“This experience reminded me how amazing our community is. I felt like I knew someone in almost every office I would walk into and even if I didn’t know them it didn’t change how compassionate, kind and on the ball they were.” – Lisa.

Lisa Dren isn’t “from here” originally, but she chose this place to be her home for the same reason so many of us love living here: mountain biking, hiking, skiing, art, music, clubs, community and access to things like healthcare. According to Lisa, the Escarpment and the water help make a place feel like home which made Owen Sound a natural fit.

In just a few minutes of speaking to her you can feel the warmth, the energy, the drive and it’s no surprise to anyone who knows her that over the past decade she has made a lot of friends in this community. We’ve all had friends who are fun and friends who are reliable but Lisa is that special combination of the two.

You might know her from her time at Heartwood Hall, maybe you’ve seen her real estate signs around town, or you might recognize her from adventures on the Bruce Trail. As someone who described themselves as “allergic to boredom” Lisa is always keeping busy.

On Christmas day 2023 Lisa found a lump. Test confirmed it was cancer. Her family was far away. Brightshores Owen Sound Hospital seemed small and uncertain. She considered moving back to Burlington to be closer to family and bigger hospitals but opted to start treatment here as a way to stay close to her two teenage daughters who had also built lives here.

If you ask Lisa now she’ll tell you it was absolutely the right decision.

“In eighteen months I went through three 30 day parking passes. That’s 90 days of going to the hospital and in all that time I never had one negative experience.”

Lisa had chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, tests, scans, and various appointments here at the Owen Sound Hospital. She did her radiation treatment in Hamilton.

Through it all she received top notch care but what impressed her the most was the people.

“This experience reminded me how amazing our community is. I felt like I knew someone in almost every office I would walk into and even if I didn’t know them it didn’t change how compassionate, kind, and on the ball they were.”

The kindness, the patience, the details. They’re things that stand out. “People would get to know your name. They’d ask you how your week was.” It was things like getting the same ultrasound tech a few times in a row that made her feel comfortable and taken care of. It was the extra mile that people like Brette, the hospital’s Drug Access Navigator, went to make sure she had fewer worries and could focus on healing.

She says she’s doing good. Her six month follow up and most recent mammogram came back clean.

Staying in her community made such a difference and it’s why Lisa has decided she wants to give back. It’s why having quality care here in our community matters. So that support systems can spring into action. So a mother can stay with her daughters. So that you can be near the things that make you feel at home.

Getting treated in Owen Sound allowed Lisa to be close to “friends who supported me in ways that I didn’t know friends could. I don’t ask for help much but I didn’t have to ask. Financially, physically, emotionally. I feel like there is no way to repay that kindness so all I can do is try to help someone whose going through what I went through.”

It’s why Lisa is raising money for Brightshores Cancer Center with her 12 Days of Christmas – Brightshores Oncology Fundraiser. Twelve awesome prizes donated by the community are up for grabs in this amazing raffle.  One prize drawn each day from December 13th – 24th.

She’s hoping to raise more than $30,000 to provide equipment, facility upgrades and training to staff in the Cancer Centre. Lisa recognized that “when the staff have all the things they need to do their jobs it means they can spend more time with people like me and the next person who needs their kindness and compassion.”