In late 2012, Guy was in one of the busiest seasons of his life, balancing two growing businesses. He was running a creative agency, Nation Media and Design, while also building First Peoples Group, an Indigenous consulting firm focused on helping organizations build stronger relationships with Indigenous communities. His days were filled with travel, client meetings, long hours, and tight deadlines.
But one morning while shaving, something stopped Guy in his tracks — swelling on the left side of his neck. Although he had dealt with tonsillitis nearly every winter growing up, this swelling felt different. “I knew right away I had to go to the clinic,” said Guy.
His doctor was concerned enough to refer him to The Ottawa Hospital for further testing, and the results came as a complete shock.
Guy was diagnosed with stage 4 tonsil cancer.
Suddenly, the life he was building — his businesses, his work, his plans for the future, his family — felt uncertain. “Your mind goes to all kinds of places,” said Guy.
But the hardest part was knowing he had to tell his children.
When Guy and his wife sat down with their two children to tell them he had cancer, they knew the months ahead would be difficult. He asked his son, Maxim, to step up and take on more while Guy underwent treatment. And to his daughter, Ally, who was just 16 at the time, he made a promise: he would be there to dance with her at her wedding one day.
“I was going to treat cancer like a job, I’ve always been a hard worker.”
— Guy Freedman
After giving himself time to process the diagnosis, Guy knew there was only one thing he could do: get to work. “I was going to treat cancer like a job,” said Guy. “I’ve always been a hard worker.”
His care team at The Ottawa Hospital moved quickly. Because the cancer was already stage 4, they recommended an intensive treatment plan that included 42 radiation treatments over six weeks, along with two rounds of chemotherapy. “They told me, ‘We’re going to throw everything at this,’” said Guy.
Every weekday, Guy travelled to our hospital for radiation treatment. Before each session, his care team secured a custom-made mesh mask over his face, fastening it to the treatment table so he couldn’t move while the radiation was delivered with pinpoint accuracy. The precision of his treatment was critical to protect as much of the surrounding healthy tissue as possible.
As treatment progressed, the physical toll became harder to ignore. The radiation affected Guy’s throat and sense of taste, making it increasingly difficult to eat. “I remember wanting poutine so badly,” said Guy. “But everything tasted like chalk.”
Eventually, Guy was living on protein shakes and tea. By the end of treatment, he had lost nearly 50 pounds. At his weakest, even pulling a bedsheet over himself was difficult.
Throughout treatment, Guy placed his trust in his medical team. At the same time, he drew strength from the traditional First Nation and Métis teachings that have guided him throughout his life.
Métis Elder and author Maria Campbell, who Guy describes as an adopted mother, supported him throughout his treatment and helped him incorporate cultural practices that brought him comfort and strength.
Each evening, Guy applied bear grease to his jaw and neck while gently scratching his skin with a baby bear paw Maria had given him. He drank tea made from river birch he harvested himself. During radiation treatment, as the machine buzzed around him, Guy sang a traditional song and prayed that only the cancer cells would be targeted.
For Guy, his medical treatment and traditional practices worked alongside one another, each helping him through a different part of his cancer journey. “It was all hands on deck,” said Guy.
During his treatment, one of Guy’s physicians asked him if, when he got better, he would be willing to help create a welcoming space for Indigenous patients at The Ottawa Hospital. Guy remembers hearing four words in particular: “When you get better.”
At a time when his future felt so uncertain, those words stayed with him. His care team were talking to him about what he could do after treatment and about the life waiting for him beyond cancer.
After six weeks of radiation and two rounds of chemotherapy, his treatment finally came to an end. The road to recovery would take time, but slowly, Guy began to regain his strength. And eventually, Guy joined First Nations, Inuit, and Métis community members in helping shape what would become the Windòcàge Community Room at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre. The space was created to offer comfort and connection for Indigenous patients and their families receiving care at our hospital.
For Guy, it was an opportunity to help create the kind of environment he knew could make a difference during an incredibly vulnerable time in a patient’s life.
Learn more about Indigenous care at The Ottawa Hospital.
The Ottawa Hospital is located upon the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin people and respects the traditional knowledge and healing developed over generations. The Ottawa Hospital’s commitment to reconciliation is embedded in its strategic plan to better ensure a hospital-wide approach to culturally safe care.
Today, that work continues through the Champlain Regional Indigenous Cancer Program, which supports First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients through culturally safe care, patient navigation, spiritual support, and connections to community.
The Ottawa Hospital is also a key referral centre for cancer care for patients from Nunavut, making culturally safe care especially important for Indigenous patients who travel far from home to receive treatment.
The Ottawa Hospital’s commitment to culturally safe care extends beyond cancer. The hospital is working to ensure First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients and families feel welcomed, respected and supported throughout their care, with guidance from Indigenous leaders, patients, families, employees and community members.
The Ottawa Hospital’s commitment to culturally safe care extends beyond cancer. The hospital is working to ensure First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients and families feel welcomed, respected and supported throughout their care, with guidance from Indigenous leaders, patients, families, employees and community members.
Looking back, Guy describes his diagnosis as a turning point. It changed not only how he views life, but how he chooses to spend it.
Following his treatment, he stepped away from Nation Media and Design and devoted himself fully to First Peoples Group. He wanted to focus his energy on work he felt could make a meaningful difference for Indigenous communities around the country.
That work eventually brought him back to The Ottawa Hospital — this time not as a patient, but as a partner.
Through First Peoples Group, Guy is now working with The Ottawa Hospital to provide Indigenous cultural safety training sessions for staff across the organization. The program helps staff better understand Indigenous histories, cultures, and experiences with the healthcare system, while providing the tools to create a more welcoming and respectful experience for Indigenous patients and families.
The work is also helping translate cultural learning into tangible changes across the hospital. Today, Indigenous cultural practices such as smudging and the use of a qulliq are permitted in the hospital, giving patients and families greater opportunity to maintain important cultural and spiritual practices while receiving care. An Indigenous food menu is now offered at the General Campus.
For Guy, the work is deeply personal. He knows what it feels like to be a patient at the hospital and understands the importance of making sure Indigenous patients see their cultures reflected in the care they receive.
More than a decade after his diagnosis, Guy is living the future he was once uncertain he would have. He kept the promise he made to Ally and danced with his daughter on her wedding day. He also recently became a grandfather when Maxim welcomed a daughter, Gia. “I think I am one of the luckiest guys in the world,” said Guy.
