics show up to 7,800 Canadians die each
year because of second-hand smoke.
"I think the point is we can prevent it, so even one death is
too many," said Blau. "This is a totally preventable situation and
it's in our power to do that and to do it immediately, so why
wouldn't we just do it?"
Labour Minister Deb Higgins said Saskatchewan is doing
something about it. She said the province has taken some big steps
in the last few years to cut down on smoking in the workplace.
"I mean, to go from wide-open smoking to 60 per cent in a
couple of years to zero in public places, we have made some pretty
significant moves," said Higgins.
However, she admitted those smoking bans do not carry over to
all workplaces, just those where the public may go.
Blau said that is not good enough. She said she wants
legislation that makes all workplaces smoke-free, as has been done
in several other Canadian provinces like Ontario, Quebec and
Manitoba.
"For those of us who know about Heather Crowe and other people
who have died or will die from second-hand smoke, it's an issue of
some urgency to just get it done," she said. "And we think that
there's really nothing to stop the government from going ahead
with legislation."
Higgins said the matter is not yet in the hands of legislators.
She said an Occupational Health and Safety council is currently
completing a legislative review that may address the issue of
workplace smoking. That report is due in by the end of the year,
said Higgins.
In the meantime, Crowe continues to speak out against workplace
smoking and said she will continue to do so as long as she can.
"They should really consider doing the right thing and making
all workplaces smoke-free right across Canada," she said. "And I
doubt that I'll live to see it happen but I'm hoping I will."
_________________________________________
Bulletin #1 - Heather's
Health,
September 2, 2005
►On
August 11, 2005 Heather was in terrible pain and checked herself
into Ottawa's Queensway Carleton Hospital. A few days later,
PSC issued this news release:
Heather Crowe
readmitted to hospital
►While
in hospital, Heather learned that her cancer was no longer in
remission and that it had metastasized to several other parts of
her body. She had metastatic cancer of the spine, hips,
pelvis, liver and lungs.
►Although
her condition did not improve while she was in hospital, doctors
were able to devise a workable pain management strategy.
Heather was discharged from hospital on August 28 and sent home
with an armload of pain medication. By September 2, she had
completed another round of radiotherapy. Later this month
there will be more assessments to see if she should have further
chemotherapy.
►Despite
her pain and suffering and poor prognosis, Heather remains
resolute and determined to do all that she can to ensure that
people are protected from second-hand smoke in all workplaces and
public places.
►While
in hospital, Heather talked to Calgary Sun reporter Licia Corbella.
Licia's story appeared on August 28 in the Calgary Sun. Here
are some extracts:
End looms for cancer
fighter
Crowe urges Canadians to take
up her quest for smoke-free workplaces
By LICIA CORBELLA
-- Calgary Sun
August 28, 2005
Heather Crowe describes herself as
the "face of cancer from second-hand smoke."
But she is, in reality, so much
more.
The 60-year-old, who was reached in
her Ottawa hospital room, is also a mother and a
grandmother.
She is "a hard worker," "a
straight-living woman," "a taxpayer," "a passionate Canadian," "a
Christian," an Aboriginal and a "lover of people."
And while those who know her
intimately will remember her that way, most Canadians only know
her as the woman who changed labour law in Canada and is the
embodiment of how second-hand tobacco smoke can harm and kill.
When I first met Heather in January
2004, I was a smokers' freedom advocate, even thought I don't
smoke and think it's a disgusting habit.
I opposed laws that told bar and
restaurant owners their patrons couldn't smoke, because I thought
it was wrong for the state to tell private-business owners their
premises were "public."
Then I met Heather and my opinion
did an about-face.
It wasn't easy admitting in print my
opinion on smoking in bars and restaurants was totally wrong. But
it was a lot easier than looking Heather in the face without
crying.
Heather is a life-long NON-smoker
and she is dying from a smoker's-cancer tumour first diagnosed in
March 2002 and started in her right lung. At that time, she was
given three years to live -- and for a while, it looked like she
was going to beat that date with death by a long shot.
After many months of treatment,
Heather's cancer went into remission. But now it's back with a
vengeance.
A CAT scan revealed her lung cancer
had spread -- everywhere. She has three tumours on her liver. Her
hip joints -- indeed her whole pelvis, including her "seat," as
she calls it -- are consumed by cancer.
"The cancer has chewed through my
spine and the calcium is leaking out of my spine," she said, her
gasps for breath from her lung cancer audible over the phone.
"I don't expect to pull out of it
this time," she added, matter-of-factly.
Heather said if her pain were on a
scale of one to 10 -- with 10 being the worst -- she's at 15.
"Workers shouldn't go to work to
die," she explained yesterday from her room at the
Queensway Carlton Hospital.
Heather's case set an important
precedent in Canada.
Neil Collishaw, research director
for Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada, said Heather
was often the first push and the main reason behind the changing
in labour and smoking laws across the country.
"When Heather and I first started
out on our cross-country tour to meet with provincial and
territorial health ministers, there wasn't a single one of the 14
jurisdictions where employees were protected from second-hand
smoke," said Collishaw.
"Now all of them, with the exception
of Alberta, have either full protection or fairly
decent protection for workers. Many health ministers said it was
Heather who spurred them on to take action," said Collishaw, who
is devastated by the return of Heather's cancer.
"She's made a positive difference
for millions of Canadians," added Collishaw.
Heather humbly acknowledges her
impact. "At least now, I know my death won't be in vain."
"At least I'll leave a legacy that
will protect workers. I've changed the face of labour laws in Canada by becoming the face of cancer from
second-hand smoke."
Heather says once the hospital can
figure out a way to provide her with pain medications that can be
administered outside of the hospital, she will return home.
Her devastated daughter Patricia,
39, and 15-year-old granddaughter Jodie-Ann, are proud of
Heather's legacy but wish someone had taken on this fight decades
ago. That way, their beloved mom and grandmother might have lived
to a ripe-old age.
Heather, whom many Canadians have
seen on Health Canada TV commercials and posters, says she'd love
to live long enough to see all Canadian workplaces become
smoke-free.
"I don't think I'm going to make
it," she says. "That's why I hope many other Canadians will take
up my fight. Do you think you can help me do that?" she asks
softly.
Yes, Heather.
It's the least we can do.
