STONE JOURNEY is my decade’s old reflection in print about my diagnosis of stage 3 rectal cancer, the devastation, uncertainty, fear, guilt, hopelessness that came along with it. I grieved for my health as well as the profound sadness my family endured. To make matters worse, four months after diagnosis and during chemotherapy and radiation, I found a lump in my right breast which was another primary not a spread. This began a whole new approach which was terrifying. None of this was in my family’s medical history.

My medical team were instrumental in keeping my feet to the ground, my purpose in life front and centre and my focus on life not death. My family and friends fed my spirit with wholesome emotional support so I could thrive even at the lowest devastating times.” – Patricia Baker

Date:21 April 2026 .