A nine-day trek from Iqaluit to Kimmirut undertaken by two oncologists and a nurse from Ottawa finished with a warm welcome from the community on Aug. 17. The trek was an effort to draw attention to the struggles Nunavummiut face in receiving cancer care.
Marc Gaudet, left, Carolyn Roberts, and Gordon Locke take a moment on the Itijjagiaq Trail en route to Kimmirut. (Photo by Erin Locke) Kimmirut fire Chief Atsaina Eeyeevadlok had the fire truck sirens blaring to signal the arrival of doctors Marc Gaudet and Gordon Locke, as well as Locke’s sister, Erin Locke. The group began their trek on the 120-kilometre Itijjagiaq Trail from Iqaluit on Aug.
9. A fourth member of the group, Ottawa Hospital nurse Carolyn Roberts, had arrived in Kimmirut three days earlier, having injured her foot and calf on Day 6 of the journey. Escorted by a team from Nunavut Parks, Roberts safely arrived in the hamlet by boat and ATV.
“We were extremely well received by everyone we met in Kimmirut,” said Gaudet, who upon arrival met the family of Jamesie Judea, Gaudet’s former patient from the community who died from pancreatic cancer in 2023. Judea, who was a volunteer firefighter in Kimmirut, received treatment within t he Ottawa Hospital’s Indigenous Cancer Program. “Being in Kimmirut gave us a better understanding of where Jamesie and his family had come from, how close-knit the community is, and how significant it is to be uprooted from here to Iqaluit and Ottawa for cancer treatment,”.