Beating Colon Cancer

CEBU, Philippines - Thirty-eight-year-old Norman Gerali gets teary eyed as he shares his struggles, battling the dreaded colon cancer.

Gerali, a hardworking husband and father of three (16, 15, and 10 years old), took time to pay attention to symptoms of cancer that have been bothering him for quite a while. Being the sole breadwinner, he was preoccupied with the desire to give his family the best of everything and had little time to think of himself.

In March 2011, he went for a medical check-up following the excruciating pain in his stomach and the dizziness and shortness of breath he was regularly experiencing. His doctor referred him to a gastroenterologist and was later on scheduled to have a colonoscopy.

Gerali’s colonoscopy revealed a tumor located at his ascending colon. He then had a biopsy and the result confirmed it was stage 2 colon cancer.  With a family history of colon cancer (his father died of the disease), the diagnosis still came as a surprise to him and his wife.

“When the doctor told me I had cancer, I was in shock and felt helpless,” Gerali said.

He underwent surgery last April 2011 to remove the cancer and had chemotherapy as additional treatment.

“At first, I kept my situation from my children. They only learned about it when I started my chemotherapy because I didn’t want them to worry about me,” Gerali said.

 â€œI responded very well to the chemotherapy but it also made me feel tired,” he added.

It was during the fourth chemotherapy session that he started experiencing intolerable pain and fatigue. But he didn’t give up. Gerali continued the remaining two sessions of chemotherapy. By this time, the side effects of chemotherapy became less aggressive.

“After two follow up check-ups in the past year, my colonoscopy results confirmed that I’m cancer-free,” Gerali joyfully shared.

Gerali is thankful for the love and support of his family, especially from Lourdes, his wife of 17 years, which helped him along the difficult journey. He is now back working and happy to fulfill his duties as a father again.

He also extends his heartfelt gratitude to all the people and charities that have been of help to him financially.

“Colon cancer changed me, it made me treasure my life more. I’m looking forward to fulfilling my responsibilities to my children, and I’m optimistic that a bright future awaits us,” Gerali shared.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.  Colorectal cancer is a cancer that starts either in the colon or the rectum. It is the fourth common cancer among Cebuanos. The data from the Metro Cebu Population-based Cancer Registry of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s (RAFI) Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) from 2003-2007 recorded a total of 2,725 cases of colon cancer in Metro Cebu. Within that five-year period, the incidence rate for male is 1,581 and 1,144 for female; while the mortality rate for male is 959 and 655 for female.

According to the American Cancer Society, there is no exact cause of colorectal cancer but there are some uncontrollable risk factors that increase the probability of contracting the disease, such as age, family history of colorectal cancer, having had polyps or colorectal cancer before, and having a history of bowel diseases. Likewise the lifestyle-related risk factors are smoking, lack of exercise, being overweight, excessive intake of alcohol, and certain types of diet.

The Society recommends that a person with no known risk factor should begin screening at the age of 50 and those who have known risk factors should consult a doctor about starting a screening or getting screened.  The best way to help prevent colorectal cancer is to undergo the regular colorectal cancer screening, like flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, double contrast barium enema, and virtual colonoscopy. 

Here are some tips from the American Cancer Society on how to reduce the risk of contracting colon cancer:

•           Increase the intensity and amount of physical activity.

•           Limit intake of red and processed meats.

•           Get the recommended levels of calcium and vitamin D.

•           Eat more vegetables and fruits.

•           Avoid obesity and weight gain around the midsection.

•           Avoid too much alcohol.

Cancer Awareness is one of the advocacies of RAFI-EJACC. In observance of the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, RAFI-EJACC, in collaboration with the Philippine College of Surgeons and Task Force Cancer of Cebu City, will hold a colorectal cancer forum today (March 18 at the Cebu City Hall. For more information about RAFI-EJACC, please contact Ronald Delos Reyes or Gina Mariquit at 254-6351 or 256-3287, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.

The FREEMAN with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) is running bi-monthly features on various cancer topics to emphasize the importance of early detection in preventing cancer and to increase public support for cancer initiatives. For comments and suggestions, e-mail Hannah. [email protected]. (FREEMAN)