Figure skater Piper Gilles grateful for positive response to cancer recovery

When Piper Gilles publicly disclosed that she had recovered from ovarian cancer, she was worried that there would be some backlash from fans.

She said in an Instagram video on Sunday that she and her team had decided to keep her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment private until after the figure skating world championships in March because she didn’t want it to be a distraction for her or ice dancing partner Paul Poirier. But now that her recovery is public knowledge, the positive reaction has been overwhelming.

“I feel so moved by all of the people that have reached out,” said Gilles on Wednesday. “I’ve heard sad stories, I’ve had people thanking me for talking about it, I’ve heard great stories where they were detected early enough and had treatment and been cured.

“I’ve heard everything in between. All positive though, no negative.”

Her concern heading into Sunday’s announcement was that fans would see her as dishonest for withholding the full story because she prides herself on living her life as authentically as possible.

“Gosh, it’s been so lovely and I just appreciate people being so open and supportive of me not saying the full truth yet,” said Gilles, from Winnipeg where she is performing with Stars on Ice. “That was my biggest worry, that people would be like ‘Oh, she lied to us,’ or whatever. But they’ve all been so supportive.”

Gilles and Poirier started the 2022-23 figure skating season strong, winning gold at Skate Canada in October, the Grand Prix of Espoo in November, and the Grand Prix Final in December. They then took a medical leave of absence so Gilles could address her cancer, and returned to win bronze at the world championships in Saitama, Japan, in late March.

WATCH | Gilles, Poirier win bronze in ice dance at worlds:

Canada’s Poirier and Gilles win ice dance bronze at worlds in Japan

The Canadian pair held their third place standing to hit the podium following the free dance program.

The 31-year-old Gilles said she waited to disclose her diagnosis because she needed time to digest it emotionally, especially as her mother died from cancer.

As it worked out, she was able to make her announcement a day before World Ovarian Cancer Day.

“It just happened to align and it was the perfect timing,” said Gilles. “I don’t know how the universe worked that way but it did and I’m just so happy that was that was the time to do it.

“I didn’t want it to be a ‘Poor me’ story, I wanted it to be uplifting, I’m OK. I’m happy.”

Gilles added that 75 per cent of people don’t discover that they have ovarian cancer until it’s at Stage 3 or Stage 4 and therefore much harder to treat.

“I got lucky to have early detection,” said Gilles. “So let’s figure out a way to talk about this more and bring awareness and now’s the perfect time for it.”