“I thought I’d be more depressed,” says man with colorectal cancer
Christine-Maria Bogatin doesn’t want her cancer to define her.
The 70-year-old St. Albertan describes himself as a “very healthy sick man.” She avoids highly processed foods, doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol, and is even careful not to use cosmetics that may contain carcinogens.
When she was diagnosed last fall, she wasn’t scared. In fact, it brought some relief. For her four years before receiving her diagnosis, she had suffered bouts of pneumonia and was hospitalized. She had severe neutropenia, which reduced the number of certain white blood cells, which left her with newborn-like immunity.
Doctors thought she might have a rare immune system disease. But last November, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer that interferes with the life cycle of certain white blood cells, causing them to accumulate in the body. Cancer can also cause tumors in the body.
“I’m really happy to be here,” Bogatin said. “I think when people hear the word ‘cancer,’ they immediately give up on themselves or that a loved one has cancer.”
Since her diagnosis, Bogatin’s immune system has improved to the point where she can safely go out in public again, and she has started seeing her family more often.
“Just naming it made a difference,” she says.
She is currently undergoing treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.
“Never give up on someone,” she said. “There’s a lot of good science, a lot of good medicine, and there are really good experts taking care of it.”
Bogatin has aggressive lymphoma, which spreads more slowly than its aggressive counterpart. After diagnosis of low-grade lymphoma, patients can live for many years.
“Cancer doesn’t have to be scary,” she said.
In addition to trying to stay physically healthy, Bogatin finds solace in his faith.
“I’m a fallen Catholic, but I’ve been coming back to my faith for the last three or four years, and I have to say that my faith has helped me,” she said.
For 39-year-old Robert Sauve, the diagnosis was a shock. He remembers wondering how someone his age could face colorectal cancer.
“Overall, I felt pretty healthy,” he said. He had noticed blood in his stool, which he attributed to the stress of being a single parent and experiencing separation. Additionally, his doctor told him years ago that he had irritable bowel syndrome.
He went for a colonoscopy in hopes of finding out that the blood was from his hemorrhoids.
But instead, doctors discovered three polyps and a mass. The mass was probably cancerous.
Doctors told Sauve that she was lucky to have caught it early and that it was curable, but they still don’t know exactly what stage her cancer is.
He was diagnosed with cancer last November and will begin the fifth cycle of six rounds of chemotherapy this month.
“If you had told me a year and a half ago, ‘You’re going to be diagnosed with cancer when you’re 38,’ I think I would have been even more depressed,” Sauve said. “But it’s kind of the opposite. I’m much more optimistic about it.”
Sometimes I have to cancel plans to cook for friends because of the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Also, due to nerve damage in the hands caused by chemotherapy, touching cold objects can cause shock.
“But I think it’s pretty manageable,” he said.
His 4-year-old son likes to ask him questions about treatment. And his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter is interested in the port, a device that is attached to his chest and used to help administer cancer drugs.
“It’s a difficult time right now, but I’m looking forward to seeing how my life will be different after cancer,” he said.
He had to “temper himself” with some thoughts, including the fact that the surgery would remove part of his digestive system and could have long-term effects.
Life will eventually get better, he said, but it will never be 100 percent the same.
“I feel like I can get through this. At the end of the day, I’m going to live with this experience for the rest of my life,” he said. “I’m really grateful that I caught it early. If I ignored the symptoms for even a few more months, no one would ever know.”
“Don’t ignore what you think is wrong,” he said. “And sometimes you advocate for yourself when you see something is wrong.”
Sauve was told she would have to wait until January to get a colonoscopy, but when she realized her symptoms were getting worse, she insisted on getting one sooner.
“Doctors are busy, so a second opinion is often needed, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said.
April is Cancer Awareness Month, or Daffodil Month. This month, we raise support for cancer research and cancer support services. It encourages Canadians to think about the thousands of people currently living with cancer across the country and the thousands more who have died.
The Canadian Cancer Society Daffodil campaign To fund cancer research and clinical trials and support people living with cancer.
