Barrie woman awarded for work with children fighting cancer

A Barrie woman is among 40 people under 40 across North America being honoured for her work with children fighting cancer.

Jocelyn Leworthy is the child, youth and family coordinator at Gilda's Club Simcoe Muskoka in Barrie.

She received the 40 Under 40 in Cancer award presented by the Lynx Group, given to those who have shown excellence in the field of cancer support.

"It's an honour to work with families and be with them during the most challenging times of their lives," Leworthy said. "It's pretty humbling."

In her role at the Gilda's Club, Leworthy takes an approach tailored to young children when explaining their unique situation.

She uses props and performs a medical play to make kids more comfortable during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appointments.

"It gives them some predictability and allows them to process things," Leworthy said. "This is so much fun for them. It allows them to understand that MRI's can be really loud."

These types of methods are why Gilda's Club nominated her for the award.

"So many people in life are searching for what they are meant to do, and I feel so fortunate to be able to have someone who knows what she loves doing and is genuinely amazing," said Aaron Lutes, Gilda's Club's executive director.

Although honoured and appreciative of the award, Leworthy said being able to make a difference in children's lives is a reward in itself.

"It's something that I don't feel I need acknowledgement for because it's such a rewarding job," Leworthy said.

Gilda's Club provides free support groups to help reduce the distress caused by the disease.