Never in doubt: How treatment at WRHN sparked a local farm to raise $10,000 for cancer care
Patient Story
When Baukje van Bergeijk thinks back to the day of her breast cancer diagnosis, she remembers the sense of calm she felt.
She didn’t panic. She didn’t let her mind wander. And over the next several months, as she went through two surgeries, eight rounds of chemotherapy and 25 radiation treatments at the Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) Cancer Centre, she continued to keep her cool.
How did she do it?
“Right from my diagnosis through my treatments, all the staff and volunteers I interacted with were so positive,” Baukje says.
They would just smile and tell me: ‘you’ve got this.’ And that made such a difference.
Baukje, who works at the family-run Mountainoak Cheese Company just outside of New Hamburg, was only 39 when she felt a hard lump in one of her breasts early last year.
An appointment in February revealed the cancer, and a successful mastectomy followed. When tests revealed more cancer cells in her lymph nodes, Baukje needed a second surgery.
After finishing up the rest of her treatment, she was back to daily life on the farm.
All in a day’s work
Baukje, her husband, and their three children run the dairy side of the family farm along with a few employees. The kids – aged 13, 12, and 9 – help with the daily chores, from milking cows in their robotic dairy barn to washing equipment and cleaning stalls.
When Baukje needed time off for treatment, the three youngsters’ roles on the farm increased.
“They really stepped up to the plate,” she says proudly. “It’s a real family farm.”
It’s also a farm that gives back.
Each May, Mountainoak Cheese participates in a regionally sponsored event coordinated by Oxford County Tourism that offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at their award-winning cheese-making process.
Tours typically cost $15 and support needs around the farm. But this year, as a gesture of the family’s gratitude to WRHN, they scrapped the entry fee. Instead, they invited guests to donate whatever they could to support regional cancer care.
What followed exceeded everyone’s expectations: $10,000 raised over five Saturdays.
“Tour season is always such a busy time on the farm,” Baukje says. “But this year felt especially meaningful.”
Paying it forward
A year after finishing treatment, Baukje is feeling healthy and strong.
While her hair is shorter than she used to wear it, she has no physical signs of her past illness.
She does, however, carry with her a sense of gratitude for the staff at WRHN, and all the donors who impacted her care.
“The chairs you sit in during treatment – the comfortable ones that make such a hard day a little easier – those are funded by donations, and I didn’t realize it before,” she says.
Now, knowing that someone else might benefit from the funds we raised, that feels incredible.
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