Vicki Ashick-Faux really had something to celebrate Friday night at a gala raising funds in her honour for the Northern Cancer Foundation.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in January, Ashick-Faux will have her last chemo treatment at the Northeast Cancer Centre on Monday.
“I will ring the bell Monday at 5 p.m. that I am finished my treatment,” said Ashick-Faux, who wore a blonde wig and a cheerful bright red dress to the event. “I beat cancer. I don't have cancer anymore.”
Ashick-Faux is an English teacher at Sudbury Secondary School, and the gala was organized by her students.
“I have the best students in the whole entire world at Sudbury Secondary School,” she said. “This is amazing.”
Just 43 years old, Ashick-Faux said she got her diagnosis after noticing the nipple on her left breast had broken down into a scab.
It turned out she had two types of cancer in the breast, and it was spreading quickly. “My doctor was on it really fast,” said Ashick-Faux, who underwent a mastectomy on top of the chemotherapy treatments.
“That's what saved me. Stage one, no lymph nodes. It was a blessing.”
The gala's organization was headed up by Sudbury Secondary Students Lauren Dore, Abby Loiselle and Ben MacKenzie.
Dore said she was inspired to plan the event — which was held at Cambrian College's student centre and included a dinner, dance, live performances and silent auction — because her mother is also a breast cancer survivor.
“So it's something that affects me deeply,” she said. “I knew she was a teacher that was really loved by everyone. Through this process I was able to get to know her better. She is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met.”
Loiselle said she's really missed Ashick-Faux since she took sick leave after her diagnosis.
Ashick-Faux is the head teacher for Sudbury Secondary's student parliament, of which Loiselle is a member.
“She is probably one of my favourite teachers,” she said. “She pushes you and she gives you the tools you need to succeed in the classroom as well as outside the classroom.”
Northern Cancer Foundation executive director Tannys Laughren, who was on hand at the event, said she's impressed by the students' determination.
“These students are amazing,” she said. “We get a lot of people who come into our office and say 'I want to plan an event and raise money for you.' We say 'OK. How?' They say 'We don't know.'
“These students came in with a plan. They knew why they were doing it. They knew how they were doing it. They're warriors at heart. They're fighting for their teacher. They're fighting for our cancer centre.”
