A 33-year-old mother has been diagnosed with a devastating stage four lung cancer. Despite everything, she does not intend to let herself be defeated and wants to make the most of the family moments that remain to her.
Since March 16, the word healing has “disappeared from the vocabulary” of Tyfanie Lavoie, a young mother from Quebec, since the disease has spread to her bones.
“My world fell apart that day. What I find most unfair is that I won’t see my boy grow up. It breaks my heart, ”she drops with emotion, visibly plagued by uncertainty.
Aged just 13 months, Lyam Brousseau will probably only have memories of his mother from the videos and photos that his father, Jean-Simon, tries to capture on a daily basis.
Photo provided by Tyfanie Lavoie
“I gave myself the objective of accumulating the most memories where we see them both, together, explains Jean-Simon Brousseau. We do everything we can to find the moments of magic and happiness in everyday life and enjoy every second, even if it’s difficult.
Tough test
Barely two months after giving birth to her son, Tyfanie Lavoie decided to see a doctor for persistent back pain.
“At first I was told it was muscle pain, maybe I strained badly or something. In the following weeks, I noticed that it made a lot of noise when I breathed so I insisted, ”explains the one who was head cosmetician in a Jean Coutu in Quebec.
After a whole battery of tests, the ax fell: the new mother was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer in April 2022, “pure bad luck”, according to what the doctors explained to her, while never smoked in her life.
Tyfanie Lavoie received three “high dose” chemotherapy treatments and around thirty others of radiotherapy.
“It was so taxing that I could barely wash myself after my treatments. I had a hard time taking care of myself and I had a newborn baby on my hands as well. I’m lucky that I have an extraordinary spouse and family who have helped me enormously in all of this,” she says, grateful.
toothy
Since knowing she was suffering from incurable cancer, Tyfanie Lavoie has decided to take advantage of every moment to do whatever she wants. A family trip to Western Canada is, among other things, in the cards.
It must be admitted that it must concentrate “on short-term projects”. The first item on her wish list is to finally marry her lover.
“He had asked me before we had Lyam and our lives were turned upside down afterwards. I absolutely want to keep that promise and become his wife. I want us to have the right at that time, ”says Ms. Lavoie, choked with emotion.
Photo provided by Tyfanie Lavoie
For the rest of things, “when [son] body will no longer follow”, Tyfanie Lavoie decided to request medical assistance in dying. She doesn’t want to suffer even more while waiting to take her last breath.
“I don’t want my loved ones to keep the image of me as someone in pain in a hospital bed. I will savor all the good times I have left with those I love and then I will leave in peace.