Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 01/01) - Mary Qammaniq wanted to attend the first-ever gathering of Nunavummiut breast cancer survivors in Iqaluit last month. Her ticket was booked, her hotel room confirmed.

Maureen Doherty reviews a "very personal and profound" letter written by a breast cancer survivor living in a small Baffin community. - Kirsten Murphy/NNSL photo

Then reality set in. The day before Qammaniq (not her real name) was to board a plane from her community, she cried uncontrollably -- a first since losing a breast to cancer just weeks earlier.

"I realize now I need somebody to talk to, that I was in denial" she wrote in a letter to meeting organizers.

"I am sorry I couldn't go at the last minute ... I know it would have done me good to meet people who have gone through the same situation."

Despite her absence, Qammaniq's concerns have been heard. Her letter, along with concerns raised at the Breast Health/Breast Cancer Project meeting Sept. 22 and 23, head to a national breast cancer conference in November.

Maureen Doherty, vice-president of the Nunavut Status of Women Council, organized the September meeting.

"This is why the meeting is so important," Doherty said of the letter. "Our goal was to find out where the gaps in awareness exists and how people can better access information. It's been very profound, very personal."

Breast cancer survivors and families of survivors want better access to mammograms and Inuktitut brochures on breast self-examinations.

They also want to eliminate misinformation. One woman said she was told Inuit women don't get breast cancer. Privacy issues, such as the time a husband passed his wife a message that she had breast cancer, were also raised.

Perhaps the biggest concern is isolation.

As Qammaniq said in her letter, "When I was sent to Ottawa for the operation (mastectomy) I was all alone. I had nobody to support me or be with me."

Last month's meeting was a first step toward establishing Nunavut's first breast cancer support group and pink-ribbon awareness campaign.

"A huge need for support and information is out there," Doherty said.

October is breast cancer awareness month.