Ontario woman gets surgery date after having life-saving cancer procedure postponed repeatedly due to COVID-19
A 30-year-old Ontario woman whose cancer surgery was postponed multiple times because of COVID-19 has secured a new date for her procedure.
Woodbridge, Ont. woman Cassandra Di Maria was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2020 and has undergone 17 rounds of chemotherapy since then.
She stopped chemotherapy treatment in October to prepare for surgery, but it was postponed multiple times, leaving her "at a stand still."
She feared her cancer would spread by the time she got a new surgery date and it would be too late for the procedure to have any benefit.
On Friday evening, the 30-year-old said she received a call from an advocate at the Colorectal Cancer Resource and Action Network notifying her the surgery has been rescheduled for Jan. 26.
Woodbridge, Ont. woman Cassandra Di Maria, right, was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and has undergone 17 rounds of chemotherapy since then. (Supplied)
She said the organization contacted her and fought on her behalf after she went public with her cancer battle earlier this week.
Di Maria said the organization reached out to her surgeon and they were able to arrange a new date for her surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital.
"I'm super relieved. Fight for your life and good things will happen," Di Maria told CTV News Toronto on Saturday. "I just hope it inspires people to really stand up for themselves."
In a statement to CTV News Toronto earlier this week, Mount Sinai Hospital said they are currently working at 43 per cent of their surgical capacity.
"We know that any delay in care is stressful to our patients and their families, and our surgical teams are working to ensure timely access to care," a spokesperson for the hospital said.
Di Maria, who recently got engaged, said she wants to get past this hurdle so she can look forward to other things in life, like planning her wedding set for April 2023.
"I can finally have this surgery, recover, and hopefully move on with my life, putting this all behind me."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.