Cancer Awareness Month: Brittney Peters' legacy to live on through scholarship
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
Earlier this month, the Face The Storm Scholarship launched in Huron County. It will benefit students within the Avon Maitland District School Board who plan to study in the healthcare field at a post-secondary institution and who, more importantly, embody the personality, work ethic and attitude of the scholarship’s namesake: Brittney Peters.
Brittney is the one who faced the storm in the form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rapid-progression blood and bone marrow cancer that is much more common in children than adults.
Diagnosed in the fall of 2023, Brittney, a native of Blyth and the daughter of Jeff and Janice Peters, immediately stared down a two-and-a-half-year treatment plan that, at its end, only came with what doctors suspected was a 30 per cent chance of survival.
The Citizen sat down with Jeff and Janice over the weekend to look back at Brittney’s fight and how her legacy is living on through her friends and family and the new scholarship.
For about six months prior to her diagnosis, Brittney had been experiencing pain in her shoulder, hip and more. It would come and go, Janice said, but it eventually reached the point of being excruciating, making it difficult for Brittney to get through her daily activities. She still worked, of course, as a Senior Nurse at the North Bay Regional Health Care Centre Critical Care Unit, but was dealing with a great deal of pain.
When she first went to see a doctor, they were a bit stumped as to why she was experiencing the pain she was. They tested for a number of things, but her blood work did not show any indications, but it was after they did a bone biopsy that they discovered the true root of her suffering.
Her initial treatment plan involved a series of protocols before a stem cell transplant. She started with the Dana Farber protocol, which is usually successful in ALL treatment. It included different chemotherapies, including intrathecal chemo and bone marrow biopsies.
Her tests were heading in the right direction and the treatment plan was doing what it was supposed to do, but unfortunately it failed, which then led to Blinatumomab, which ultimately led to Inotuzumab, which unfortunately didn’t kill the cancer cells.
Her last hope of was a stem cell transplant. Each treatment gave glimmers of hope that was followed by intense bone marrow biopsy, lumbar punctures and exhaustion. Brittney initially started her treatment in Sudbury at the Health Science North Cancer Clinic and then was able to receive some treatments at her home hospital in Timmins.
Her last seven months were spent in Ottawa, mostly as an outpatient. Brittney’s family were fortunate to be given accommodations in an apartment where family members could come and go to stay with Brittney. Brittney’s brothers, Justin, Anthony and Alex all were tested for a stem cell match, and luckily, Justin was a perfect match and volunteered to help save his sister’s life. If a match had not been found through her brothers, a match would need to be accessed through the Stem Cell Bank.
Throughout Brittney’s treatment, the Peters family adopted the steadfast buffalo as its inspiration. Drawn from Indigenous stories as the animal that faces the storm when it blows, rather than flees from it, the buffalo became the rallying cry the Peters family needed. Her brother Alex even performed a song he’d written for his sister, based on his concept, at her eventual celebration of life.
It was Brittney’s Uncle Mike, also a doctor there, who first introduced the family to the story. He and his wife Heather, Janice’s sister, had been so close with Brittney, becoming somewhat of a second set of parents for her as she went to school and eventually worked in North Bay, so many hours away from Blyth.
As valiantly and courageously Brittney faced the storm over the course of two years, she passed away peacefully on May 23, 2025, surrounded by the love of her family.
Hundreds made their way through Gateway City Brewery in North Bay on May 31, 2025 for her memorial gathering. Many made the trip from Huron and Bruce Counties, including neighbours from Blyth and some of her dearest friends from Lucknow. The day included touching tributes from her aforementioned uncle, who told stories of both Brittney’s professional and personal life, her fellow North Bay nurses and her brother Anthony, who spoke on behalf of the Peters family ahead of Alex’s poignant musical performance.
It was on the drive back from North Bay that Jeff Elliott, a Blyth native who now lives in Goderich, conceived of the foundation of what has become the Face The Storm Scholarship. A long-time family friend to the Peterses, Elliott wanted to honour Brittney’s legacy in a way and he felt this was it. He began talking to others and the initiative began to take shape.
As the concept has snowballed to include a signature beverage named in her honour at Cowbell Brewing Co. in Blyth, complete with a special launch event, and an Amazing Race-style cycling event set for June 13 in Blyth, Janice says the outpouring of support and love has been humbling. Jeff said that seeing the number of friends, neighbours, community members and service groups come forward and wanting to help has been amazing and they both agree that it’s a fantastic way to honour Brittney’s legacy and to keep who she was in the world so her impact can continue to be felt.
The scholarship is in the final stages of being set up and will be capable of accepting donations soon. Furthermore, registration for the Face The Storm event should open later this month.
The event will include the aforementioned cycling ride and a meal by the Blyth Lions Club for the registered cyclists, as well as a Blyth Kids Club party, live music, drinks and food that will all be open to the public. As details are confirmed and more information is made available, check back with The Citizen or follow the scholarship on Facebook or Instagram.