When I think of Shirley, the last thing that comes to mind is the term 'grandmother,' but that is the way she describes herself, and truly, that is who she is. Devoted, selfless and always there for family and those wee ones therein. But additionally, Shirley is more like a moving force of sorts, constantly moving on and forward, bustling with purpose and a clear destination, and always open to new ideas. For some reason, the story of 'The Little Engine That Could' comes to mind.

Shirley has been on an adventure over the last five years. She has held her own with a full load of activities, family responsibilities and important events.

But oh my, what an adventure Shirley has taken herself on. It started with the discovery of a tumour in the abdominal cavity that was, according to the oncologist, the size of a football. This news in itself almost derailed Shirley and family. What a shock. "It wasn't part of my plan," says Shirley. But Shirley was always strong in spirit. She knew she could overcome, she knew she would overcome.

Up the hills and over the valleys she went, first with surgery only to discover that the tumour couldn't be removed, it was in such a life-threatening spot; followed by regular sessions of chemotherapy and radiation, which, admittedly, shrank the tumour. However, they were harsh treatments which left her ill and without her hair, fingernails and toenails.

In May of 1992, not long afterwards, two lumps appeared on Shirley's neck, and with them a return to the excruciating personal trials of chemotherapy. Although the tumours were shrinking ever so slightly, chemotherapy no longer satisfied Shirley as a treatment option. Enough was enough.

It was around this time that Shirley became aware of other things she could consider and try: ozone, hydrogen peroxide, reflexology, meditation, enzyme therapy, 714X, Gerson therapy, Essiac, shark cartilage, herbal remedies of a variety of origins, anything and everything she thought might be beneficial. As she said in alive magazine [Oct 1995], "all these therapies showed a slight decreased in the size of my tumors at the beginning, but eventually they would grow again and I would start another program."

One evening last October, Shirley was feeling like she had run out of things to try, like she had exhausted her exploration of conventional and alternative therapies, and the rise on that hill was still too far away and looking impossibly steep. The tumours in her neck and under the arms were just as hard and large as before and they seemed to be growing. She turned to her husband and expressed her concern.

The dear man, now well accustomed to reading everything and anything on cancer treatment himself, mentioned that he had been reading alive magazine and that there was an article about the Breuss Cancer Therapy. He just happened to have the magazine with him, so they sat down to read it together.

Shirley said, "What the heck. I have the juicer. Let's start."

Two weeks later, was it her imagination or did the lumps in her neck actually feel softer, moveable, and shrinking in size?  It wasn't many months later and the tumours were gone.

Shirley says, "I don't consider myself cured, but there's no trace of cancer. I feel terrific. I have abundant energy and I'm back on track again."  There's that train again. She thought she could, she thought she could - and she did!

When she looks back at her visits with her oncologist and her general practitioner, Shirley says, "they were genuinely pleased for me, I could tell. But isn't it ironic that neither one of them asked me how I did it?"

So, there's happiness in Western Canada in the Ervin home; happiness that Shirley, loving grandmother, mother and wife, remains in charge of her own destiny, and as full of vigor as she is determined to be.

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