Healing in the Public Eye: Coun. Elizabeth Peloza on the toll of chemotherapy and importance of community

Coun. Elizabeth Peloza shares her story and the physical toll of chemotherapy on the body.

Following breast cancer surgery, Coun. Elizabeth Peloza is chronicling her experiences during chemotherapy in a CTV News series called Healing in the Public Eye.

This week, Peloza held a community meeting in her ward for the first time since speaking publicly about undergoing cancer surgery and chemotherapy treatments.

There were opportunities for residents to meet with representatives from City Hall, London police, and other local agencies about issues in south London.

But many in her community showed up just to offer encouragement.

Initially intending to keep a safe distance because her immune system is temporarily compromised, she was soon accepting hug after hug.

“It has been really isolating,” Peloza admitted about chemotherapy. “It’s nice that you hear people sharing their stories, that they can relate. That [sharing my story] is helping them understand if somebody in their life has [cancer].”

Penny Moore has been battling thyroid cancer for 25 years and arrived early to the ward meeting to lend her support.

“Some days you don’t think you’re going to get through it, but you do” Moore explained. “The thing is [Peloza’s] getting the awareness [of early cancer screening] out there.”

Former City Councillor and long-term cancer survivor Harold Usher greeted Peloza with a hug.

“I had prostate cancer before I became a city councillor. I also had colon cancer 10 years later and for that I had chemotherapy,” Usher recalled. “I admire Elizabeth for doing this because she’s saying to people that this is what might happen, [so] don’t be afraid. I want to live. So I’m going to take whatever necessary steps to live longer.”

Severe side effects from the chemotherapy threatened Peloza’s attendance, but she persevered.

“I was looking forward to seeing everybody, having not gathered as a community since treatment started,” she said. “But symptom management wise, it has not been a good couple of days. I’m back to having the throat pain and not wanting to swallow because it feels a bit like sandpaper and glass.”

Her next chemotherapy treatment will be her fifth of eight, but it’s the first with a different drug that will cause more painful side effects.

“We switch next Friday. In my mind, all bets are off. I know it’s going to involve bone pain,” she said with a smile, masking her apprehension with humour.

She will be speaking with her oncologist about pain management.

“Bone pain, there’s medication for it, and I think people understand it a little bit better with pain management,” she added.

In the meantime, Peloza is happy to have connected with her community before the difficult second half of her chemotherapy treatments.

“Knowing that the medication was going to be switching, it was really important to host this meeting with community now, when I can manage the symptoms and still plan to be here,” she said. “I don’t know what next week’s going to look like after chemo.”

But she remains optimistic, “I’m still here and [the] community still gathers.”

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Selected emails to CTV News will become part of an upcoming segment of Coun. Elizabeth Peloza: Healing in the Public Eye.