It can be easy to believe police officers are invincible. They are often the first to respond when we need help, and the first to protect us when we need it
the most.
Jason Jacobson, a native of Denare Beach, is a Saskatoon police officer. He is also a husband and father. While he is not invincible, to many people he is a hero.
In 2010, the then-33-year-old Jacobson was having a good year. He had just applied for, and been awarded, a coveted position with the Saskatoon Police Service. He had spent three weeks working at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and curled as an alternate in the Brier in Halifax.
Then, like so many before him, he found a lump. A biopsy revealed that despite the fact Jacobson otherwise felt completely healthy, he had Stage IV follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“It was incredibly difficult,” said Jacobson, reflecting on the days and weeks immediately after receiving the news about his blood cancer. “I didn’t deal with it well. I was depressed and angry. I felt that nothing would ever be the same: my family, my work, my activities. Suddenly, things I thought were so important weren’t anymore. My family was very supportive. The diagnosis was affecting my wife’s life as much as mine, but she stayed very strong.”
Within three weeks of his diagnosis, Jacobson was receiving his first round of chemotherapy.
Needed support
Jacobson knew he needed support, and that turning to someone who understood what he was going through was vital.
With this in mind, he turned to Saskatoon resident Bev Allen, a family friend who had the same diagnosis as Jacobson, and had completed the same treatment he was about to receive.
“I contacted Bev, and we exchanged emails,” said Jacobson. “My wife and I went for dinner with Bev and his lovely wife, Pat. Bev and I were a generation apart, but we had an immediate bond. He was reassuring. He was knowledgeable about the disease and the treatments that I was about to face. Bev gave us hope.”
Fast forward to today. It has been three years since Jacobson received his final chemotherapy treatment. This year he walked as an Honoured Hero in the Saskatoon’s Light the Night, an annual event that takes place each fall at dusk in communities across the country for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC).
“Currently there are approximately 110,000 Canadians living with or in remission from a blood cancer, and every 25 minutes someone new is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or one of the many blood cancers,” said Aviva Zack, Saskatoon’s LLSC Light the Night coordinator. “Participants at Light the Night carry glowing lanterns: red for supporters, white for survivors or gold for those walking in memory.”
This year’s walk took place in Saskatoon this past Sunday, Oct. 5, kicking off with registration and entertainment in Kiwanis Park, followed by a remembrance ceremony and the walk itself.
“The funds raised through Light the Night go towards vital blood cancer research and all those research dollars stay in Canada,” explained Zack. “In fact, there is a researcher at the U of S who was recently given funding from LLSC, so some of those research dollars are staying in our community to help find blood cancer cures. Dollars raised through Light the Night also help fund free support services that we provide to patients and their families right here in Saskatoon.”
Reflections
As Jacobson got ready to participate in this year’s event, he reflected on his family, both at home and at work, who supported him on his journey.
“I live a new ‘normal’ now,” he said. “I try to be a good dad and husband. I play hard and work hard. Lymphoma is always in the back of my mind. I wonder if a cure will be found, and if or when I’ll relapse.”
Jacobson relishes being a dad, something he and his wife were told might never be possible after he went through treatment.
“My two-year-old daughter is a blessing,” said Jacobson. “I’d sure like to live to see her grow up.”
While Jacobson is the Light the Night Honoured Hero this year, his mentor, Bev Allen, will be honoured as Saskatoon’s Remembered Hero.
“When Bev’s disease progressed and transformed in late 2012, I felt helpless,” said Jacobson. “Despite the setback, his courage, positive attitude and plans for treatment were inspirational. Many complications later, in March 2013, Bev passed away. His funeral was one of the most difficult days I have ever been through.
“Now that I’m involved with Light the Night, I see how important it is to raise funds for research,” he continued. “They’re so close to a cure. There is a cure; we just haven’t found it yet. Walking with Bev’s family – Poppa’s Pavement Pounders – is an honour for me. Being the honoured hero is a bit much. I’m not a hero, just a survivor.”
His pride in his job is obvious, and Jacobson credits his co-workers for coming up with the majority of the funds he has raised for LLSC and Light the Night.
“The Saskatoon Police Service is my second family,” said Jacobson. “I have received tremendous support from my workplace since my diagnosis. I believe the other officers at SPS living with blood cancer would say the same.”
Cancer has also impacted the way Jacobson tackles the daily challenges that accompany his role in the community.
“Police work constantly evolves. No call is ever the same,” he explained. “We see things that I’m glad most people never will. I empathize with many people we deal with. Since my diagnosis, I have a new appreciation for the fact that there will always be someone else that has it worse than you and me. Be grateful for what you have.”
– This article, written by Tammy Robert for the Saskatoon Express, is reprinted with permission
