Speaking to us from her home in Lethbridge, Eiko turns her phone around to show us the world outside her window. Large trees frame the view, and with lush green grass in the distance, it certainly doesn’t look like Eiko is downtown in southern Alberta’s largest city. It’s parklike and tranquil, with a flower garden and playground nearby, and a museum next door.
“This is my life,” Eiko says. “I exercise, I go walk and enjoy the different seasons. I have no regrets or desires. I just appreciate.”
Life certainly didn’t feel peaceful for Eiko in 2023, when she found a lump on her breast. It turned out to be triple-negative breast cancer, which, her doctor explained, was aggressive and often spread quickly. Eiko would require treatment right away.
Unsure if she wanted to go through treatment, Eiko did decide that she would, at the very least, move to Edmonton to be closer to her daughter. She intended to stay in an Airbnb while she toured senior complexes to live in, but her doctor told her that if Eiko were to choose to go through with treatment, she could access more affordable temporary accommodations.
Eiko agreed and, after living in Lethbridge since 1988 – the year her family came to Canada from Japan – she moved up to Edmonton and settled into Sorrentino’s Compassion House in June 2023. She was there for nearly 8 months.
One of her housemates was a woman named Jessica who spent four years in Japan teaching English. Eiko bonded with Jessica instantly as they discussed food and culture. That link was cemented more deeply when the two women realized they were also fighting the same type of breast cancer. They went through the side effects of chemo together, including losing their hair.
“That was a bad time, but at the same time, I was so grateful to meet her at Compassion House and share my life with her.”
While at Compassion House, Eiko toured senior complexes, but nothing compared to home and she ultimately decided to move back to Lethbridge after her treatments. Although she isn’t in Edmonton anymore, Eiko looks fondly at the continuous support that Compassion House offered during her stay. “Everybody was wonderful,” she said. “Sometimes I would want to cry because it was so nice.”
A lifelong Buddhist, Eiko has a pragmatic attitude about death and dying. “Everything that is born will die someday, and everything has meaning,” she says. “We don’t know when we’ll die, so every day should be special and a way to enjoy her life.”
