BY KELLY LOUISEIZE
for northern life
Brian's Latendre's son Ryan was diagnosed with
cancer at the age of two.
It was a type of bone cancer originating in his skull and for
almost seven years the cancer  reoccurred annually despite
the work of doctors at Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
"It was a lump the size of a toonie," Brian Latendre says.
Now, at the age of 14, Ryan is in his fifth year of remission.
His father is ecstatic about his progress, but is quick to
harness his elation when asked if after five years he is
considered free of cancer.
"Let's hope," he says.
David Clement, 8, was diagnosed in October with a brain tumour
and was operated on in November at Sick Children. His mother,
Tricia, says had the medical staff not caught it when they did,
David would have been dead in a couple days as a result of
water on the brain.
"You keep going," she says determined to fight the disease.
David is also a fighter. He has passed two examinations now
with flying colours and the next appointment is scheduled four
months apart instead of two.
Celebrating the small and huge successes are what it's
about and when the Jan Oystrick's team at Remax Crown
decided to dive into helping families of children with cancer
it brought a whole new level of support to the Northern Ontario
Family of Children with Cancer.
Organizer Liz Spooner-Young spent weeks gathering unwanted
items for a yard sale. She sent 500 flyers throughout
Sudbury's south end neighbourhoods and pasted posters in
key areas to attract donations and potential buyers.
 
She thought there was enough room for all the donations until
the garage began bursting at the bricks and Jan Oystrick's
patio on top and underneath brimmed with paraphernalia. Her
living room turned into a storehouse for folk art statues and
on the eve of the sale momentum began to rise.
Fish aquariums, bone china dishware, stereos, books,
kitchenware, sporting goods were all displayed in their
temporary outdoor sections.
The yard sale was to take place on Saturday June 3 at 7 am.
However, news of the charity event started to take on legs of
its own and volunteers began selling Friday afternoon.
"We sold $1,200 on Friday," Spooner-Young says wearing an
accomplished smile.
At the end of Saturday a total of $4,000 in saleable items and
donations were made.
"This money will be used by families who are directly in
treatment," Oystrick says. "In many cases, one of the parents
have to quit work and funds are limited."
The financial support will also be used to assist family in
travel or in need of medication and for those experiencing
bereavement as a result of their child's death.
The local organizations are in need of volunteers and funds. It
was one of the reasons why Oystrick's team made it their
plight.
Currently, there are eight families on the active follow up
list in Sudbury, and 25 in Northern Ontario, says Allison
Hicks, an oncology nurse at Sudbury's Cancer Centre.
Leukemia is the primary cancer disease. The most common of them
(acute lymphoblastic leukemia) has a survival rate of  75
percent.
