{"id":7219,"date":"2026-04-17T15:32:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/?post_type=testimonial&#038;p=7219"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:33:58","slug":"lise-fortin-a-life-of-dedication-and-unwavering-courage","status":"publish","type":"testimonial","link":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/why-give\/your-testimonials\/lise-fortin-a-life-of-dedication-and-unwavering-courage\/","title":{"rendered":"A life of dedication and unwavering courage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"block-dffa8622-6388-42b7-b8a1-9d2c709b72aa\">\u201cI never give up.\u201d These simple, but powerful words are the foundation of Lise Fortin\u2019s strength. The 78-year old Fortin\u2014an ex-teacher, mother, grandmother and socially conscious woman\u2014exudes a quiet courage that was forged by adversity and fed with an enduring compassion. Despite her unusual medical journey, Lise chooses to celebrate life every day, one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One struggle after another<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 1992, Lise has faced no less than ten cancers, dealing with breast cancer, melanoma, grueling treatments and agonizing waits. Her story is remarkable for the moments of great vulnerability, but also for her admirable resilience. \u201cThe sun comes out after the rain,\u201d as she likes to say. However, when the cancer made an aggressive return in 2024, requiring major surgery, Lise did not falter. She battled on, carried by deep determination and faith in her attentive medical teams at the CHUM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Putting others first<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lise Fortin is more than strength in the face of hardship: her life is also remarkable for her profound commitment to others. As a teacher, she passionately encouraged her students to value solidarity and helping others, even going so far as to organize visits to shut-ins so that awareness could be cultivated at an early age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if she retired, her commitment has not waned. For more than 30 years, she has been a volunteer at community organizations, including the H\u00f4tel-Dieu Hospital and the CHUM. Her contributions have been so precious, providing spiritual and logistical support, as well as coming in to rock newborns and do so much more for those in need. This exceptional devotion even earned her the Lieutenant Governor\u2019s Medal\u2014an honour she fully deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Giving to make a difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lise has no intention of slowing down! Today, enriched by her experiences at the CHUM as both a patient and a volunteer, she wants to take it even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe CHUM occupies a special place in my heart, we\u2019ve given a lot to each other.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>More motivated than ever, she has chosen to support the Foundation in order to advance research and improve care, so that others, in turn, may face their medical journey with the same sense of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n  <section class=\"images-gallery-block aligndefault columns-4\"\n  >\n    <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid\">\n              <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item\">\n          <a class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__link\" href=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_2.png\" data-fancybox=\"block_f62a35da8874ef3000056fa7ffc257af\" data-caption=\"Lise Fortin rings the end-of-treatment bell, in the presence of her husband\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_2-768x518.png\" alt=\"Lise Fortin et son mari\">\n            <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__overlay\">\n              <span class=\"vtx-icon vtx-icon-search\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n              <p class=\"sr-only\">See image in full size<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n              <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item\">\n          <a class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__link\" href=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_3.png\" data-fancybox=\"block_f62a35da8874ef3000056fa7ffc257af\" data-caption=\"Lise Fortin during one of her chemotherapy treatments\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_3-768x518.png\" alt=\"Lise Fortin en chimioth\u00e9rapie\">\n            <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__overlay\">\n              <span class=\"vtx-icon vtx-icon-search\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n              <p class=\"sr-only\">See image in full size<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n              <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item\">\n          <a class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__link\" href=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_4.png\" data-fancybox=\"block_f62a35da8874ef3000056fa7ffc257af\" data-caption=\"Lise Fortin, accompanied by her children and grandchildren, at the Lieutenant Governor\u2019s Medal ceremony\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lise-Fortin_4-768x518.png\" alt=\"Lise Fortin, accompagn\u00e9e de ses enfants et petits-enfants lors de la remise de la m\u00e9daille\">\n            <div class=\"images-gallery-block__grid__item__overlay\">\n              <span class=\"vtx-icon vtx-icon-search\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n              <p class=\"sr-only\">See image in full size<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n  ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI never give up.\u201d These simple, but powerful words are the foundation of Lise Fortin\u2019s[&#8230;];<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7205,"menu_order":0,"template":"","testimonial-category":[37],"class_list":["post-7219","testimonial","type-testimonial","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","testimonial-category-patients-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/testimonial\/7219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/testimonial"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/testimonial"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"testimonial-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationduchum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/testimonial-category?post=7219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}