A negative test led me to make some positive changes
Now 12 years old, Riley Hunt is pictured here at 18 months. Photo Credit Angela Jacques
The tumour snuck up on me.
I didn’t notice it until discomfort woke me in the middle of the night. It wasn’t pain exactly, more a profound numbness in my lower left abdomen. If you’ve ever fallen asleep on your arm for an extended period of time, you know what I mean.
I frantically ran my hands across my body and found a large lump in my side.
Thinking this could be something serious, I immediately went to my doctor. Well, I went about a month later, which for a man is as close to immediate as many of us get.
He told me it was a tumour, most likely benign but it’d need to be removed to be sure. Those weeks spent waiting for the procedure should have been mental agony, but truth be told, I had other things on my mind.
That was around the time I found out I was going to be a father.
Fortunately, the tumour proved to be benign. I don’t recall being afraid for my life. I was more concerned about being a dad than I was about my pending mortality.
I was lucky. Very lucky in fact. I was healthy and I was gifted a beautiful baby boy.
Fast forward a decade or so and I find myself blessed with reasonably good health. Sure, I gained some weight during the lockdown that I’m struggling to lose, but otherwise I’m pretty healthy. Or so I thought.
The pain returned in the same area. Not numbness this time, but pain so sharp it would take my breath away.
Any little cold or mild cough would see me spitting up blood. I had moved to Quebec and was on the waitlist for a family doctor. I went to a clinic, but the doctor said he couldn’t help. The tests I needed were backlogged and by the time I got an appointment, he’d be retired. He was leaving within the year and the clinic was being shuttered.
Happily, the symptoms went away. Until this summer.
It got so bad that I’d frequently sleep in the basement to not keep my spouse up at night with my tossing and turning.
During those nights, I had ample time with my thoughts and the more the pain persisted, the more I came to realize that for the first time in my life, I was sincerely afraid.
What if the tumour came back? What if it wasn’t benign?
Years ago, I wasn’t afraid. I only had my future to think about. Being a father was an abstract thought.
Now it’s not only my future I have to be concerned about. I lost a lot of sleep thinking about a future for my son without his father in it.
Fortunately, I was able to find a family doctor. I was sent for tests, which all came back negative for cancer. I now have a diagnosis and should be fine.
Going through this made me realize that one day, my son will be without his father, but that day doesn’t have to be for a long time.
To that end, I’ve started hitting the gym regularly and eating better. I gave up alcohol. OK, cut back. Let’s face it, kids can make you drink. But they also make you look forward to life beyond today.
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