Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Farms.com looking to share breast cancer survival stories

Farms.com looking to share breast cancer survival stories
Sep 05, 2024
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

Five women in ag discussed their experiences with Farms.com in 2023

Though Breast Cancer Awareness Month isn’t until October, Farms.com is putting out an early call to women in ag who have experienced breast cancer and want to share their stories.

“I think when people are going through difficult times in their lives, it’s helpful to know they aren’t alone,” said Denise Faguy, Farms.com’s director of marketing & operations. “We’re grateful for the women who we’ve spoken to in the past and hope those stories will lead to others wanting to share their own.”

Breast cancer is among the most common cancers women in the U.S. and Canada will face.

Cancer organizations in both countries estimate one in every eight women will develop breast cancer over their lifetime.

Farms.com has spoken with multiple survivors in recent years.

In 2023, five women in ag from the U.S and Canada recounted their experiences with breast cancer.

Britt Fisk, a rancher from Clayton, N.M., for example, received her diagnosis in June 2020 during her eighth pregnancy.

What she thought was a knot in her chest turned out to be triple-positive breast cancer in Stage 2B. Her journey included four months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy without reconstruction, additional chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

An Ontario producer Farms.com spoke with last year channeled her athletic mindset during breast cancer treatments.

Sara Wood, a cash crop and broiler chicken farmer from Mitchell, Ont., compared her eight rounds of chemotherapy to stages of a 400m swim race.

“I broke it down so that one treatment was 50m of each (swimming) stroke,” Wood told Farms.com. “I know that in the 400 individual medley, things get tough around 300m. So, I knew that’s six treatments and that I could get through those six and be fine, and two might be tough.”

In 2022, Farms.com spoke with Karin Bright, a cash crop producer from Athens, Ohio, who beat breast cancer twice – once in 1999 and again in 2005.

Her body is a constant reminder to keep pushing during hard times.

“I see a survivor and I see someone who’s going to keep living their life,” she said.

Wendy Schatz Leeds, an agronomist from Saskatchewan, also shared her story in 2022.

Her journey started in January 2021 during the pandemic, with hospital systems under stress.

Receiving her diagnosis at 49-years-old was shocking.

“I was hit with my own mortality at a young age as a healthy lady with a family,” she said. “I had mental health challenges that were worse than going through the physical treatments.”

Any breast cancer survivor in ag who would like to share their story can contact Farms.com reporter Diego Flammini by email or at 1-888-248-4893, ext. 208.


Trending Video

Canada's Agriculture Day 2025

Video: Canada's Agriculture Day 2025

Let's celebrate Canadian agriculture.

Well, number one, you don't eat without farmers. Farmers put food on the table. And what could be more important than that?

Well, I think it's important that Canadians understand exactly what takes place, what happens to produce this food, no matter what sector you're talking about.

An awful lot of work goes into that. It's important to understand that meat does not come out of a showcase, and milk does not come out of a bottle. It's produced by farmers and hard work.

Canada has the best farmers in the world. And agriculture is vital to Canada.

In 2024, our agriculture and agri-food sector represented $150 billion of Canada's GDP, nearly $100 billion of our exports, and one in nine jobs.

From grains to fruits to dairy and beef, we are truly blessed with an incredible bounty. Having spent my whole life in agriculture, I see so much potential for the sector.

This time last year, I was proud to open our first-ever agriculture and trade office in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s fastest-growing economy, to cement our presence in the region and grow our exports even more. We've also been making historic investments to help our farmers to boost their yields, protect the planet, and earn a fair living.

The world wants more top-quality, sustainable food, and I know our Canadian farmers can deliver. And it's so important that you do that with pride. We need you.

Quite simply, you eat the most top quality food in the world. You do that because of the quality of farmers and ranchers you have in this country.

Just say thank you to a farmer or a rancher. They work very hard, yes, for a living, but also with a sense of pride in what they produce.

That's what Canada's Agriculture Day is all about.