in december 2017, linda morse of st.-lin, que., felt she was living her best life. after having married young, raised four children to adulthood, and undergone a divorce, morse finally met and married the love of her life, roger francoeur.
five years into newly married life, it seemed as if her fresh start might be abruptly cut short.
morse was experiencing pain in her abdomen and soon learned it was due to a lump on her kidney, diagnosed as early-stage renal cell cancer. she subsequently had her kidney removed, and her urologist assured her she’d need no further treatment or even follow-up appointments. while surprised by the doctor’s advice, she returned to her life with roger to pick up where they’d left off before her diagnosis.
however, one year later, morse, then 56, collapsed with exhaustion after coming home from her job one day. she underwent tests to determine why she was so tired and losing weight. morse and her husband sat in shock as her family doctor, eyes brimming with tears, delivered the news of a devastating diagnosis.
it was far worse than she could have imagined: morse had stage-4 (advanced) cancer. “i asked my physician what this meant, and she told me, ‘it’s critical.’”