Healthcare and cottage country: How RVH is providing gold-standard care for Muskoka

Laura Gordon knew something was wrong. With a family history of breast cancer, Laura was diligent about her health. At age 36, she began receiving regular mammograms at the community hospital near her hometown of Gravenhurst. Each scan came back clear, but Laura knew better.
“I could feel a lump that wasn’t being picked up by my scans,” recalls Laura. “I knew it was there even if my scans couldn’t see it. So, together with my nurse practitioner, we requested a referral to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s cancer program.”

Located in Barrie, RVH is Simcoe Muskoka’s only regional health centre and provides advanced, specialized care for cancer, cardiac, trauma, stroke, and mental health to full-time residents, cottagers, and vacationers alike. Laura and her nurse practitioner initiated her referral to RVH knowing that it was the only hospital in the region that could provide the diagnostics and treatment she may have needed.

At RVH, Laura was scanned using advanced 3D technology—called digital breast tomosynthesis—which captures detailed images and can detect abnormalities in dense breast tissue. Her scans revealed four tumours, three stacked on top of each other and one in her lymph nodes. Within a week, Laura was diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer and had appointments to meet her RVH care team, including her oncologist, plastic surgeon, and radiation physician.

“The diagnosis was almost a relief,” says Laura. “It was scary too, but now that I knew, I was ready to come out of the gate swinging.”

Laura joined the more than 14,000 people who are treated for cancer every year at RVH’s Hudson Regional Cancer Centre—the highest-performing cancer centre in Ontario for the past year. Three quarters of those people live outside of Barrie, making RVH’s role in the region’s healthcare system critical. Community hospitals are there for you every day, but when the problem is life-threatening, RVH has the specialized care you’ll need. For anyone who spends time in Simcoe Muskoka, the chances are high that you or someone you know has relied on RVH.

“I knew I was in good hands,” explained Laura, adding, “So much expertise and state-of-the-art equipment can be found at RVH since it’s our regional health centre.”

Laura’s treatment plan included four months of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, and five weeks of daily radiation treatment. “It took a toll on my body, and I’m still tired,” Laura admits. “But that’s okay because I’m still here.”

Within a year of her diagnosis, Laura completed her treatment and is cancer free. She now receives regular monitoring in RVH’s imaging department, bringing her back full circle. “RVH’s 3D mammogram machine saved my life. Without it, my story would have a very different ending,” Laura adds.

Today, Laura is back in Gravenhurst and enjoying life on the lake with her husband and daughter. On any given day, they’re fishing, swimming, and boating on Lake Muskoka alongside hundreds of families and visitors who call it home. For Laura, her experience at RVH highlighted the importance of community support when it comes to delivering the advanced, world-class care that saved her life.

“Donations from our community helped purchase the equipment that detected my cancer,” Laura explains. “Most people don’t know that. I certainly didn’t.”

Donor support helps expand RVH’s physical spaces and enhances every care program, which will be especially important as the region continues to grow. In the next 20 years, Simcoe Muskoka’s population will double, putting strain on healthcare resources.

The effects of this growth are being felt today as the region’s population balloons in the summer months, along with an increase in the number of traumatic injuries and heart attacks that can only be treated at RVH. Last year, one in eight RVH patients were residents of the GTA. Those patients are often surprised to discover, when in urgent medical need, that they are not transported back to Toronto but are treated locally at RVH. It is in large part because of donor support that this type of advanced, specialized care is available today.

For cottagers, this means peace of mind. If you or a loved one experiences a heart attack, stroke, or requires chemotherapy while at the cottage, RVH is equipped to provide the same level of excellent care you would expect in Toronto.

Laura is especially grateful that RVH was there for her, just an hour away from home: “I couldn’t imagine not receiving treatment at RVH. I was able to attend my daughter’s dance recitals and pick her up from school. Her life wasn’t put on hold because of my diagnosis.”

For more information on how you can support patients like Laura and help RVH grow, visit KeepLifeWild.ca