Koivu thrilled to help hospital that helped him
Canadiens captain donates $2.5M to Montreal General
MONTREAL •
It’s a 10-minute drive, in light traffic, from the Bell Centre to the Montreal General Hospital — from the arena that’s made the hockey career of Canadiens captain Saku Koivu to the facility that’s provided him with the good health to pursue it.
Yesterday, Koivu made this trip once more, his cancer almost 45 months in remission, and cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art machine for which he’s largely responsible.
Koivu and Dr. Robert Lisbona, chief of radiology and nuclear medicine at the McGill University Health Centre, officially unveiled the hospital’s PET/CT scanner, a sophisticated cancer detection unit that’s been up and running for nearly 18 months.
“ We wanted to do this a long time ago,” Koivu said yesterday, smiling, “but there was kind of a lockout or something.”
With positron emission tomography and computed tomography — PET/CT for short — the unit gives doctors a three-dimensional study of cancer in its earliest stages, and helps monitor the spread of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment.
The Saku Koivu Foundation, with contributions coming from piggybanks and corporate vaults, provided $2.5-million of the $8million required to purchase and install the scanner, the first of its kind in Quebec.
Five months ago, Koivu underwent his first test in this unit, his non-Hodgkins lymphoma again shown to be in complete remission. As he prepared for the exam, he saw the name Saku Koivu Foundation on the wall.
“ It was a very special moment,” he said yesterday before morning practice, reflecting on the remarkable journey his life has taken. “I’d seen the machine before, but now I was going in myself.
“Hockey brought me to Montreal, and for sure, it’s a big part of my life. But in the end, when you’re done playing hockey, does it really matter how many goals you’ve scored?
“My name is going to be with this machine for I don’t know how long, and it will help many people. That’s what matters.
“I’m a guy from Finland who never had any connection to Montreal or Canada until the day I came here [in 1995]. Now, looking back, I see this as the place where I’ve experienced most of my life, the ups and downs and the things I’ll remember most.”
It’s been four years this month since Koivu was diagnosed with cancer, falling ill on a flight from his native Finland to training camp in Montreal.
He spent that autumn and early winter undergoing eight sessions of chemotherapy, bedridden by the first cycle. But even then, Koivu and his wife-to-be, Hanna, were planning to repay those who were caring for him.
“ The support that was shown to me and my family was overwhelming,” he said. “ We wanted to give something back.”
Koivu discussed the idea of a foundation the two doctors overseeing his treatment. It was created in the fall of 2002, a few months after his emotional onice return to the Canadiens that shook the Bell Centre to its core.
Koivu recalls the 30,000 emails of support he received during the first 10 days of his illness.
“We got a box of mail, and said we’d read it all,” he said. “ Then we got another box the next day. And then another …
“ There are so many different things in your mind when you’re told you have cancer. I was lucky that everything went in a good way. I didn’t go to any test and be told it’s not working. I always got positive news.”
The disease was especially difficult on Koivu’s parents. He recalls his mother in Finland being shocked at first seeing his bald scalp, shaved in anticipation of chemotherapy, on a large poster for a local newspaper.
“I didn’t have a choice,” he said of fighting cancer in public. “But imagine seeing your son or daughter like this for the first time, in a newspaper.”
Koivu travelled to Sherbrooke, Que., for testing on a PET machine, with no unit in Montreal at the time. And on Jan. 14, 2002, when a scan showed him to be in remission, his mind was made up.
“ That was the day, the worst was behind me,” he said. “ The PET scan in January symbolized my health. I thought: ‘ It would be neat to get one in Montreal.’ ”
Montreal General Hospital Foundation president Ronald Collett says the unit has far exceeded the expectations of doctors and patients, and he lavishes praise on the Koivus for their commitment to the cause.
Koivu, 30, signed thousands of letters of thanks to donors, refusing to use a signature stamp.
The mail continues to pour in, from people who express happiness for his health, then explain how his battle has helped others.
“Honestly, that’s something I can’t relate to,” Koivu said. “I don’t see how I can make a difference to somebody else. I just did what I had to do.”