Hope, healing, and giving back: How compassionate cancer care at WRHN changed a family’s life
Patient Story
Tetiana Kosenko adjusted her cowboy hat and smiled as she walked out of the chemotherapy suite at Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) after her final chemo treatment.
As she approached the lobby of the Cancer Centre, her four-year-old daughter, Maria – donning a hat and boots that matched her mother’s outfit – ran excitedly to greet her with the biggest hug her little arms could muster.
That’s when the tears came.
Flooded with emotions, Tetiana embraced her husband, Max, and her four other children, all dressed in cowboy attire.
Then, surrounded by her family, she rang the gong to celebrate her treatment milestone. And her devoted audience cheered her on.
“Through my cancer journey, one of the biggest thoughts in my mind was: I want to be here for my kids,” says Tetiana, who settled in Kitchener with her family after leaving war-affected Ukraine in 2024.
I want to watch my kids grow up. I want to be there for school mornings, birthdays, family trips, Christmases and all of the ordinary little moments that suddenly become incredibly important when something like this happens.
A new life, interrupted
Tetiana, Max, and the kids had spent the last two years settling into their new lives in Canada. They had a home, the children were adjusting to school, and they were all starting to make friends in their new community.
Then, in early 2026, Tetiana felt a lump in her left breast.
Her family doctor ordered tests: mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies. Soon, the diagnosis came. It was breast cancer, and it had already started to spread to her lymph nodes.
The news hit her hard.
Compassion in the hardest moments
As Dr. Tabitha Tse, a breast surgeon at WRHN, revealed the diagnosis, a nurse sat quietly with Tetiana, holding her hand through the difficult conversation.
Dr. Tse laid out Tetiana’s options and helped her understand what was coming.
“I immediately sensed that this doctor was my person,” Tetiana says. “I could just feel that she was going to help me.”
Within weeks, Tetiana had a successful double mastectomy and the cancerous lymph nodes were removed.
When she awoke after surgery, she heard a joyful “pryvit” – the Ukrainian word for hello – from her recovery nurse.
The nurse, a Romanian woman, had realized that the two languages shared some similar vocabulary. They couldn’t communicate perfectly, but for Tetiana, hearing her nurse try to speak her native language meant everything.
“It was such a small thing, but in that difficult moment, it created this really warm human connection,” Tetiana says.
Those are the things I remember about my journey — the people who made me feel heard, informed and cared for through it all.
Facing the challenge together
Shortly after surgery, Tetiana began nearly four months of chemotherapy from June to mid-September 2026. Two weeks later, she started radiation treatment.
Chemo was especially hard on her, both physically and mentally.
“There were days when I was exhausted, in pain and scared, and I was just trying to get through the next few hours,” Tetiana says. “But every time I came to the Cancer Centre, I knew I wasn't doing it alone.
My doctors, nurses and the entire team didn’t just treat my cancer. They took care of me as a person. They helped me through the difficult days, adjusted my treatment when my body needed it, and made me feel safe.
Keeping family traditions
Hours after completing her chemotherapy, Tetiana and her family celebrated by doing something she loves: dancing.
As a former Zumba instructor, Tetiana has always been drawn to dance. Since moving to Kitchener, the Kosenkos have attended an annual line dancing party in Uptown Waterloo.
When the family realized the 2026 party fell on the same date of Tetiana’s final chemo treatment, they decided to dress up in cowboy garb to mark the special milestone.
Then they headed to Waterloo to make a brief appearance at the dance.
“That’s something we do as a family, so it was important for me,” Tetiana says, breaking into laughter when asked about the cowboy hat and boots. “I’m so grateful we are able to keep that tradition going.”
Giving back, giving hope
As a thank you for the care she received at both the Waterloo Wellington Breast Centre at WRHN @ Chicopee and the Cancer Centre at Midtown, Tetiana made a gift to WRHN Foundation after her surgery, and another following her chemo treatment.
She was surprised to learn that equipment costs within a hospital – including the chemo chairs and mammography units she needed – aren’t covered by government funding.
“Cancer changed my life. But it also showed me how much kindness, care and support can carry a person through something they never imagined they would have to face,” Tetiana says. “I’m incredibly grateful that this care was here for me, right in my community, at a time when my family needed it most.
If I can help another woman find her breast cancer earlier, before it spreads, that will make all the difference.
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