I love you dad
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
By: Misty Charlebois

My family's journey with cancer began unexpectedly in early 2008.

My family's journey with cancer began unexpectedly in early 2008.

My dad had always been a symbol of strength and health, until the day we received the news that would turn our world upside down. He was an active forty-seven year old man. He always watched what he ate, only drank socially and never smoked a day in his life. He exercised regularly, and always outran me!

Not feeling just "right", my dad had been consulting with our family doctor prior to the holidays. They ran multiple tests and found nothing. During Christmas 2007 celebrations, my father still wasn't feeling his best and had started to grow a visible bulge in his abdomen. He simply thought he was gaining weight and he put it off as aging.

Finally in February, my father returned to the doctor, and found out there was a mass growing in his abdomen. The doctor reassured my dad and told him that it was probably Hodgkin's Disease. A biopsy of the mass was done and proved to be less promising. A couple of weeks later we got the results.

In March 2008, just over one year ago, I received the worst possible news of my life. My dad was diagnosed with stage 3 Leiomyosarcoma [LMS] cancer. He had a tumour the size of basketball growing in the soft muscle tissue of his abdomen.

LMS is one of the rarest types of cancer. Statistics show that one-in-a-million people will get this type of cancer. The only place in Canada that treats such cases is the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in Toronto. The oncologists in Toronto had to call upon specialists in the United States for further information on how to treat this rare type of cancer.

My dad's prognosis was not very hopeful. His treatment began with five days of 24 hour chemotherapy for six sessions with twenty one days of rest in between. Luckily, he was able to get treatment in Sudbury. By the third session, his weight had gone from 170 lbs to 119 lbs. Once the chemotherapy sessions where complete, he had a two month respite. In September the next step was six weeks of radiation, which took place in at the PMH. By the time treatment was done, the tumour reduced to half its original size. Prognosis was looking much better.

February 5, 2009 was the big day! For 14 long hours, a team of three highly specialized surgeons, countless interns and nurses worked to remove the remaining tumour. During the procedure they removed 1 ft of the large intestine, half the duodenum, the gallbladder, right kidney, spleen, appendix, part of the stomach, reconstructed 5 ins of the vena cave and most importantly, removed a malignant mass measuring 18 cm in diameter.

Today he is still recovering from the surgery, taking baby steps one day at a time. He has suffered a few minor setbacks resulting from infections and has had to battle the pains of such an invasive surgery.
One year ago Ricky Charlebois made a promise to us, and more importantly himself that this would not defeat him. He would fight!!

Today this friend, brother, son, partner, and dad is on his way to being CANCER FREE!!

My dad has long been a source of great strength and love. He is to me the very essence of courage. I would like to be able to say that this experience has taught me how to cherish each day, to speak kind words and to appreciate those you love, but my dad taught me those things long before this journey. He is one of my dearest friends, and I know everyday that I have been blessed to share my life with such a wonderful dad.