Councillor's Breast Cancer Journey: Sharing Ups & Downs

0:00It's April 3rd. From your city to your ears, this is Vancouver News today, powered by AI. London City Councilor and Budget Chair Elizabeth Paloza is opening up about her breast cancer fight on CTV News. After surgery, she's deep into chemotherapy, hitting day 27 when she shaved her head clean. That scruffy look was messing with her public duties, feeling like hot flashes of top, so she documented the buzz cut herself. She's rocking a medical mask everywhere now, since chemo tanked her immune system. Paloza hit stores super early for errands, grabbing family groceries when crowds are thin. Friends help out, but she craves that slice of normal life amid the changes. Attending her youngest kids hockey games is non-negotiable. Those memories matter too much to skip. Other parents weigh from afar, respecting her space, and she urges folks to give masked people a buffer, whether they're sick themselves or protecting, someone. Isolation hits hard at home, even with visits from family, friends, and council colleagues.

1:03She skipped International Women's Day to avoid risks that could delay treatment for months. Lucky to work remotely, she owns that privilege while battling loneliness. Right now, she's on round three of eight chemo rounds, with symptoms shifting like whack-a-mold diets flipped to small protein pack meals, no fizzy, drinks, or hot stuff. Paloza's taking it day by day, sharing her ups and downs to connect and keep pushing forward.