{"id":9133,"date":"2026-10-26T09:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T13:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/passez-a-laction\/des-gens-de-coeur\/behind-every-diagnosis-a-life-waiting-for-answers\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:41:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:41:39","slug":"behind-every-diagnosis-a-life-waiting-for-answers","status":"publish","type":"gens-de-coeur","link":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/take-action\/people-of-heart\/behind-every-diagnosis-a-life-waiting-for-answers\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind every diagnosis, a life waiting for answers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cI was sweating, and I thought to myself, this is going to be serious, because of the way he was talking to me. It sounded serious.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

That day, as he absentmindedly ran his hand over his neck, Gilles felt a small lump. He didn\u2019t think it was anything to worry about. But his wife encouraged him to see a doctor.<\/p>\n

He quickly got an appointment with Dr. Charbonneau at H\u00f4pital Charles-Le Moyne. He went without worrying too much, convinced it wasn\u2019t anything serious.<\/p>\n

But from the very first moment, the tone changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cGilles, no, no, no, it\u2019s not just a little lump. It\u2019s serious.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gilles Fortin immediately realized that something was wrong. His doctor asked him to cancel his planned trip to Florida. One test followed another. The very next day, Gilles found himself in the operating room for further investigations.<\/p>\n

Then the diagnosis came: cancer. Aggressive cancer.<\/p>\n

The tumor was inoperable. Gilles would have to undergo radiation therapy.<\/p>\n

Gilles remembers that time. The trips back and forth to the Hospital. The difficult nights. The questions constantly swirling in his head.<\/p>\n

And above all, those words that never left him:<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had that damn word in my head: tumor, cancer, tumor…\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five years later, as he recounts these memories, the emotion is still just as vivid. In the midst of this ordeal, his trust in his doctor brought him immense comfort<\/strong>. Gilles has never forgotten these words from Dr. Charbonneau:<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cGilles, we won\u2019t let you down.\u201d \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr. Charbonneau\u2019s words, as recalled by Gilles Fortin.<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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And when he finally got answers about his illness and the treatments ahead, something changed. He knew he wouldn\u2019t be going through this ordeal alone. A gratitude that came from the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt set me free. And then I knew that, since I knew where we were headed, I could trust the doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in remission, Gilles fully appreciates how lucky he\u2019s been. He speaks emotionally about the people who cared for him, his doctor, the nurses, and everyone who supported him with skill and compassion.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s convinced that the promptness of his care and medical advances played a decisive role in his story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my doctor, modern medicine, and H\u00f4pital Charles-Le Moyne hadn\u2019t been so advanced, I might not be here talking to you today.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Already a donor to the Fondation H\u00f4pital Charles-Le Moyne before his illness, Gilles continues his commitment with even greater conviction.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He knows what it\u2019s like to wait for a diagnosis. And he hopes that others can receive the same care and attention that he did.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the project to build the new care unit on the 6th floor of the hospital\u2019s North Wing<\/a> is particularly close to his heart. Among other things, it will increase the number of diagnostic tests performed at the hospital.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cThe sooner you find out, the sooner you\u2019ll be treated.\u201d \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGilles Fortin<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Gilles, every donation counts, no matter the amount.

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be rich to give. Every little dollar counts toward a good cause.\u201d<\/strong>

Today, his gratitude is turning into an act of generosity for the patients who will come after him. His message to donors is simple but full of sincerity:

\u201cPlease, don\u2019t stop giving.\u201d <\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After facing an aggressive form of cancer, Gilles Fortin speaks about the care and support he received at H\u00f4pital Charles-Le Moyne. Now in remission, he hopes other patients can also get answers sooner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9132,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-9133","gens-de-coeur","type-gens-de-coeur","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gens-de-coeur\/9133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gens-de-coeur"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/gens-de-coeur"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gens-de-coeur\/9133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9138,"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gens-de-coeur\/9133\/revisions\/9138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fhclm.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}