Me wearing mask
White male (Michael) lying on a hospital bed with his hand reaching toward me

Hi, I'm Christine

In September of 2018, my husband, Michael, was diagnosed with the "good" kind of throat cancer. In June, 2020, he was diagnosed with a completely new, unrelated, "not-so-good kind" of large-cell cancer in his lungs. By November 2022, he was dead.

Like all inspiring cancer stories, I learned some valuable lessons along the way:


  • There are doughnuts in purgatory—cancer purgatory, that is. Trust me on this. I still carry the evidence around my skeleton to prove it.

  • People sometimes talk about the "good" cancers or the "bad" cancers to get, but—hot take—there's no good kind. He was especially unlucky because although his terminal cancer is the most commonly-diagnosed cancer of all, it receives the least amount of research funding. He also had a rare(r) and aggressive sub-type of it. Despite this, he never gave up hope that if he could survive long enough, there might be new treatments. Spoiler alert: he didn't.

    • Cancer is a serious business, although you might have already noticed that I often use humour as a coping mechanism (and food: see previous note on doughnuts.) These days, I'm using my extensive professional experience with speaking, writing, and advocating to try to improve systems, policies, and education for cancer patients and the people who love them.

    More about our cancer(s) story:

  • When Cancer Carries Trauma - Widowed AF podcast episode
  • Cancer, Chocolate, and Channeling Rage - Widow 180 podcast
  • A Story of Loss, Lung Cancer, and Advocacy - Beyond the Wheeze
  • There's always Hope - Lung Cancer Canada
  • Overcoming Trauma, Becoming a Skydiver - Globe & Mail

    Thanks for visiting. More about my professional background below:

    • “I really appreciate all the depth and insights that you have shared. This is one of the most powerful, educational sessions I have attended in a long time!”
    - Oncologist after presentation at Grand Rounds, Fall 2025

    Professional Experience

    For over 20 years, I worked as a Career Advisor at Queen's University, assisting thousands of students—from first year to PhD in a wide variety of disciplines from art history to computer engineering—to connect creatively and authentically with work or school that suited their goals and aspirations. I also worked 1-1 and created and taught career and CaRMS workshops for aspiring and current medical students and residents.

    From 2007-2021, I assisted medical school applicants, residency and fellowship applicants, mid-career professionals, and academics in my private practice (Career Cupid), helping with application and interview strategies and career exploration.

    I am the author of two traditionally-published career books and have written for various career-related websites and magazines as well as more generally for publications including The Globe and Mail.

    I have 25+ years of experience engaging audiences in workshops, conference presentations and webinars, from small groups up to as many as 700 people. 

    I was awarded a campus accessibility award and nominated for a 2019 Ontario Premier's Award. Due to my ongoing commitment to and interest in accessibility issues, I was very privileged to be appointed by the Minister of Community and Social Services to the Employment Standards Development Committee of the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario for two years, where we created legislation that has now been rolled out as the Advancing Accessibility in Ontario Framework. 

    Speaking & Workshops