Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Mar 17/03) - National spokesperson on second-hand smoke, Heather Crowe, was in Iqaluit last week to tell her story -- sharing her thoughts with a large audience at Inuksuk high school, to city council and to the Rotary Club.

Heather Crowe is dying of lung cancer, but has never smoked a day in her life. She came to Iqaluit to talk about the effects of second-hand smoke. - Christine Kay/NNSL photo

Her message: ban smoking in the workplace.

Crowe, 57, is dying of lung cancer and she's never smoked a day in her life. She did, however, work in restaurants where smoking was permitted for 40 years.

"When I was young, I needed new shoes more than I needed a cigarette," she explained.

After her diagnosis -- what she called a life-altering experience -- in the spring of 2002, Crowe began her crusade.

A means to an end

For many years now, Crowe has been the main bread winner for her family. Her granddaughter, 12, was not able to talk until she nine years old. For this reason, mother stays home with her and grandma goes to work.

Crowe has been working since she moved to Toronto from the Maritimes at the age of 17. For the last 15 years, she worked at a community restaurant near Ottawa.

She would get up at 4:30 in the morning, open the doors by 6. It was at that restaurant, while trying to make a living, she got lung cancer.

The diagnosis

Crowe has been told her cancer is inoperable. The doctors say the disease is terminal and they do not expect her to live more than two or three years.

"I had lumps at the side of my neck. They were there for three weeks and I was expecting the doctor to tell me I had an ear infection. The tumour is the size of my hand in my left lung. It was a huge cancerous mass. I just didn't know what I was going to do," she explained.

Three months after she finished chemotherapy, Crowe said she can still smell the chemo seeping out of her skin.

She is experiencing shortness of breath. Her body is functioning on one-quarter of her lung capacity.

"When I got sick, I was telling my customers at the restaurant where I worked for 15 years, that I got lung cancer. They were absolutely stunned," said Crowe.

"To have somebody they knew, somebody that's never smoked a day in their life get lung cancer was a heavy blow for them."

Lifetime compensation

Crowe is the only person in the country to receive lifetime compensation from the Worker's Compensation Board for an injury due to second-hand smoke. She will be compensated for lost wages, medical expenses and other undisclosed needs.

Neil Collishaw from Physicians For A Smoke-Free Canada said that though there have been claims relating to workplace smoking before, most of the others were approved because the person had a heightened sensitivity to smoke.

"It's lifetime compensation, but when you're only going to live two or three more years that's not that much," Collishaw said.

The campaign giving her hope

Crowe will use the time she has left to stand up and beat the drum.

She's not trying to get everyone to quite smoking, she just wants them to step outside.

"I made a very good living in the restaurant industry. I'm just concerned those who work in the industry are not being protected," Crowe explained.

She hopes her visit to Iqaluit will help empower the younger generation and push the government to enforce a 100 per cent smoking ban.

The simple things

"My life is slipping away from me and it's not coming back," said Crowe.She said she can't stand up for very long any more without her legs beginning to shake.

"I remember I started to make my bed and I only put my sheets down -- I couldn't breathe. It just goes to show how it attacks you. I think a lot of people take their health for granted but if you can't breathe then nothing else matters," she explained.

If the people of Iqaluit remember one thing Crowe said to them, it will be her straight-forward message and the courage it takes for her to come out and say it:

"I want to be the last person to die of second-hand smoke at work."