Jane Leckey was a teenager in her first year of university when she flew headfirst off a horse and into a wall during a show jumping competition. She didn’t know it at the time, but this fluke traumatic event likely saved her life.“Including The Princess Margaret in my will was an easy decision, and I hope my foresight and openness will motivate other folks to consider making the same pledge.”
“After the accident, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour that I may have had since birth. We’re not entirely sure,” says Jane. Thankfully the tumour was successfully excised and Jane quickly bounced back.
For decades following her first brush with cancer, Jane lived a full life. She got married, got divorced, and established a career in corporate communications.
“Cancer was really not a thing that I gave much thought to until my second diagnosis,” says Jane, who was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after she turned 50.
Fortunately, she was treated at The Princess Margaret. Jane describes the care she received as “absolutely outstanding in every respect,” noting the cancer centre’s staff is “second to none” and “displayed a sense of empathy, passion, and support.”
It wasn’t until the spring of 2020, when her eldest brother died suddenly just three weeks after being diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, that Jane decided she wanted to contribute to The Princess Margaret in a different way.
Jane sat down with a lawyer and updated her will.
“Including The Princess Margaret in my will was an easy decision, and I hope my foresight and openness will motivate other folks to consider making the same pledge,” she says. “Estate planning is something that can — and should — be done at all stages of life.”
For more information or to tell us you’ve made a gift in your will, contact Jill Nelson, Associate VP, Estates and Gift Planning, or visit www.thepmcf.ca/donate/will-and-estates/.
