This December, Nancy Taylor has been doing some Christmas baking.
That may be just a routine holiday activity for some, but for the Lynn Valley resident it’s a signifier of how far she has come in the past year.
“Last Christmas, I couldn’t even cut an apple. I didn’t have any strength at all,” Taylor said Monday.
“Now, I’m baking cookies and I’m on the elliptical 20 minutes a day, trying to get stronger and stronger.”
This time last year, Taylor was only a few weeks removed from a leukemia diagnosis. But after a successful stem-cell transplant that was conducted in March, she is now able to declare herself cancer free.
“It’s a huge thing,” said Taylor. “Last Christmas, we didn’t even know if I was going to live. I had to have that stem-cell transplant to keep living, it was the only thing that could save me.
“It was quite a journey, that’s for sure.”
The journey also revealed just how much support Taylor had within the community. During the search to find a suitable match for the transplant, Taylor saw friends, co-workers with the City of North Vancouver and even strangers reach out to help in any way they could.
The North Vancouver RCMP, for which Taylor has been a volunteer auxiliary constable for several years, hosted a stem-cell drive that attracted dozens of potential donors. Others donated to an online fundraising campaign that garnered thousands of dollars.
“I’ve had overwhelming support. I never expected so many people to step up to the plate,” said an
emotional Taylor.
“You just realize how good people are … I’ve just had continued support and it’s helped with my recovery and my healing. I have a whole new lease on life and people.”
More than 75 per cent of patients who require a stem-cell transplant are unable to find a matching donor within their own family and Taylor was among that majority, prompting the search locally for a match. But it’s unlikely that the stem cells she received came from someone on the North Shore.
Everyone swabbed through the local drives had their names and information added to an international OneMatch database that has more than 25 million registrants.
Upon learning that a matching donor had been found, doctors told Taylor that the transplant would give her up to a 60-per-cent chance of beating the cancer, but also a 30-per-cent chance of death within one year of the procedure.
Immediately preceding the transplant, Taylor had to endure several days of intense chemotherapy and many hours of total-body radiation to destroy the diseased bone marrow to be replaced.
About six weeks post-transplant, she was released from hospital to continue her recovery at home.
Taylor said the road to a full recovery is a “long haul.”
“Energy-wise and strength-wise, it takes a long time. They say it’s 18 months recovery after post-transplant before you start feeling yourself again,” she said.
“When you get a stem-cell transplant, all the vaccines you had as a kid get wiped out. So I’m currently getting my baby and toddler vaccines … I don’t have my full immune system yet.”
But Taylor can already see the finish line of her recovery ahead.
She’s hoping to begin a gradual return to work in the summer and said she will “absolutely” return to volunteering with the RCMP when she’s ready.
“They’ve said, ‘When you’re ready to come back, you can come back,’” she said. “I do a lot of community events so I really miss doing all those things.”
North Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong said the detachment is eager to see her back.
“She’s a staff member here who is well-liked and respected. She always has something nice to say to people and a smile on her face,” said De Jong.
“We’re extremely happy for her, that the stem-cell match did work.”
Since the donor was not a relative, their location and identity haven’t been revealed to Taylor.
However, she may be permitted to exchange information with the donor later this year, depending on where the donor was registered and whether or not they choose to remain anonymous.
“I’m hoping I get to meet them just so I can thank them for a second chance at life,” Taylor said.
