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A woman from the Fraser Valley who overcame a deadly cancer a few years ago is now coping with the loss of her teeth through life-saving treatments.
Millie McConnell had three months to live after being diagnosed with stomach cancer 16 years ago.
"I reached the point where it was out of my hands, and I just put it in the hands of the powers up," said McConnell.
She was diagnosed late because she believed that the symptoms of cancer were irritable bowel syndrome, she said.
Once in the hands of an oncologist, she received aggressive treatment. This included simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which caused her to lose 160 to 80 pounds.
His stomach was also removed by surgery and part of his bowel was turned into a pouch to replace it.
His survival was unlikely, but since then McConnell has recovered considerably. Although she was too weak and affected by her cancer and treatment to return to work, she spent time with advocacy groups such as the Debbie's Dream Foundation, which lobbied for more funding for research on stomach cancer.
She has also spent time as a motivational speaker and regularly speaks to other cancer patients and survivors, in addition to talking to doctors about the success of the surgery that has brought her to life. removed the stomach.
But the chemotherapy that saved her has had long-term side effects.
"All this time, my teeth broke," she said. "I had to get fillings on fillings."
His teeth are riddled with cavities and one is essentially hollow.
"They are breaking down," McConnell said. "Almost everything I eat, I end up with pieces of teeth in it."
She had to be very careful about her dental hygiene to avoid a serious infection.
When he was told that the best option was simply to remove everything, McConnell was not even angry.
"I was already at this point, I wanted to get them out," she said. "Because it was a battle lost in advance."
The problem was how to pay for dental surgery and its replacements, including dentures.
McConnell has been disabled for years, unable to maintain regular employment because of the effects of her cancer and her treatment. Among other problems, she is still confused, a side effect called "chemo brain". She must also take high-protein meals every two to three hours to adapt to her altered digestive system.
McConnell's husband works to buy and sell truck parts at home, but the couple lives mostly on modest incomes for years and does not have the savings to buy prostheses, let alone dental implants .
It's his friend Lorinda Ramsay who has put together a GoFundMe campaign to try to help her.
"Millie spends all her time at home on her computer advising people with stomach cancer who only have a few months to live," said Ramsay. "She does it because she cares."
Ramsay wanted to help, and she hopes other people who have known someone with cancer will also be able to help her.
A first GoFundMe attempted to raise $ 60,000 for dental implants for all of McConnell's teeth, but did not achieve its goal.
The current GoFundMeCampaign campaign has a much smaller reach – McConnell hopes to receive only $ 1,700 for a full set of prosthetics.
If she collects about $ 2,500, she might be able to afford to buy two dental implants at the bottom of her jaw to help anchor the lower denture.
Anyone wishing to make a donation or find out more can visit the GoFundMe campaign via this link.
READ MORE: Overcoming cancer and learning to be a speaker
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