In Loving Memory

Elizabeth Dill-Isgro

1970 – 2006

On January 18, 2002, Liz was taking a bath when she found a lump under her right breast. She had just turned 32.

I knew Liz quite well because she was the Office Manager of a media company that I was the President of. On that day, Liz stopped being an employee and became my friend.

Over the next four years Liz battled cancer. She was quite a fighter, indeed. She had a mastectomy and started chemo. Then, she had another prophylactic mastectomy to reduce the risk of the cancer returning to her breast, a hysterectomy and an oopherectomy to shut down the production of estrogen. Then, she decided to have breast reconstruction.

Liz amazed me. She was a very attractive woman and her looks were very important to her. So when she had lost both of her breasts, her long hair, her reproductive system and was dealing with the devastating effects of chemo on her body, I was expecting that she might lose herself. But she didn’t. In fact, I think all of us who knew Liz learned what she was really made of.

Liz had a great sense of humour. We had spent everyday working together, but now, we spent our time differently. I spent time just holding her hand and listening when she needed it, or provided a shoulder to cry on when she needed it. But we also spent lots of time laughing.

She finished her Chemo on July 10, 2002. Her cancer was now in remission. She then had a new found energy. She was determined to win her battle.

Liz came to me with an idea one day … she wanted to do something to help other women who were dealing with cancer and to educate and encourage women, especially young women, to learn about what they can do to prevent cancer and to make sure they understood the importance of early detection. A worthy goal … so we started working together again.

Together, we drafted a business plan to create an organization called the Personal Information Network on Cancer … or PINC. This website is part of that initiative.

Liz once told me that as devastating as it was to learn that she had cancer, she also had a whole new world open up to her. A world where food tasted better, love was stronger, sunsets were important and spending time with family and friends had a whole new meaning. I remember one day she called me in my car and asked, “Have you ever really listened to birds? They’re amazing. I’m here at home and they’re singing their heads off. If you’re not busy you should come over right now and listen to this.”

Liz married in the summer of 2004 to a truly amazing man, Mario Isgro, whom I now consider among my good friends. When Liz asked me to be the MC at their wedding and to give the ‘Toast To The Bride’, I was truly honoured to do so. She looked beautiful on her wedding day. It was a special day not only for Liz and Mario but to all of their family and friends who knew about the battle she was fighting.

Liz and I spent quite a bit of time together trying to get PINC off the ground. She so impressed me in the meetings we went to. She spoke candidly and openly about what she had been through and what needed to be done to help others. She was so passionate and eloquent when she spoke. I watched her bring tears to the eyes of many people as we met with them about PINC. She would wind up consoling them by the end of the meeting!

I have learned that cancer never really goes away. And for Liz it came back with a vengeance. Liz started chemo again. She tried different treatments. She kept fighting, but on many days it took a lot out of her.

Liz passed away on January 12, 2006, just 8 days after her 36^th birthday. She was a wife to Mario, a step-mother to Fillip and Sofia, a daughter to Brenda and the late David Dill, a sister to Steve, Michelle and Mike, Chuck and Sherri, Valerie and Mike, and Donna and Fredd. She was ‘Auntie Liz’ to many nieces and nephews. And she was a friend to many.

I made a promise to Liz that I will keep working at PINC and to make her dream a reality. If I know Liz, she’s looking over my shoulder right now as I write this, ready to correct me. And she’ll be checking regularly to see how things are coming with the site and with the other PINC initiatives we have planned.

The last few times I saw Liz, I made a point of telling her how much she meant to me, how much she inspired me, how special she was and how much her friendship meant to me. But if I had known that the last time I saw her would be the last time that I would see her, I would have said more. I would have hugged her longer.  I would have told her one last joke and I would have said goodbye.

I will miss her very much.

Jim Payetta