Today, Ottawa-based Nashville recording artist (and my childhood friend) Arlene Queen released her single "Wonder Woman." It's an uplifting song, with powerful messages, powerful vocals and powerful music. Arlene recorded this celebration of resilience as a tribute to her sister Cheryl, who recently (and successfully) underwent treatment for breast cancer.

I cried when I heard it, just as I had cried when I heard Helen Reddy sing "I Am Woman" in her biopic of the same name, which I watched while receiving my third chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer. When Reddy sang "If I have to, I can do anything / I am strong / I am invincible / I am woman" big tears rolled down my cheeks.

Similarly, today, I cried as I listened to Arlene deliver the inspirational chorus of "Wonder Woman":

Do you ever wonder

How the hell you're standing now

After all the things that let you down

Didn't drag you under

Never thought you'd make it through

Did you, did you

It's been anything but easy

Carrying the weight around

Hey girl, you know who's got your back now

All over again, would you do it the same?

Do you ever wonder, woman

Knowing that Arlene's song is a tribute to Cheryl, someone whose life has intersected with mine on several occasions, made the song all the more poignant.

I went to the same elementary school as Cheryl, Arlene and their sister Karen—three incredible women. When I was in grade 8 and Cheryl was in kindergarten, I used to read with her on the bus. Years later, our paths would cross again as we found ourselves working in the same organizations within the Canadian public service. In 2020, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and, a few years later, Cheryl was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cheryl supported me, and I supported her.

But the moment that stands out the most for me was the night I called Cheryl from The Ottawa Hospital after an infection had taken hold in one of my breast implants following my bilateral mastectomy to avoid breast cancer. As I lay in the hospital bed, knowing that the problematic implant would be removed within hours, I was feeling pretty glum. I reached out to Cheryl. She spent more than an hour with me on the phone—listening, empathizing and sharing her experience. Her wisdom soothed my soul at a time I needed it. She was my Wonder Woman that night.

In her song, Arlene sings: "If you wanna find a hero, you gotta look in the mirror." This is true. Every person who has faced cancer, and put in the painful work to overcome it, is a hero. But Arlene also sings of knowing who's got your back now. Indeed, when I look in the mirror, I see hundreds of faces—people who accompanied me on my own journey to overcome cancer.

You can listen to "Wonder Woman" on Spotify, watch the song's official video on YouTube, and purchase the single on iTunes. Arlene is donating all proceeds of the sale of "Wonder Woman" to the Canadian Cancer Society for breast cancer research. Like her sister, Arlene is a Wonder Woman.