Wednesday April 19, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 30 H+Vy U OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Focus 3 _____________ f_ ^ 2 a s w -- > Oo ak Jm Q hv d l & FOURTH OINU AUTO Fo r A li Your Car's N eeds Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Waterfrxrnt F M ttv a fc Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop 559 Speers Road 842-3001 In Business in Oakville Since 1979 Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: WILMA BL0KHUIS 845-3824 Ext: 250; Fax: 337-5567; Email: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com ` I wasn' t going to let cancer beat me.9 By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR ' t started with a phone call. And before Stan Davis realized what he had agreed to, two television crews invaded his Bronte home last Thursday. "They even moved the furniture around," chuckles his wife Joan. But it was for a good cause - to get the message out about cancer prevention and early detection. Davis, who turns 71 on May 22nd, a survivor of both lung and prostate can cer, was asked by the Ontario Division of the Canadian Cancer Society to act as a media spokesman to coincide with the release of a cancer statistics study. According to this study, released Thursday, deaths due to breast cancer have dropped by 25% among women aged 50 to 69 since 1985; lung cancer death rates among men declined 24% since 1986, reflecting a decrease in smoking since the mid-1960s; and can cer deaths among children has decreased over 50% since the 1950s. "I'm a very lucky man," he told CTV. "Cancer no longer means a death sen tence. I am very lucky to sit here and talk to you today." Davis, who believes his lung cancer was caused by smoking, has become an advocate against tobacco use, especially among teenagers. "I often say `Would you like to see my 16-inch scar on my back?' - just to scare them," he told ONTV, in reference to talking to teens about smoking. "It's so sad to see teens smoking," he mused Friday, the day after the televi sion cameras left. "I firmly believe that if we take these teens to Princess Margaret Hospital for a visit and show them how ill some people are from smoking, that we can deter some of them." Davis gave up smoking about 20 years ago. "I had been smoking for many years. I remember having a sore throat, decided it was silly to keep on smoking, and threw my package of cig arettes away." Amongst the plethora of statistics contained in reports on both CTV and ONTV last Thursday night, Davis talked about prevention, early detection and treatment, and his personal battle with the disease. "I often say `Would you like to see my 16-inch scar on my back?'- ju st to scare them " Stan Davis - Photo by Peter J. Thompson Stan and Joan Davis savour every moment o f their lives together, and have `done more things and gone to more places' since his battle with both lung and prostate cancer about five years ago. "Attitude has a lot to do with it," says Davis. "It's really a shock when you're told you have cancer." "But, I was not about to let it beat me, and decided I had better get rid of it. I was determined to get well as I've got a life to live." And, since his cancer, life has been good for Davis, who has worked in sales at CHWO 1250 Radio for 20 years part-time since his diagnosis. "We've been to England three times, we've gone to Vegas, been to Bermuda twice. We've enjoyed our lives more, and we've gone to more places than before (my cancer)." The lung cancer was discovered dur ing a routine annual check-up with Dr. T. N. Estall in December 1994. A chest X-ray detected a lump on his lung, resulting is the removal of the top third of his right lung by Dr. M. M. Gafoor in February 1995 at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial hospital. "And, I had no fur ther treatment," says Davis. . "On May 22nd, on my 65th birthday, I was back on the golf course, and I hit my first hole in one in Lowville on April 12, 1998. "I play better golf now after my surgery than before. I can't hit the ball so far, but I can hit it straight." Then, during a follow-up check-up in December 1995, Dr. Estall discovered Davis had prostate cancer. Referred to Princess Margaret Hospital, Davis was given three options surgery, chemotherapy and "to be a guinea pig for a new treatment - hormone therapy." He was given one needle a month from March to December in 1996, plus seven weeks of radiation in July and August, without missing a day at work. His cancer subsided and has not returned. For more than two years, Davis has been leading the Living With Cancer support group which meets monthly. "This group is for anyone with can cer, from the newly diagnosed to those living with cancer," he explains. "It's a friendly get together. We discuss our problems. All of us who come to these meetings are living with cancer. "I've seen people who are very ill, and feeling very sad, but when they come to one of our meetings, they leave with a smile because we made them feel better." For Davis, leading this group is his way o f saying thank-you to the Canadian Cancer Society. "When Stan started getting his radia tion treatments, he was driving himself, and was getting so tired," recalls Joan, adding she was unable to handle the dri ving herself. "One Sunday, I sat in a pew at my church, Walton Memorial United, and just fried cried. Friends at church called the Cancer Society, which sent a volunteer driver. "They started driving him the next day, and never missed." In addition to the support he's received from his church, Davis is also grateful to his wife and family. "They were there for me all of the time, and made life a lot easier for me." 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