Welcome to Wâhkôhtowin Iskwêwak Cancer Survivor Society

Our message of hope by Eva Bereti - founder 

I have been both honored and blessed to have met so many strong and beautiful women.  They have taught me that we, as Indigenous women, are the true leaders in our community.  We carry the role and responsibility to ensure that our children and future generations remain strong and connected through the circle of hope and love.  

The journey is ongoing as more women struggle with cancer, but the circle of hope is strengthening as we come together and place our differences aside and work towards supporting and helping one another.

Several Indigenous women have also offered their stories and their words are here to help you understand that you are not alone.  As women, we are natural givers to others, yet rarely give to ourselves.  The voices of these women will live long in the hearts of those who read this and it is with how their words will help others to find peace within their mind, body and spirit.  We need to seek out each other as it can be a lonely journey.  This society is a gift from women to women and have a journey of love.

Like a grandfather rock tossed gently into a quiet pond: ripples dance outward filling the entire pond with its message.  This society is humbly intended to begin this "rippling effect" within our Indigenous Communities.

When we first hear the word "cancer" or "munchoosuk" (the Cree term for Cancer) we often think of death.  We ask ourselves "Why me?".  We begin to isolate ourselves and shut out the world.  We often suffer in silence because we feel that no other person understands our pain, anger and suffering.

In 2023 the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) out out a report for underserved communities:

An underserved community in the context of health services is a population that is provided inadequate service and is systemically disadvantaged due to reasons including but not limited to race, age, language, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. There are insufficient healthcare resources dedicated to the needs of underserved communities. The terms “underserved community” and “communities that are underserved” are used intentionally at CCS to reflect the responsibility we have in providing cancer information and support services to communities that experience health inequities. This term puts an emphasis on the surrounding systems that need to change instead of on the community. There are about 1 million First Nations people living in Canada, corresponding to 58% of the total Indigenous population in the country and 2.9% of the total population of Canada, there is limited data on cancer statistics for First Nations communities. There are about 700,000 Inuit in Canada residing inside or outside of the homeland of Inuit Nunangat, corresponding to 3.9% of the total Indigenous population in the country and 0.2% of the total population of Canada, there is limited data on cancer statistic for Inuit communities. There are about 624,000 Metis people in Canada, corresponding to 34.6% of the total Indigenous population in the country and 1.7% of total population of Canada.  In Canada, there is a lack of services designed for the Métis population. Often, Métis people are only given the option of pan-Indigenous services and supports. Urban Indigenous people is more than 801,045 Indigenous people living in large urban centers, however the gap in services available for Indigenous people is still significant.  There is limited data on cancer statistics for urban Indigenous communities.