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T11E WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday April Features- Cancer victim blames himself By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald blames himself for getting cancer For years he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day worked in a stressful occupation and main tamed poor eating habits until a doctor discovered Mr had a tumor on his lung Mr Rorison long time Georgetown resident and current President of the Cancer Society always worked in the automobile business By the late hed managed to advance to the ex ecutive level at a car manufac turing company His position was director of services which meant a lot of travel It was a stress filled said Mr I began which was an attempt to relieve the stress I was always in such a rush 1 never paid to eating properly The bottom line is I lost track of looking after my health he admits This went on most of his career Then during a routine check up the company insisted employees take a tumor was discovered and later verified as malignant It was decided by reputable medical people that the only course of action would be an operation to remove the tumor andamajorpartof my lung It came as a terrible shock to Mr who had no idea he was sick let alone stricken with cancer I stopped to think of my life and realized it was exceptional ly good said Mr I I still had an interesting future ahead of me I was scared I wouldnt have a future or that I would be disabled I was also worried about the loss to my family should I die or be disabled he said His fears were not unfounded The Canadian Cancer Society notes in a pamphlet about lung cancer this form of cancer is one of the best known and most feared of all diseases Today lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in men and the third leading cause in women the pamphlet reads At least 90 percent of the disease is related Fortunately Mr s fears were never realized The operation was successful and no traces of cancer were found in his body after the tumor was remov ed Ten years later Mr is perfectly healthy at 71 years of age and strives to inform others about cancer and how it can be prevented As President of the Hills Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society he works at supporting the mission of the Society which is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer If I hadnt had that check up it might have been too late lie said People die of cancer today because it wasnt caught in time He also stresses the im portance of a healthy lifestyle The doctors told me it was the combination of pressure from work heavy smoking and not looking after my health that ed my cancer Cancer has a very serious feet on a person Youre never the same after youve had it he said Personally speaking Mr said cancer ended a sue cessful career I wanted to move higher up the ladder he said The posi tion I was always working towards I never got because of cancer I could have gone a lot further in my career and my life if I had taken care of myself Ten years after an operation to remove a cancerous tumor on his lung Georgetown resident Al Rorison president of the Hills Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society is healthy and eager to inform people how to reduce the risk of getting cancer Herald photo Hopes remain high for toddler stricken with cancer By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Like any other twoyearold Matthew Turco of Acton has enough energy to wear out any grown up a child like innocence that unquestionably accepts change and an angelic expression that belies his mischievous ac tions If it werent for his oddly ching bald head you would never know this winsome child has cancer Matthew has blastoma cancer of the nervous system The insidious disease was already spreading inside Mat thews body at birth but it wasnt until he was twoyearsold that Matthew was diagnosed with the was born said his mom Marilyn He had a potbelly when he was two but that seemed normal for a child his age hen Matthew went in for his second check up the family doc tor gave the boy a thorough ex animation and found that Mat thews potbelly was due to a tumor on the adrenal gland which was pushing Matthews kidney forward which was in turn ex tending Matthews abdomen At that time Marilyn refused to believe her son had cancer I convinced myself it was an We never noticed anything unusual about Matthew when he For days Marilyn and her husband Francis prayed and cried and when the results came in confirming their worst fears they believed their son would die Neither parent had any real understanding of cancer except knowing that many people die from it Now eight months later they ve learned through doctors medical journals and their sons own ordeal that many people do survive cancer They now believe Matthew will live In the past several months the Lo Turco s have fearfully waited in hospital while doctors remov ed Matthews adrenal gland and part of his kidney during six hour surgery They have rejoiced when doc tors told them the surgery was a success They have also resigned themselves to the fact their trauma wasnt over after traces of cancer ceils were found in Mat thews lymph nodes and are now bearing the pain of watching their son endure chemotherapy Marilyn explained that because neuro is a moving type of cancer meaning it isnt to one spot as with a tumor the traces of cancer cells in her sons body must be destroyed Chemotherapy is a treatment where all the bodys blood cells platelets and white cells are destroyed The cancer cells wont regenerate blood cells can Matthew is now halfway through his chemo treatments Hes already had six sessions which consist of a day stay at The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto Each day during that time he has a halfhour chemotherapy treatment and is constantly on intravenous to weaken the impact of chemos side effects After his time spent at the hospital Matthew can come home for almost two weeks before he goes back for the same treatment Although the chemotherapy is destroying the cancer cells it also makes Matthew very weak since his bodies natural mechanisms against disease are also weakened Matthew is very susceptible to colds and flus because of this and the family en dured a small crisis at Christmas when Matthew became so weak and ill with the flu he spent a month in hospital recovering During recovery chemotherapy treatments are halted because cancer victims need all their strength to overcome the illness the operation cancer and treatment Matthew looks and acts like a healthy He doesnt know lies sick said Marilyn He understands that he needs to stay in the hospital and that he must have needles but he doesnt know why She said Matthew has a great time at the hospital thanks to special child workers and volunteers who are specially trained to deal with sick children They make every effort to en sure Matthews and other childrens stay at the hospital is a fun one hasnt been so easy for Mat thews parents They now believe Matthew is going to live but ad mit the whole ordeal has been hell Its the worst thing that has ever happened to us said Marilyn However learning about cancer gives her peace she said From reading literature about cancer and through doctors she knows that because Matthews cancer didnt spread into his bones and because there are no more tumors Matthew will recover If in two years the cancer hasnt returned the chances are good it will never come back and if in five years Matthew is still cancer free his parents can truly believe they and Matthew wont have to suffer anymore Until then theyll continue to rely on what they term the tremendous support from family fnends the Acton com munity the Acton Cancer Society and their belief that cancer can be beaten Spending quality lime at home in the playroom are to right Marilyn Matthew and 1 of Acton Matthew is undergoing chemotherapy treatment to remove the last traces of cancerous cells left after a malignant tumor was removed from his adrenal gland in September Herald photo by Lisa Boons 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