This Quebec woman has incurable Stage 4 cancer. It hasn't stopped her from making an epic trek

Opening a care basket at the Dosquet community centre 50 kilometres southwest of Quebec City, Maureen Vachon broke down, reading the messages of support from volunteers who welcomed her on one of her last stops as part of her end-of-life walk across the province.

"My goodness this is too kind," said Vachon, as she wiped a tear. "I've never experienced such sympathy and empathy as I do now."

Vachon is on her fourth pair of running shoes and has walked more than 2,000 kilometres.

All alone, equipped only with a backpack, walking poles and her phone, she's been on the road since April 24, livestreaming her journey to hundreds of friends — and strangers — across the province who've become invested in her story.

In 2019, Vachon was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her bones and her lymph nodes. Earlier this year, she made the call to get out of the hospital and go on one last trip.

"After 52 rounds of treatments, I was really tired," said Vachon. "I felt like I had become a bit of a statistic and I didn't feel like myself anymore. I didn't feel like Maureen."

Her sister brought up the Chemin du Québec — a walking route that connects Montreal with the Gaspé peninsula. It is a North American version of the Camino de Santiago: a long route meant to be a spiritual pilgrimage.

"I thought 'Wow, this type of trail exists, I could travel all the way to Cap-Gaspé by foot.' I fell in love with the idea. I decided 'Okay, this is what I'll do to get a beautiful end of life.'"

Chemin du Québec confirmed to CBC that Vachon is the first person to complete the whole trail, to Cap-Gaspé and back. As of now — with Vachon stopped in Princeville, Que. — they say she has already travelled more kilometres than anyone else.

"I'm the first," says Vachon, adding that, from the start, she had prepared herself for a physically taxing journey

"The backpack was about half-full and I said to myself 'Okay you have to be able to do at least 25 kilometres with it.'"

Raising money for palliative care

Walking upward of 15 kilometres a day, rain or shine, Vachon has raised over $12,000 for Maison Saint-Raphaël, a palliative care home in Montreal where she hopes to spend her final days.

"We're so happy that she's done that," said Olivia Lévêque, executive director at the facility.

"Not only for the fundraising part, of course we really need [that], but it's also the message that she's giving."

Lévêque says some people have started their own walk or initiative after being inspired by Vachon's journey.

"She's always saying 'I'm living now.' So that's the message that we're telling every person that comes here: It's so important to live. You're not a disease," said Lévêque.

'We're trying to encourage her even though we don't know her'

On the road, Vachon is kept company by followers on her Facebook page, some of whom have opened up their homes and shared meals with the 53-year-old as she passes through town.

"It was just by accident that I saw her on Facebook," said Josée Turcotte, a resident of Saint-Agapit, Que.

"I told myself I'll follow her so that I get to experience a bit of what it might be like to walk this trail. It also made me want to help because cancer affects everyone. My mom and other members of my family died from cancer."

Every morning, eating her breakfast, Turcotte checks Vachon's progress.

"Maureen tells us where she is going," said Turcotte. "So I'm thinking of her… We're trying to encourage her even though we don't know her."

On Sunday, Turcotte joined Vachon to walk 20 kilometres toward her home in Saint-Agapit.

"It was like we were good friends. We talked about everything under the sun," said Turcotte.

"I was on Cloud 9 because it was a goal of mine to walk some of this trail and then to share it with her."

Turcotte says she was honoured to experience just a part of what Vachon has been through over the past few months.

"Toward the end, I shared her pain, because after 15 kilometres, you start to feel a little sore all over," said Turcotte.

"[But] you're walking with a woman who has cancer all over. And so my legs start to hurt… But she's going to leave tomorrow with these aches and pains."

'I wanted to end my days as they began'

Vachon says support from strangers-turned-friends like Turcotte has overwhelmed her and in her final months, she hopes to be able to return to parts of the region she's been exploring.

"I gave myself the greatest gift," said Vachon.

"I didn't see myself — I couldn't see myself — dying in a hospital or a CHSLD. I wanted to end my days as they began, in dignity… Because the first steps are as important as the last."