The president of the North Bay and District Labour Council, Henri Giroux has cancer and is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy treatments in Sudbury.
He is also well-known for his run at political office under the NDP banner.
Giroux spoke to BayToday this morning, but his voice is very weak.
The 61-year-old former Cassellholme employee was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 Epstein-Barr B-cell lymphoma in July. Lymphoma is a group of cancers that affect the cells that play a role in the immune system and primarily represents cells involved in the lymphatic system of the body.
He currently is receiving aggressive chemotherapy treatments every 21 days in Sudbury and hopes to receive stem cell transplantation as early as this December in Ottawa.
This will require him to live in Ottawa for three months with a support person, and travel to the hospital every day.
A gofundme page was set up yesterday with a goal of $30,000. As of noon Monday over $2,000 has been pledged.
Giroux lives in Powassan with his spouse, Amanda. He is the proud father of an integrated family with eight children, 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
He retired last year after 38 years at Cassellholme, Home for the Aged.
"It just came so suddenly," his wife Amanda told BayToday. "You are forced to deal with it whether you want to or not. Some days you wake and wish you had your whole life back, but that's life and sometimes you just have to keep pushing forward."
Giroux is a dedicated healthcare and labour activist.
His hope is someone else will step up to fight for others while he recovers.
"He hopes that people continue to advocate for those who can't and hopefully pick up the ball and run with it," added Amanda.
She says her husband is doing well.
"He really is doing well. He's responding to treatment better than I expected with the very aggressive chemotherapy he is receiving."
Giroux is resting at home before returning to Ottawa for more chemotherapy.
"We're really hoping he will be a candidate for a stem cell replacement."
It's his family that may prove to be the ultimate cure. He comes from a family of 15.
"When you do a stem cell replacement they can't use his cells because they've mutated but when the look for donors they actually look at siblings and we handed him a paper with eight potential donors, most people only have one or two to draw from. It certainly will increase his chances of finding a match."
The family is very thankful for the support from friends and family.
"It's just a little weird. You spend so much time and energy advocating for other people, so when people are advocating for you it reminds him it's not a sign of weakness. We've been pretty quiet about it but we knew eventually that it would surface one way or the other, but for him, he sees himself a just a humble guy. I've never seen him do something for the recognition, but just because it was the right thing to do," explained Amanda.
"Henri is an incredibly kind and compassionate person who has tirelessly given of himself for decades to help make peoples' lives better," says the gofundme page. "We often see people who suffer from cynicism and apathy, and all too often in the public sphere, self-interest. That isn't Henri. He has never given in or given up. Whether it has been caring for the aged, hospital care, poverty issues, support for the LGBTQ community, and numerous other grassroots issues, he has organized, lobbied, and supported."
