This past January, she received a year-long treatment plan from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, which includes 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 25 sessions of radiation.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a stark contrast to her life just a few months ago.<\/p>\n
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Becky Shields\u2019 year-long treatment plan consists of 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 25 sessions of radiation.<\/p><\/div>\n
Shields\u2019 aspiration to become a health-care professional led her to become a standout student in Brock\u2019s Medical Sciences and Med Plus programs, the latter a competitive experiential offering designed for students interested in pursuing a career in health care.<\/p>\n
She juggled full-time studies while volunteering on and off campus while mentoring younger students and participating in the social aspects of university life.<\/p>\n
With graduation in sight, Shields celebrated her acceptance into the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto right before becoming severely ill.<\/p>\n
When Shields was diagnosed with cancer, the entire Med Plus family jumped into action by collecting donations for a chemotherapy wig, sending gifts and creating a video<\/a> of well-wishes to make sure she felt loved.<\/p>\n \u201cMed Plus has been incredible, and my professors have been so accommodating and very understanding,\u201d said Shields. \u201cThey\u2019ve been patient with me, which I\u2019ve appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n She is currently working toward her final two classes and is slated to graduate from Brock in October.<\/p>\n \u201cBecky is an incredible human being. She continues to inspire each of us with her resiliency and patient care advocacy,\u201d said Med Plus Advisor Pam Isaak. \u201cHer honesty and authenticity helped all of us understand the deeper issues involved in patient care and advocacy.\u201d<\/p>\n This past winter, Shields bravely led a Med Plus session about living with a chronic illness. It was the first time the program had a senior student lead a session about a personal topic with their peers.<\/p>\n For almost a decade, Shields has lived with a rare autoimmune disease, myasthenia gravis (MG), which causes abnormal weakness of voluntary muscles such as a lazy eye and trouble chewing, swallowing, breathing and speaking.<\/p>\n Her required medication at times means taking as many as 17 pills a day, and she also underwent thymectomy surgery.<\/p>\n Shields\u2019 situation was so unique that she was invited to conduct a TED Talk, where she grappled with the definition of \u2018normal\u2019 in the way she functions in society.<\/p>\n She says her condition has hindered her energy, lampooned her social life, but never dampened her motivation.<\/p>\n Shields has documented the peaks and valleys of her journey through her\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0channels. Her in-depth posts carry titles such as \u2018Losing my hair at 21\u2019 and \u2018What\u2019s in my bag: what I take with me to chemotherapy.\u2019<\/p>\n Discussing her cancer on public platforms began as a form of therapy and has since turned into a way to help others.<\/p>\n Shields has received messages about how her story has helped people struggling with depression, chemotherapy treatments and even others diagnosed with the same rare cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to bring a positive outlook and attitude despite everything I\u2019m facing,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve received messages from people who told me how scared they were after their diagnosis and that they found some comfort in my story \u2014 that they weren\u2019t alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Shields draws a lot of her strength from memories of her grandfather and the way he approached life after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cI called him Papa Bill, and he passed away 12 years ago. I watched him go through his battle with cancer, and even though he\u2019s been gone for so long, I still feel him with me,\u201d said Shields. \u201cWhenever I\u2019m feeling down, I think back to how he handled his cancer journey. How he always had a smile on his face even though he was in pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Shields\u2019 ultimate goal is to own and run a medical clinic for oncology and autoimmune diseases.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the future, when I do become a health-care professional, I want my patients to feel like they\u2019re heard because I\u2019ve felt frustrated and that doctors aren\u2019t listening to me,\u201d said Shields. \u201cMy focus would be to help those patients thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n