CIBC Run for the Cure: Breast cancer survivor remembers friend, and loved community member Liz MacDougall

Lisa Smith is remembering a friend, mother, and business owner, Liz MacDougall after she passed away from breast cancer.

Elizabeth MacDougall-Senft was 45-years-old when she passed away on September 19, 2022, after falling ill on a family vacation in Hawaii.

“Liz is the most amazing person you could ever meet,” said Smith. “Everyone raves about what a wonderful person she was, she was the best of people. No matter what she was going through she was always trying to help everyone else, no matter what you were going through.”

With the CIBC Run for the Cure happening on Sunday, Smith remembered when she and MacDougall ran together while still in, and coming out of treatment.

“To be able to run in something like that while still in treatment is huge,” said Smith. “If you have done six months of chemotherapy and can’t get out of bed, to do the (run) and especially be able to do it with family and friends with you … it just feels incredible to know that there’s that many people who care.”

Smith and MacDougall met through Inpower, a Facebook Page and support group for women with breast cancer. After chatting online, then meeting in person they found common similarities between one another.

Both of them had similar timelines for receiving treatment and recovering from chemotherapy, only about six weeks apart. They recently just passed through their five-year milestone of being cancer free before Stage 4 breast cancer resurfaced.

Smith said she was “devastated” when she found out about MacDougall’s death.

“For Liz and I is was our five-years this year, and we were both so happy to have made that timeline, that’s a huge thing for us. So, for her cancer to come back after that was absolutely devastating.”

Smith explained that even though you could be cancer-free for many years, there is always the chance for it to resurface.

“To us there is no such thing as a cure,” said Smith. “We always know that Stage 4 cancer could pop up at anytime.”

While cancer might be gone, Smith says that she is still doing frequent check-ups and taking medication. Her treatment is on-going.

Smith said that it was amazing watching MacDougall give the most of herself to everyone while managing a balanced life with a family of young kids. MacDougall opened her own business called PICKLE & Bee.

“Her business wasn’t about making money it was for herself and to be healthier, and then she wanted to share it with everyone else,” said Smith.

The small business frequented the Regina Farmer’s Market, and was seen as a safe space in the breast cancer community.

A GoFundMe was set up to cover medical expenses, transportation costs for the family.