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Curtiss Kelly thought he was beginning a new chapter.<\/p>\n
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The Kelowna construction worker had landed a new job with Northland Properties and was settling into a routine on the worksite. Like anyone starting fresh, he was focused on proving himself during his probation period and looking ahead to what came next.<\/p>\n
Just weeks into the job, doctors diagnosed him with Stage 4 lung and brain cancer and was still in his 90-day probation period when he learned of the diagnosis. Along with the\u00a0 toll of cancer, he worried about what the illness could mean for his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy biggest concern was I wasn\u2019t going to have a job,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you have cancer and you apply to a job, the chances are going to be low.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tKelly leading a morning stretch while he is on medical leave.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCurtiss Kelly\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
At the time, Kelly was still working through Northland\u2019s 90-day probation period. He had only been on the job for about 50 days when he learned the devastating news.<\/p>\n
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For many Canadians facing cancer, financial worries become part of the battle.<\/p>\n
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Research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found between one-third and 40 per cent of Canadians experience financial distress following a cancer diagnosis. The study also found many workers see their income fall by nearly 25% during the first year after being diagnosed.<\/p>\n
After learning about his cancer, Northland Properties stepped in and fast-tracked his benefits, moving them ahead before he completed his 90-day probation period.<\/p>\n
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At the same time, the crew he works with came together to help, organizing a fundraiser that raised nearly $750 for Kelly and his partner.<\/p>\n
A Stage 4 cancer diagnosis brings enough uncertainty on its own. Questions about treatment, finances and the future can quickly become overwhelming. But Kelly says knowing his employer and co-workers have his back has made a difficult situation a little easier to face.<\/p>\n
While much of the attention is focused on doctors, treatments and test results, the support systems that surround a patient can be just as important. For Kelly, that support came from the people he works beside every day.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCurtiss Kelly one two days before he starts chemotherapy.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCohan Sassaman\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Descrease article font size Increase article font size Curtiss Kelly thought he was beginning a new chapter. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,7714,259517,84,2081,259516,44],"class_list":["post-716607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cancer","tag-construction-worker","tag-health","tag-kelowna","tag-kelowna-news","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}