Raphaëlle Tousignant won’t let breast cancer diagnosis halt 2026 Paralympic pursuit

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 2:45 PM EST | Last Updated: November 5

Para hockey subordinate Raphaëlle Tousignant, the archetypal pistillate to play for Canada successful a large planetary competition, says she has been diagnosed with bosom cancer.

"I ne'er thought I would accidental those words again — not now, not anytime soon. But beingness has its ain plans," she wrote successful an Instagram station connected Tuesday. "About a week ago, I was diagnosed with bosom cancer.

"I've been present before. I've faced challenges connected and disconnected the crystal that person shaped maine into the idiosyncratic I americium today. I've learned however to autumn and basal backmost up. I've learned however to respire done symptom and clasp connected to hope. And this combat won't beryllium immoderate different."

When she was 10 years old, Tousignant's limb was amputated owed to bony cancer.

The guardant from Terrebonne, Que., made the Canadian women's Para hockey squad astatine 14, rapidly becoming 1 of the program's apical players, and successful 2023 was the archetypal pistillate named to Canada's nationalist squad for a satellite championship.

WATCH | 'I needed caller challenges,' Tousignant says of making Para hockey history:

Now 23, Tousignant was aiming to beryllium the archetypal pistillate Para hockey subordinate to vie for Canada successful the Paralympics astatine the 2026 Games successful Milan-Cortina, Italy, successful March.

Para hockey astatine the Paralympics is technically mixed gender, but lone 3 women (two for Norway, 1 for China) person played successful the Games contempt teams being allowed to summation their rosters from 17 to 18 players to adhd a woman.

Despite her diagnosis, Tousignant says it's a imagination she'll inactive chase.

"These adjacent months were expected to beryllium the last propulsion toward the Games, a accidental to gain my spot. And I'm not going to fto this halt me," she said. "I don't cognize if it's realistic oregon adjacent imaginable anymore. And honestly, I don't privation to cognize close now. What I bash cognize is that each workout and each crystal clip has a caller meaning. They're my fuel. My focus. My 'why.'

"Who knows however it volition each unfold, but I volition cognize that I tried until the precise past 2nd to marque my imagination reality.”

Tousignant besides helped Canada triumph metallic astatine the inaugural satellite women's Para hockey championships successful Dolný Kubín, Slovakia successful August.

"This is different section successful my communicative -- not the full story, not the extremity of it," she said. "I'm taking this 1 time astatine a time, surrounded by love, strength, and a occurrence that hasn't gone out."