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Featured Survivor Story

Ottawa is one of the most beautiful cities in the world but, in the winter is in a class all of her own. There are popular cross country ski trails and skating rinks filled with the sounds of future NHLers honing their skills. The Rideau Canal, the world's longest skating rink is a whirl of beautiful families, bubbling youth and enthusiastic energy. The streets are filled with salt stained cars and frost reddened noses.

In March of 2007, I was a 27 year old man enjoying all that winter had to offer. I was in love with a beautiful young woman with whom I could share each day. I loved my new job. The world was my oyster. 

What should have been one of the happiest winters of my life was suddenly, stunningly and without compassion, turned upside down and rendered unrecognizable with one little telephone call to inform me that a nodule on my thyroid, which I had reported during a routine visit to my doctor the week before, was in fact cancer. Remember, over 99% of thyroid nodules are not cancerous.  

I immediately phoned my Dad. He and I, telephones apart, shared a stunned silence. I knew then that the road ahead was not going to be the "Yellow Brick Road". What followed was a series of treatments, surgery and medical isolation. None of it pleasant, all of it necessary. 

Looking back on my journey with Thyroid Cancer, I think that the hardest thing of all is not the treatment but the "knowing" and "not knowing enough". First and foremost the shock of knowing that you have cancer is something akin to drowning. Your mind reels with disbelief, doubts, fear and anger. How can it happen to you, why to you for God's sake?  I am too young, too busy, too everything to have this silent and deadly body mate. You seem to drown in a million eddies of doubt. Then begins the realization that although you have always heard of others with cancer, maybe you've had family and friends who have suffered and maybe even died of the disease, you as an individual know almost nothing about it. The "not knowing enough" becomes even more fearsome and powerful then the "knowing". 

Let me offer that my experience suggested that the "knowing you have cancer" phase was, in the main, something that I fought through on my own - in a manner of speaking. I believe that every one of us will find a different path, use different crutches and find different solutions through this phase. It took me a long time, longer than most maybe. It was the doctor that was going to perform my surgery that finally brought closure to my personal fears and answers to my questions. A completely professional doctor, with a reassuring and professional approach, he quickly and wholly convinced me to put my life in his hands and that although there are always risks, my chances for a complete recovery were high and imminently probable.

There are a few hundred new cases of thyroid cancer each year in Canada and about 20,000 cases in the United States. Females are more likely to have thyroid cancer at a ratio of three to one. Thyroid cancer can occur in any age group, although it is most common after age 30 and its aggressiveness increases significantly in older patients. The shock of finding out that you are now numbered in this statistic might be the hardest thing to come to grip with.

As for the "Not knowing enough about cancer" well, I think we all fall into that category until and unless we find ourselves needing to know. All I can say here is thank you for the information age, thank you for the internet. There is a ton of information available on cancer, the causes, prevention, research, operations and treatments and the post-operative phase. There are support groups, professionals in treatment centers and thousands of survivors willing to share their story. 

If you or someone you know and love is dealing with their own cancer journey, use everything and everyone that can add to your own sense of understanding and well being. It helps to know that real people with real problems just like yours are out there and ready and willing to help. It helps to know that you are not alone and that others have walked the path before you. It may take a bit of nerve and a little practice but you will learn to ask and keep asking until you are satisfied that you have the answers and the information that you feel comfortable with.

Today I am a cancer survivor!  I am one of the lucky ones. I have been through my journey and I know so much more then I ever wanted to know. The experience has opened my eyes in many ways and I know that, maybe in some small way, I am in a position to offer something unique to someone else. 

David Laforge is an Ottawa resident and 1 year cancer survivor.