A woman rests her cheek on her hand beside a glass railing at a hospital, with donor recognition plaques behind her.

Care that shapes generations

For Marg Drudge, Oak Valley Health’s Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) has cared for her parents, supported her through two cancer journeys, and now continues that care through her daughters.

Trust in MSH

For 42 years, Marg Drudge has called Markham home — and for a decade she’s lived only two minutes down the road from MSH, a place that has become deeply woven into her family’s history.

Her connection to the hospital began with the compassionate care provided to her parents, John and Elizabeth Roberts. John, a local artist and art teacher, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2000, with Dr. Angelo Vivona, General Surgeon, performing his surgery. Over the years, he was also diagnosed with breast cancer three times, beginning with an aggressive estrogen-positive breast cancer in 2012, followed by recurrences in 2018 and 2020. Dr. Timothy Cheang, General Surgeon, performed each of his breast cancer surgeries, while Dr. Mateya Trinkaus, Medical Oncologist, oversaw his cancer care.

Marg’s mother, Elizabeth, a homemaker, was also diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. She underwent care with Dr. Crystal Pallister, General Surgeon, and was also seen by Dr. Trinkaus.

“When accompanying my parents to the hospital, I remember feeling listened to. There was never a rush,” she recalls. “We all felt very safe and cared for.”

The power of early detection

With breast cancer on both sides of her immediate family, Marg understood the importance of screening. She was vigilant about self-examinations and began receiving mammograms and ultrasounds around age 35.

In 2022, an ultrasound displayed an irregular result. After an initial biopsy, the team at MSH’s Gale & Graham Wright Breast Health Centre (BHC) wanted more information. Marg was quickly brought back for second biopsy, which confirmed stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma.

Marg had no symptoms — her cancer was found entirely through routine screening.

“It’s not news that anybody wants to get. And it’s not news that, as a mother of daughters, you want to share knowing what the family history is,” she says. “However, I could approach it with a level of confidence and ease because of the way I was managed by the doctors. I didn’t freak out. We can do this because we have a hospital that can make this better.”

With confidence in her care team, Marg moved forward with treatment. More than two decades after performing her father’s colon cancer surgery, Dr. Vivona became Marg’s breast cancer surgeon, performing a lumpectomy and removing a lymph node. Dr. Trinkaus continued to oversee a second generation of her family’s follow-up care.

This place, I get really happy and tearful when I walk through the doors.

Marg Drudge

Comfort through every stage

Marg’s breast cancer journey came during a time of tremendous personal loss. Her mother passed away at MSH shortly after Marg’s diagnosis in 2022, and her father died the following year in a local long-term care facility.

“My breast cancer was bookended by the death of both my parents,” she says.

Through it all, Marg continued to find comfort in the care available close to home.

“My experience in the BHC is always amazing,” she says. “The staff never make you feel like you’re a problem or difficult, and questions are answered so quickly. I’m grateful every time I walk in.”

Dr. Cristina Popa, Emergency and Family Physician, also played an important part of Marg’s care, particularly during the transition beyond active treatment, when new challenges emerged and she needed support navigating them.

“Dr. Popa was easy to access and would stop and listen and support me,” says Marg, who calls Dr. Popa an angel. “She was my in-between consult, comfort, and care person.”

Marg’s care journey was not over yet. During her follow-up care, a preventative hysterectomy was recommended based on her family history. At the same time, Dr. Adeel Sheikh, Urologist, had been monitoring a lesion on Marg’s right kidney that was previously discovered by an ultrasound.

In June 2023, Dr. Renée Chouinard, Obstetrician/Gynaecologist, and Dr. Sheikh coordinated what Marg describes as a “tag team surgery.” Dr. Chouinard performed the hysterectomy, while Dr. Sheikh removed the lesion along with a portion of Marg’s right kidney.

There was no cancer found in her reproductive organs, however Marg’s pathology revealed that the kidney lesion was not benign.

Following the surgery, Marg was able to move forward knowing both concerns were addressed.

“Today I am so healthy. I feel so good,” says Marg. “I live with an internal compass that tells me that I’m cancer-free and well. I’m really good.”

Beyond her own journey

Today, Marg’s connection to MSH continues through her two adult daughters, who entered a high-risk screening program at the hospital four years ago and receives regular mammograms.

“That is another place of comfort for me. It is amazing that there’s a continuity of care,” she says. “The relief that they are being looked after and cared for by the same people who have looked after me and their grandparents is really special.”

Inspired by her family’s journey, Marg is empowering others to take control of their health, starting with knowing when to get screened.

“I would say, get it done,” she says. “Step toward screenings that you have available. If your gut feeling, if your intuition tells you that you need to have something looked at, ask for it. And because of the Breast Health Centre that we have, that care is so readily available here.”

Marg, who teaches yoga virtually, remembers telling her class when she received her irregular screening result. Three women went for mammograms because of that conversation.

“You know that saying it takes a village to raise a child,” she asks. “I feel like it takes a community to care for the health of adults. And Markham Stouffville Hospital is that place. When you can, if you can, where you can, support the hospital.”