Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1151081
38 CINEMONTAGE / Q3 2019 alone. My supervisor, who led the screenings, always cane up with little activities to make it fun. I liked to think he knew how difficult it was for me and this was his way of cheering me up. Sometimes we would each make an animal sound, play a guessing game or scream as loud as we could since we were in a soundproof room. After the third treatment (about four months after the job started), I was scanned. Mostly everyone on the crew knew by now, so we all waited for the results — which was a 100 percent clean bill of health. They planned a surprise champagne (!) celebration for me that Friday night after work. I was a bit embarrassed, not wanting to make a big deal of it, but extremely touched by the support. The next nine weeks to complete the treatment were a breeze, knowing that I was cancer-free. I completed it two months before the end of the job and took a well-deserved break before starting my next gig. I haven't told many other work colleagues through the past seven years what I had gone through because part of me did not want to be reminded of that and part of me was afraid I would not get hired again. There is a stigma attached to people who have been "sick." I hope my story will inspire others to be brave, to push on and hopefully to have as great results as I did. There was an interesting aspect of my working on Spider- Man while undergoing treatment for cancer. Like the superhero's alter-ego, Peter Parker, I too had to struggle between my ordinary obligations (doing the job required of me as a 3D editor, earning money to help support my family, making enough hours to keep our health insurance that was so important for my treatments) and the extraordinary responsibilities I faced doing all that while also being treated aggressively for a potentially life-threatening disease. I never wanted to give up on either my job or my treatments. I have always been strong physically and emotionally. My early maturity and self-reliance taught me not to give up and to fight for the things I wanted. I have always been independent and did not want that taken away by being defeated. So I chose to do both. And I'm glad I did Spider- Man on chemo. f The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Columbia Pictures Linda Sundlin and her husband, Ray.