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Cold Lake man prepares to celebrate 16 years cancer free

When Thomas Curry went to the doctor nearly two decades ago, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to hear. The Cold Lake man was in his early 30s when he started experiencing sharp pains in his back.
Thomas Curry, a cancer survivor from Cold Lake, joined the local group Randy’s Riders last year to participate and raise funds for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.
Thomas Curry, a cancer survivor from Cold Lake, joined the local group Randy’s Riders last year to participate and raise funds for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

When Thomas Curry went to the doctor nearly two decades ago, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to hear.

The Cold Lake man was in his early 30s when he started experiencing sharp pains in his back. Knowing there was something wrong, he went to see his doctor.

"I assumed that I had just injured myself somewhere, had nerve damage or something like that. When I went in and they told me I had cancer, it was just a complete and total shock. I almost had tunnel vision; everything around me just went black and I looked straight ahead at my doctor," recalled Curry. "I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it at first."

Getting referred to a surgeon, the diagnosis was confirmed. Curry had testicular cancer. His battle had just begun.

Immediately, he made the trip from his home in Cold Lake to the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton to meet with an oncologist .

"He gave me all of the information: what I could expect, what I was going to go through, the process that was going to happen."

Before the week was up Curry was on the operating table, getting the much-needed surgery that would hopefully rid him of the cancer.

Though fully expecting to start chemotherapy following the operation, doctors informed him that they were going to monitor his progress first. For the next three to four months, Curry made frequent trips to see his doctor in Cold Lake and the physicians at the Cross Cancer Institute. The whole time wondering if or when he would need to start chemotherapy.

"In the fall of that year, they said 'you've got to have chemotherapy.' The cancer had travelled up into my lymph nodes and needed to be stopped," said Curry. "To me, it was almost a sense of relief that something was being done. It almost felt like nothing was being done while I was waiting to find out if I was going to need chemotherapy. After they told me I had to, I said 'Yep, let's do this.'"

Curry went through three rounds of chemotherapy, every three weeks for 48 hours each. Heading into the city on a Wednesday night, starting the next morning he'd be at the Cross Cancer Institute to be hooked up via intravenous for two days of straight chemotherapy.

"After the first round, I thought 'I can do this, it's no problem.' The second round really kicked me, it took all my energy away and I started losing my hair - all of my hair fell out. So, I just took some clippers and we took my hair off right in the hotel room while I was waiting for my next round of chemotherapy," Curry recounted, adding that undergoing the treatment is an exhausting process.

"I found myself going into work to visit when I could, but not spending any time there because I just had to go home and go to sleep. I was just too tired."

When the rounds of chemo were complete, doctors told Curry that he would need to continue his visits to the city every few months for the next five years. During this time they would do blood tests and CT scans to check his health post-treatment.

"It's basically a physical every few months."

For the first time since being diagnosed, Curry got a pleasant surprise when after three years, he was able to stop making trips to the Cross Cancer Institute.

"I remember my oncologist telling me. I fully expected to have to wait the whole five years, but after three years of them checking my blood levels, they were quite happy with where I was at. They said, 'you're done.'"

But, Curry continued to get checked by his family doctor, "It never really goes away. You still have it in the back of your mind that something could happen...I just continued every three months to see my family physician, he would to my blood markers for the balance of the five years, just to keep me informed. Now, we've just added those into my annual physical and I still do it to this day."

Life after cancer

Curry described the moment he got the all-clear from the oncologist as being "almost like a door had opened."

After going through the surgery, enduring weeks of chemotherapy treatment, and making the frequent trips back and forth from his home in Cold Lake to Edmonton for three years, being able to just walk away was a welcome point in his journey. He was determined to make the most of the opportunity to get out and enjoy life.

Not wanting to sit and think about everything he had just gone through, Curry immediately spent the newly acquired free time with his family and friends.

"My dad, he was wintering in Florida. Right after, I went down to Florida, visited with my dad and spent some time down there touring around enjoying the sunshine. The next thing I did, my two best friends and I, we hopped on a plane and went to Mexico for a week. I celebrated being back with them."

Cancer impacts his family

Unfortunately, Curry wasn't the only one in his immediate family to battle the disease.

About five years ago, his father passed away after a long fight with lung cancer. Undergoing treatments for 10 years, there was a glimpse of hope for a five-year window when he seemed to be better. In the final years of his battle, the cancer had affected his brain and caused issues that made him unable to communicate. At that point, he was placed into long-term care at the hospital.

"For him, laying there for five years in the hospital, suffering from cancer, that was one of the hardest things I've gone through," said Curry.

While Curry was going through his own bought with cancer, his sister-in-law was also fighting breast cancer. At 28-years-old, she succumbed to the disease, leaving behind two young children.

"I think about her lots. When she was going through that, that was the same time when I had gone through my cancer. She had passed away with two young children, and I lived."

Giving back

Throughout his treatment, Curry was surrounded by support from his friends, family, and even his place of employment.

Bringing him food, calling whenever they could, and making sure that he didn't have to worry about taking time away from work allowed Curry to focus solely on his health.

"My support system was very good, my friends and family really looked after me... Whatever I needed, they were there."

Now, going on 16 years cancer-free, the local survivor feels it's his time to give back. Participating in the Relay for Life a few years ago, last year he made the decision to join Randy's Riders.

"I've had so much given to me by friends and family and everybody else who has done so much to support cancer foundations and anything related to helping people deal with cancer. It's my turn to give back, my turn to say thank you and to help others."

A cycling group from Cold Lake, Randy's Riders was formed in memory of Randy Imrie who lost his battle with cancer in 2012. Annually, they raise thousands of dollars to donate to cancer research and participate in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer.

"Watching what those guys go through, joining them, and getting involved with what they do has really helped me feel that I'm contributing and giving back," said Curry.

His message for others

Receiving the diagnosis, sitting through the treatments, and getting back to life post-cancer has given Curry a new perspective.

When he went into the doctors office nearly two decades ago for a pain in his back, he never expected that it would be testicular cancer. Curry wants to encourage others that if you suspect anything is wrong, don't blow it off. Get checked by your doctor because you never know what it might be.

For those starting or going through their own battle with cancer, Curry has one piece of advice: be positive.

"I have a friend going through the exact same thing I went through, except he's having a harder time than I did. My advice to him was you have to be positive... It's all about being positive and having that attitude that 'yes, I'm going to beat this.'"

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