Bill Rogers had just moved backed to Ontario, but physically something didn’t feel right. He went to see his family doctor, who ran a few blood tests. Soon after, Bill found himself at Joseph Brant Hospital for a colonoscopy.
According to Bill, it must have been one of the shortest colonoscopies ever, due to the tumour that was blocking the path of the scope.
“I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer,” says Bill.
Bill was referred with Dr. Bacopolous at Joseph Brant Hospital where he had his first surgery in August. Unfortunately after surgery, he was told that the tumour had grown and it was in a location where nothing could be done.
“I was assigned to Dr. Phillips, and was scheduled to start chemotherapy in late September, but then my blood count dropped which required a transfusion. Shortly after, unrelated to the transfusion, I developed a blood clot that put me in the hospital for 8 days,” recounts Bill. “My tumor had grown to such an extent, I couldn’t digest food.”
Bill was soon set up for radiation, which resulted in some improvements that meant by the mid-December Bill was in a position to begin chemotherapy.
“My question to the doctors was, what happens if I don’t do chemo?,” Bill said. “They told me if I didn’t, I would only have a couple months to live – maybe a year.”
Bill began to look at short term goals, and just ahead of his sixth chemotherapy treatment, he booked a trip to Los Angeles to take in a Dodgers game and to see Bruce Springsteen. He had another assessment meeting, where it was discovered that his tumours had shrunk to where he was a candidate for surgery. After two more chemotherapy sessions, he took a break to prepare for surgery and after meeting his surgeon, he flew to Los Angeles.
During Bill’s treatments, his tumor went from inoperable to operable and Bill was deemed a candidate for surgery, which he underwent, lasting 12 hours.
When a post-surgery follow up CT scan was conducted in early September it had picked up 21 cancerous spots on his liver.
“My condition was treatable, but not curable. I went through another 16 chemo sessions. By the end of the June, I asked my doctors for a break for the summer. Before we could proceed with the break a CT was conducted and there was no evidence of cancer,” remarks Bill.
Over the next 10 years, the doctors continued quarterly assessments and tests that soon scaled down to semi-annual.
“The presence of cancer had not come back,” says Bill, “I had only a few months to live, but 10 years later, I got to ring the bell to mark the end of my treatment journey.”
For Bill, Joseph Brant Hospital was the difference maker.
“The doctors and staff are strong and caring individuals who want every patient to be successful. They give you a positive attitude which benefits your health outcomes,” says Bill. “They go above their job, because they care about you as an individual. It goes a long way to build the confidence you need to go through something as difficult as this. If the people supporting you believe in you, it makes you stronger for the fight you have ahead.”