Client impact in action: Becky’s story
[Sun Life logo]
[Music begins]
[A photo of Becky and her husband hangs on a wall in a family home. Becky points at other hanging photos of her blended family and we see small trinkets around the home.]
BECKY: My husband and I have a blended family. We have nine kids total. We have four that are still living at home. Lots of moving parts, lots of activity. Been a nurse for over 20 years.
SUPER: Becky is a concierge nurse who works with Sun Life Health Navigator, a care navigation and advocacy service.
SUPER FINE PRINT: Becky is a nurse with Commodore Nursing, a vendor partner of Sun Life’s Health Navigator. She received healthcare navigation services from Sun Life as a non-member client.
[Becky sits in a sofa chair and speaks to an interviewer off camera.]
[Becky]
BECKY: I didn't have any symptoms. Um, I, I was tired. Busy life. Um, me being tired with travel and, and you know, coming home with a lot of kids and stuff um, isn’t abnormal. Um, but I just couldn’t seem to shake, you know, the tired feeling.
[Becky sits in her kitchen and speaks indistinctly to her family. The family plays a board game together at the kitchen table.]
[Becky speaks to an interviewer off camera in her living room.]
BECKY: I went into my doctor, wanted him to, you know, run some labs, just make sure everything was okay.
[Becky sits on a living room couch with a young girl in her family and they smile and talk.]
[Becky speaks once again in her interview chair and holds back tears.]
BECKY: That's when they found an irregularity, um, on my kidney. They told me don't worry about it. It's benign. The next CT scan and that's when they found the tumor.
BECKY: Chemo would start that Friday. Um, and it was a 20% chance of survival for the next year. What about my kids? About my husband? He told me it was benign, and this is a malignant life-changing tumor. Um, how did they miss it?
SUPER: Becky was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.
SUPER: She was connected to the expert team at Health Navigator who helped her seek a second opinion.
[Dr. Varn sits in a lounge area and speaks to interviewers off camera.]
[Dr. Miles Varn Chief Medical Officer Sun Life U.S.]
DR. MILES VARN: As much as we'd like to believe medicine is a pure science, it's not. No matter what the end result is, you want to make sure you've got the right diagnosis. And that's why second opinions are so critical. She needed this highly toxic chemotherapy. We're talking about 5 days inpatient every 3 weeks. I just can't imagine. I really can't to have to go home and tell your kids this. So, at that point I said all right we need, um, a specialized oncologist who sees nothing but sarcoma or soft tissue tumors, and I, I believe you know, the Dana Farber would be a good spot for that.
[Dr. Varn sits at a table, working on a tablet with a female colleague speaking with and assisting him.]
DR. MILES VARN: My great team got everything organized so that when Becky got there they had all her records her images they had the pathology and move forward with an expert second opinion.
[Becky speaks to an interviewer off camera from her living room chair.]
BECKY: Dr. Varn was amazing. He joined in via telephone whenever I was at the appointment, asks all the right questions that I couldn't ask. We go in and see the, the doctor in Boston and he understands, you know, because he has all of my records from Dr. Varn and said it was just a displaced ovary. Um, that there was no, the cancer had not spread. I didn't need chemo. I didn't need, um, a port placed. That I was going to be okay.
[Becky stands in her kitchen as a young girl in her family gives her a hug as they speak indistinctly. We see Becky in her interview chair once again.]
BECKY: You can't put that into words. you know, just the value of that second opinion. If I would have listened to the first two, if, if I would have listened to the radiologist, um, I would have gotten unnecessary chemo. And it's just, it's unfathomable, you know, that, that that that can happen. Having that peace of mind that Dr. Varn gave. I was able to take time for myself, focus on myself and my health and my family. It means life can keep going. It doesn't have to stop with the diagnosis because I have a team of people behind me that I'm not alone.
[Sun Life logo]
SUPER: Learn more about the impact of second opinions and other Health Navigator services. sunlife.com/explorehealthnav
[Music ends]
Becky is used to living at full speed.
As a nurse for more than 20 years, she’s spent her career caring for others. At home, life is just as full. She and her husband are raising a blended family of nine children, with four still living under their roof. There’s always something happening, someone needing something, somewhere to be.
Busy isn’t new. Which is why, when she started feeling tired, it didn’t stand out. It felt like life.
When everything changes in an instant
What began as a routine check quickly became something else. An irregularity. A scan. Then another. And suddenly, Becky was being told a very different story, one that came with a life-altering diagnosis, an urgent treatment plan, and a timeline that would shake anyone: aggressive chemotherapy, starting within days, and a slim chance of survival.
In that moment, everything narrowed. Not to the diagnosis but to the people she loved most. Amid the shock and urgency, Becky turned to Sun Life for support unsure of what would come next, but knowing she needed someone in her corner.
The moment Sun Life stepped in
Through Sun Life, Becky was connected with a care team focused on helping her navigate the situation, not just react to it. Instead of rushing forward, they helped create space to pause. To understand. To make sure the path she was being set on was the right one.
With Sun Life coordinating and advocating on her behalf, Becky’s full medical history – her scans, records and pathology – were gathered and shared with a highly specialized oncologist who deals exclusively with rare and complex tumors.
It was a critical step: getting the right expertise, at the right time. And it was made possible by having a team dedicated to guiding her through the system.
A different truth emerges
In a quiet moment, far removed from the urgency of those first conversations, Becky heard something she hadn’t expected.
The diagnosis was different. There was no spreading cancer. No need for chemotherapy. No need for the treatment that had, only days earlier, felt inevitable. With the right expertise and a complete picture of her case, Becky’s path forward changed entirely.
“I didn’t need chemo. I didn’t need a port. I was going to be okay.”
The relief was overwhelming. But so was the realization. Without that second look, without someone pushing for answers, her story could have been very different.
The impact of that moment isn’t measured in what was avoided. It’s measured in what was preserved. Time with her children. Moments with her family that didn’t have to pause. The ability to focus on her health without fear defining every step.
With Sun Life helping her navigate uncertainty, Becky was able to step forward with clarity, not just relief, but confidence in the decisions that had been made.
“It means life can keep going,” she says. “It doesn’t have to stop.”
Not just support…advocacy
For Becky, the experience changed how she sees care.
It wasn’t just about access to medical expertise. It was about having someone actively advocating for her, asking the questions she couldn’t, challenging assumptions, and making sure every option was explored.
That advocacy made all the difference. Because in moments like this, certainty isn’t just clinical. It’s knowing you’ve done everything possible to get the right answer. It’s having the confidence to move forward without second-guessing. And it’s knowing you’re not facing it alone.
Helping Clients find clarity when it matters most
At Sun Life, we believe supporting Clients means more than helping them respond to life’s challenges. It means helping shape the outcome.
By connecting Clients to specialized expertise, coordinating care, and advocating every step of the way, we help bring clarity to complex situations so Clients can make informed decisions with confidence.
Because when it matters most, the impact of that support goes beyond a diagnosis.
It’s in what we help people hold on to.
