‘Tenacious’ Montreal philanthropist, dead at 91, helped thousands of cancer survivors, friend says

Mike Flinker first met his friend Sheila Kussner 20 years ago. But it was a pivotal moment in his life that he remembers clearly. 

He was at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, about a month after he’d been told he had cancer in late 2004. Kussner happened to be there and they spoke about how he was struggling with the diagnosis.

Flinkers says she encouraged him to be positive, look forward to upcoming milestones, and asked about his wife and children. 

“I quickly came to realize that the mental aspects of cancer, the fear, the anxiety, the sleepless nights, were far more difficult to deal with than the physical aspect of the disease,” Flinker, a businessman and philanthropist, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

“She gave me tools to learn how to deal with the mental aspects [of cancer].”

He wasn’t the only person Kussner did that for — not by a long shot.

What she did for cancer survivors … is just remarkable.– Mike Flinker

Kussner founded the Montreal peer-based cancer support program Hope & Cope in 1981. She also helped raise 10s of millions of dollars for cancer research and programs.

She died on Tuesday at 91.

When Kussner was 14, she was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer, leading to the amputation of her left leg.

“What she did for cancer survivors, and I’m just one of 10s of thousands, is just remarkable,” said Flinker.

“Sheila has profoundly shaped the development of cancer care in Montreal and beyond,” her family said in a Montreal Gazette obituary that also listed many achievements including her work spearheading the development of oncology as a separate discipline in McGill University’s the Faculty of Medicine. 

Kussner was an Officer of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Quebec. 

In a statement, Hope & Cope said, “Under Sheila’s leadership, Hope & Cope pioneered the concept of organized peer support for people living with cancer and their families.

“Working in collaboration with the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Hope & Cope became integral to the Hospital’s approach to oncology support. Sheila’s fundraising was legendary, gathering tens of millions of dollars in support of Hope & Cope.” 

Removing stigma

Flinker, who also volunteers with Hope & Cope, described Kussner’s fundraising as “tenacious.” Her work also “took the stigma away from having cancer,” he said. 

“My dad had prostate cancer in 1977. He didn’t even want to use the word cancer. He called it the ‘big C.’ I think people thought they would be viewed as a pariah if they had cancer.” 

‘[Kussner] really educated so many groups of people. She educated patients without cancer. She educated patients with cancer. And I think she educated physicians on how patients deal with cancer.” 

She also demonstrated how valuable it is for patients to connect with survivors — and lean on them — during their treatment and recovery. During his own battle with cancer, Flinker says he would call his mentor every day.

Funeral services were held for Kussner in Montreal Friday. 

Sara Saber Freedman, the interim director of Hope & Cope, remarked on Kussner’s “extraordinary generosity of spirit, her kindness and her compassion.” She said the organization is committed to carrying on her legacy.