Hikers’ trek to Kimmirut raises cancer care awareness with every stride
Trip is in memory of man from Kimmirut who lost his life to cancer after facing barriers to initial treatment
From left, Marc Gaudet, Gordon Locke, Carolyn Roberts and Erin Locke begin their trek to Kimmirut on the Itijjagiaq Trail on Friday to raise awareness of the struggles to accessing cancer care in Nunavut, as well as the strides forward. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
To draw attention to the struggles Nunavummiut face in receiving cancer care, two oncologists and a nurse from Ontario are trekking the 120-kilometre Itijjagiaq Trail from Iqaluit to Kimmirut.
Their nine-day journey began early Friday, setting off from Iqaluit’s causeway.
On the trek are doctors Marc Gaudet and Gordon Locke, as well as Carolyn Roberts, a nurse who specializes in helping Indigenous patients from the North while they are in Ottawa receiving cancer care. All three work within the Indigenous Cancer Program at The Ottawa Hospital.
Locke’s sister, Erin, is also joining the group to replace Rebecca Akulujuk Lonsdale, a registered nurse and case manager at Iqaluit’s Qikiqtani General Hospital, who was unable to make the journey.
From left, Erin Locke, Carolyn Roberts, Gordon Locke and Marc Gaudet at the start of their trek Friday in Iqaluit. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Gaudet, who heads the division of radiation oncology at The Ottawa Hospital, has operated 11 satellite cancer clinics in Iqaluit since July 2022. It was the first oncology service provided in Nunavut, the only province or territory without an established cancer centre.
Gaudet said the lack of dedicated cancer treatment options in Nunavut is a problem.
“Instead of just following up with cancer survivors, we needed to see people at the time of diagnosis,” he said.
Gaudet said he sees only 40 to 45 patients per year from Nunavut when they come to Ottawa for treatment. Most are taken south in critical condition at the end-stage of their cancer diagnosis.
“Unfortunately, there’s a proportion of our patients who leave Nunavut not knowing that they were leaving home for the last time,” he said, adding Nunavummiut cancer patients are often ill-informed about the severity of their illness.
Jamesie Judea, a 46-year-old man from Kimmirut who died from pancreatic cancer in 2023, was one of Gaudet’s patients who wanted his family close by him during his treatment in Ottawa.
Jamesie Judea, seated on the far right in a red shirt, with his mother, Akulujuk, in green, his sister Ooloosie (third from left) and two other family members. (Photo courtesy of Ooloosie Judea)
His younger sister, Oolooise Judea, described the ordeal he went through to get a diagnosis.
“He was going to the clinic and [Kimmirut] hospital back and forth, back and forth, seeking help as he was in so much pain. They just kept sending him home,” she told Nunatsiaq News.
“He was desperate to get seen by the doctor, so he told the nurse. When the nurse heard that, the nurse said no and showed him out.”
Finally, after about a year of suffering, he was able to see Gaudet for an official diagnosis.
Jamesie Judea had five siblings with whom he was close, but most of them couldn’t be with him in his last days — only his mother and two sisters were able make the trip to Ottawa.
“That’s the other difficulty,” said Gaudet of the Judea family’s struggle to be together during Jamesie’s final days.
“They usually only allow one or two people to accompany them, but folks up North come from close-knit, large families.”
Jamesie Judea died Jan. 15, 2023, a month into his treatment. His mother, Akulujuk Judea, was by his side.
With her blessing, the group dedicated their Itijjagiaq Trail trek not only to Jamesie Judea’s legacy as a volunteer firefighter with the Hamlet of Kimmirut, but to all Nunavummiut and their families battling cancer.
Jamesie Judea, a volunteer firefighter in Kimmirut, meets firefighters at Ottawa Fire Services during his treatment in Ottawa in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Ooloosie Judea)
“I don’t know how to put it into words what it means to have Jamesie honoured this way,” said Jamesie’s sister, Ooloosie Judea.
“We are so honoured, especially my mom. Every child of hers is her favourite and he was her favourite, our family’s peacemaker.”
The memorial trek has raised $4,510 so far toward its $5,000 goal, to be directed toward the community of Kimmirut.
“Every step of Jamesie’s journey illustrated how we need to improve things. Us going back to Kimmirut was symbolic of the strides forward,” said Gaudet.
The trekkers are expected to arrive in Kimmirut on Aug. 18 where they will meet with Akulujuk and Ooloosie Judea for a final tribute to Jamesie.
Very cool
Hats down to these wonderful professionals who are taking time out from their lives to speak out for many of us that the medical system failed. My late husband went back and forth to Health Centre in Kinngait for over 2 years. Finally sent out only because I called the nurse in charge that I’m sending him out myself. 1st day into Iqaluit they found his heart was even round with water accumalution, and sent to Ottawa only to find a huge tumour in his nasal area. The tumor had crushed his ear canal shut. Like he had horrible symptoms, bleeding from his mouth for months. Nurses are not doctors…..they should be sending people out and not just sending them home with tylenol. Both diseases we were told by the doctors are treatable if caught early. “If caught early” not at the end stages of heart disease or cancer. Again, hats down to these wonderful caring professionals for their walk.