Pitching in: Playing road hockey to help in the fight against cancer

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

The organizer: Erica Howe
The pitch: Helping raise more than $3-million
The cause: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Erica Howe has finally turned a corner in what has been the worst year of her life.
Ms. Howe, 33, was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 months ago. Since then she's had surgery, chemotherapy and several rounds of hormone-suppressing medication. She also had to give up her hockey career, which included serving as an emergency goalie for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League, and take a leave from her job as a firefighter in Mississauga.
She's followed a careful plan to ensure the cancer doesn't return and she's grateful to the tremendous support she's received from her wife, her firefighter colleagues and her Sceptres teammates.
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'Today I'm feeling better,' Ms. Howe said this week. 'The last two weeks, I've really come around a corner and felt stronger mentally and physically.'
Last month Ms. Howe felt good enough to travel to London for her brother's wedding and spend a few days in Ireland with her family. 'I think it was just a break from life here and being able to go somewhere else and come back and be like, okay, you know, I think I got this.'
She's also helped out at a hockey camp this summer and participated in a street hockey tournament for charity. And she's slowly returned to work with the fire service.
Now she wants to contribute to the fight against cancer. On Sept. 27, she'll take part in the Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer tournament in aid of Toronto's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The annual event attracts around 150 teams and raises more than $3-million that goes toward research.
Ms. Howe said she hopes to be a trailblazer in cancer just as she has been in hockey. 'That's a big thing with hockey, especially women's hockey; how can we make it better for the next generation?' she said. 'I think that's the same thing with my cancer diagnosis. So many people have come before me and been in these trials and been in these research studies, and they've kind of put it on the line.'
She has no idea if her cancer will return but for now she's just trying to live her life as normally as possible. 'And making sure I'm doing the things that I love. That's most important.'
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