Do It For Your Buddy

Promoting Colon Cancer Awareness

My dad was a loving husband, father, brother, and friend to many.

His entire life he was very cautious about what he ate, always mindful of both the quantity and quality of food he consumed. He very much enjoyed his veggies, making a conscious effort to eat plenty of "cancer-fighting" foods. His typical day included running 3+ miles at lunch, with a combination of swimming, treadmill, and weightlifting at home every evening. He was extremely proud of the fact that he had never had a cigarette in his mouth, and only drank alcohol on occasion in social settings. He definitely loved his chocolate, but always handled it with moderation.

He was a very successful executive vice president and chief actuary for a global reinsurance company. His work was frequently stressful, but his passion for what he did always seemed to overcome adversity. He was all the more passionate about his devotion to his church, and frequently made a point of volunteering his time and talents to helping those less fortunate. Always one to live life to its fullest, he frequently traveled, played bridge and poker with his friends, enjoyed going out with dinner groups and to the movies... he simply worked hard and played hard!

His behaviors and lifestyle were the ideal picture of an active, healthy adult... or so you would think.

Then in May of 2002, at the very young age of 54, a colonoscopy led to the discovery that he had stage-4 colon cancer. Unfortunately his employer had stopped requiring yearly physicals just a few years prior, and he had even previously undergone a couple of sigmoidoscopies (which do not allow for viewing of the upper colon where his cancer was). At the point he was diagnosed, the doctors suspected he had the cancer for at least two years.

Please understand, he had no symptoms, and no family history of colon cancer!

He underwent chemotherapy, and looked for new or experimental drug trials, but none were available. Unfortunately, a mere six months after being diagnosed, 600+ people attended his funeral.

Should he have eaten differently? Should he have been exercising even more? Was his job too stressful? The sad and scary part is... we will never know. All we do know is that if the cancer had been detected sooner, my dad could still be here. Early detection is the only possible key to successfully treating and beating this horrific disease.

I beg you... talk with your doctor, commit to regular check-ups, and make your health a priority.