Lorraine Andrea Smith

Our beloved sister, Lorraine Andrea Smith, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 3, 2022. She will be deeply missed by her sister, Chrisanne ‘Gay’ (Paul), brother, Cory (Jacky); nephews (Christopher (Bayoush), Bryan, Mitchell (Mika), Graham, and Patrick), Uncle Ernie (Dianne), cousins, and good friends. She was predeceased by her parents, Robert and Patricia Smith and cousin, Robert Lee Gibson.

She wished she would have made it to her 58th birthday on December 16th. December was her favourite month. She loved celebrating her birthday, Christmas, and snow. She loved being on top of Whistler on a perfect Spring day and seeing the whole view and skiing down a good, smooth trail. It was freedom. She had good times at Inside Edge cabin in Whistler with the people she met and friendships she made. She loved music, shows, adventure and travelling and she was always very active. She enjoyed dragon boating, skiing, bike riding, kayaking, and hiking with many of her friends. She enjoyed getting together and spending time with her family and five nephews. She loved her family’s dogs (Kali, Ella, Bones, Myla). She appreciated her parents’ work ethic and dedication and commitment to family and wanted us to be happy and enjoying life. In the last two years, she did a trip to the East Coast with her sister and brother-in-law, BC road trip with her good friend Clayton, and Hawaii with her sister, brother-in-law, and Clayton. She enjoyed spending time with her good friend Amy and her family and their dog Coco in Victoria, with her brother and sister-in-law on Salt Spring Island, and with Clayton in Whistler. She wished she had more time to build relationships.

Her working career of 28 years was at BC Children’s/Women’s Hospital in Vancouver. She started in the Children’s Lab accessioning and her last position was with PHSA as a Data Analyst.

She loved her condo in Richmond and renovated it in 2019-2020. Cory says she made it ‘perfect’ the way she wanted it to be. She always liked good quality clothes and furnishings and knew what went well together.

Her cancer journey started with a misdiagnosis. She was diligent about getting her yearly mammograms but unfortunately she was not informed of her dense breasts which should have required further testing. She will be forever known as being a self-advocate for her health care and encourages everyone to question and fight for the best possible care. We believe she brought the lack of patient information in regard to breast density to the forefront as a result our mammograms now supply density information. If you have dense breasts please for Lorraine’s sake insist on further testing!

She made her own choices on how best to treat her cancer with her Oncologist, Dr. Caroline Lohrisch at BC Cancer, Scientist, Alex Rolland at CTOAM, Acupuncturist John Blazevic, Nurse Practitioner Kristina Morrison, and other health professionals. Her cancer was kept at bay for many years until recently when it became more aggressive. She was very thankful to Dr. Mitri at BC Cancer who saw her for urgent care and decided she needed medical attention to help with her symptoms and arranged for her to be admitted at Surrey Memorial Hospital Palliative Care. She was relieved and thankful to Dr. Kelvin Lou and nursing staff for taking care of her and keeping her comfortable. She kept herself moving in the hospital and when she took a walk in the hallway, she noticed on the wall was her mantra ‘Love is…” from 1st Corinthians 13 4-8.13.

Breast cancer really needs to be taken seriously. Healthy people, all kinds of people die of cancer. She did the best she could and there is only so much in life you can control. We only have one life to live and to be kind to ourselves, others, and do what brings you joy and happiness. She believed in listening to your gut and feelings and it’s important to look after your mental, dental, and physical health. Quality of life was very important to her. She took exercise classes online through Inspired Health that provides programs for people with cancer, Justin Agustin, and restorative yoga with Vicki who teaches in Richmond.

She appreciated all the support from her sister and brother-in-law (Chrisanne & Paul), brother and sister-in-law (Cory & Jacky), family, friends, and colleagues. She received support from the Callanish Society who helps so many people living and dying with cancer.

Some of the words to describe Lorraine are: vibrant, full of life, fortitude to carry on, strong, courageous, brave, honest, truthful, and kind spirited. We all hoped she was going to make it. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. A gathering to celebrate Lorraine will be held in the Spring 2023.