Join The Fight Home
Read more Fighter's Stories

Snap of a glove

Snap of a Glove
Snap of a Glove

I would say that I was a normal 49 year old man that thought that cancer would never happen to me. So I did what most men did and avoid the annual physical that we all should have. That almost cost me my life!

I was a healthy, active 49 year old man that played hockey, golf and ran to stay in shape. I also spent lots of time with my little girl who was 6 months old as my wife travels through the week.

The last thing on my mind was getting cancer. I went to the same doctor that I had seen for a number of years and I always ignore the physical exam that men of my age should have each year. It was purely by luck that things changed and I needed to seek out a new family doctor. This was the first step that I took to save my life.

Once it was determined by this no nonsense doctor, Dr. Andrew Humphrey, that I may have an issue with my prostate, it was off to the other end of my lifeline, my urologist, Dr. Greg Bailly. So my journey into life with cancer began. After more physical exams and biopsy, the call came. I had prostate cancer. Unsure of what to do or think at this point, I asked the doctor what he suggested and it was an easy decision, surgery.

I also found out that I probably had this form of cancer for two years and without outward signs of the disease I would have probably just kept on avoiding the test that most men try to avoid until it would have been too late to do anything about it. I went through surgery to remove the prostate gland in March 2006. During the procedure, they found that the grade of cancer was larger than they originally thought and with the issues that occurred during the surgery they felt that a series of radiation would be the best guarantee to ensure the cancer cells and not me, died a very timely death.

The radiation therapy was hard on my body and on my mind because I felt that once the surgery was done than, I was going to be okay, but after being dropped back into more treatment, your mind begins to play tricks on you. Cancer affects each patient physically and emotionally and both can be difficult to deal with.

There are so many organizations out there that offer support and guidance to patients. It is so important to seek these folks out. I found guidance through friends and family, as they are the other ones that are affected by someone developing cancer. It is through the strength of family and the outstanding medical personnel that I had the honour to have at my side, that I can say that as of March 2009, I am still cancer free!

Now it is my time to do whatever I can to help guide, support and encourage others that early detection is crucial to success and a long life.

 

All active news articles
  • Donate

    Fight cancer by helping to fund cancer research and support.
    Donate Now

  • Volunteer

    Fight cancer by donating your time to save lives.
    Sign Up Now

  • Get Informed

    Fight cancer by outsmarting it. Get informed. Knowledge is power.
    Learn More