Heading into her second year at Western, Hilary Bruce had a lot to look forward to – living off campus with friends, continuing her studies in integrated science and returning to the pool as a Mustang varsity athlete.
After training hard all summer, she was ready to dive in.
But her first few swims in the early fall of 2021 raised an alarm.
Hilary Bruce (Western Athletics)
“As an athlete, you’re taught to listen and be in tune with your body. I knew something was wrong because I just felt awful,” Bruce said.
The exhaustion and nagging cough that started as she wrapped up O-week as an off-campus orientation leader persisted three weeks later.
Her shoulder and face became swollen, her chest a map of pronounced veins.
A scan in the emergency room at University Hospital in Bruce’s hometown of London, Ont. showed a 10-centimetre mass in her chest.
“It was restricting my blood flow. That’s why my face was swollen, because when I laid down, all the blood would pool there. It was the same with all the veins in my chest. My vessels were rerouting because they couldn’t follow their normal path.”
Further tests confirmed Bruce had non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a disease in which malignant (cancerous) cells develop in the lymph system.
“It was terrible and devastating news,” she said. “I felt like my life was over.”
The moment marked the start of a journey that presented the toughest challenges Bruce had ever faced and uncovered new strengths she didn’t know she had.
‘Positive moments in terrible times’
Hilary Bruce received her first round of chemotherapy in hospital and the following rounds at home. (Submitted)
Bruce was admitted into the hospital, where she received her first round of chemotherapy. As part of a pilot program, she took the remaining targeted aggressive treatments at home.
Wearing a portable pump, Bruce underwent six rounds of chemotherapy over a five-day period, a cycle she would repeat every three weeks for the next five months.
“It was brutal and the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.
As Bruce weakened more and more physically between treatments, her self-image also waned.
“I had no sense of who I was anymore, because I always identified as a varsity athlete and suddenly, I wasn’t,” she said. “I thought I’d likely never swim again, or at least, not at the level I once did.”
Bruce’s family and friends saw her through her darker days. Her mother was an “incredible support,” taking her to appointments, arranging a getaway close to home and keeping friends close.
“My mom really helped me find positive moments during terrible times,” Bruce said.
It was wisdom she came to rely on once she finished her treatments in February 2022 and as she slowly returned to student life.
While studying integrated science with a specialization in biology, Hilary Bruce (above, first lane) represented Western in backstroke on the women’s Mustangs swimming team. (Submitted)
‘Get back up’: Modelling her swim team motto
With the help of her friends and doing schoolwork when she felt well enough, Bruce had kept up with her studies in integrated science.
“I actually did a lot of reading at the hospital because there was always lots of sitting around in waiting rooms,” she said.
Hilary Bruce keeping up with course readings while undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (Submitted)
But she knew she didn’t have the strength to resume her regular times in the pool.
Ripe with imposter syndrome and impending guilt for “taking up a lane and a seat on the bus,” Bruce recalled meeting with swimming coach Paul Midgley with plans to withdraw from the team.
“I told him, ‘You don’t want me, I can’t keep up.’”
But Midgley, a 1976 Olympian and eight-time Ontario University Athletics Coach of the Year, saw the bigger picture.
“In swimming you need an anchor, something you can look forward to and use to measure your progress,” Midgley said. “I told Hilary there was no time limit on her recovery and there was no expectation for her to perform as she had. The goal for the next two years was for her to just try to be better today than she was the day before.”
Bruce accepted the challenge and embraced it fully – once she adjusted her own expectations.
“That first season back was hard, physically, because I couldn’t keep up with high-level athletes and it reminded me of how far I had fallen,” she said. “But I was lucky. The team was so supportive and amazing that I found a new passion for being the best teammate, instead of trying to be the best swimmer.”
Her resilience inspired the team, who named her co-captain for the following year.
“They chose Hilary because they recognized her leadership qualities,” Midgley said. “They saw her courage, perseverance and character.”
They also saw her model the team motto.
“’Get back up’ is the theme of our program,” Midgley said. “You fall seven times, you get up eight. Hilary lived that, which helped put her teammates’ individual wins and losses in perspective.”
Hilary Bruce (right) served as 2024-25 co-chair of Western Relay for Life with Ivey HBA student Alaina Chowen. (Submitted)
A renewed sense of self through Western Relay for Life
Bruce also displayed leadership when she accepted an invitation to share her survivor story at Western Relay for Life events, to help raise awareness and in support for research funded by the Canadian Cancer Society.
She initially felt uncomfortable about sharing details of her journey with strangers.
But her feelings of gratitude were greater.
“I got involved because cancer research saved my life and allowed me to live like I never thought possible on the other side,” she said. “I wanted everyone to have that chance.”
The decision played a pivotal part in Bruce recovering her sense of self.
“Sharing my story was a positive experience for me. It gave me a way to talk about what I had been going through without feeling weird or uncomfortable,” she said. “I was also surprised by how engaged and thoughtful people were and how they cared about what I had to say, asking me how to support family members going through cancer treatments.”
“At first, I wanted to put this experience behind me and never talk about my cancer. I now understand there’s great power in sharing our struggles. It brings hope and validates the pain of people presently going through the same thing.” – Hilary Bruce, Western Class of 2025 and 2024-25 co-chair, Western Relay for Life
The experience inspired Bruce to become a volunteer on the Western Relay for Life committee. This past year, she served as co-chair, helping to rally the Western community, including her swimming teammates, to raise a record-breaking $106,000. That total brought Western’s 20-year Relay for Life contributions to more than $1 million.
It was a highlight of Bruce’s Western experience, as was her last season in the pool, where she posted times close to what she achieved prior to her illness.
“That was really exciting and a good way to end my swimming career,” she said.
Bruce graduates from Western on the dean’s list, a spot she maintained throughout her undergrad and illness.
As she reflects on a journey where she achieved more than she “ever thought possible,” she counts valuing relationships and the power of finding positive moments in terrible times among her most important lessons.
She’s also learned not to get too far ahead of herself when the waters get rough.
“When things feel overwhelming, it’s really best to take things one step – one appointment, scan or treatment – at a time.”
Hilary Bruce is one of 8,000+ Western students graduating this week during spring convocation, joining the global network of 372,000 alumni around the world. Read more of Western News’ convocation coverage.
