‘Any type of cancer is an uphill battle’

Acting governor Victor B. Hocog, center, joins members of the Commonwealth Cancer Association for a group photo in last Tuesday’s proclamation signing declaring March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. (Jon Perez)

Cesar Dumatol joined other cancer survivors in saying that having the disease is always an uphill battle. The now 77-year-old was first diagnosed on Saipan when he was 48 years old in May of 1988, sought a second opinion in the Philippines, and has now been cancer-free since undergoing an operation and more than a year of chemotherapy.

Dumatol joined officials and members of the Commonwealth Cancer Association in last Tuesday’s proclamation, declaring March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Acting governor Victor B. Hocog, who signed the proclamation on Capital Hill, is thankful that he survived cancer but also expressed sadness for those who lost the battle.

“Life is very short. I remember, before I was diagnosed with cancer, I wasn’t worried at all about what I ate. I wasn’t taking care of myself but once you’re diagnosed, you have to really change your lifestyle. I did that after I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and had the operation. I changed my diet, I started exercising, and always had a colonoscopy. Get yourself checked, especially at the age of 50.”

Colonoscopy, according to the Susan Cohan Colon Cancer Foundation, is a procedure that lets physicians examine the inside your entire large intestine, from the lowest part up to the colon and lower end of the small intestines. It is used to look for early signs of cancer in the colon and rectum.

Dumatol said his cancer was already in Stage 4 when he was diagnosed. Doctors had to cut a foot of his big intestine. “At first I denied it. I ignored the symptoms. This is not something serious and only hemorrhoids. I did not rally pay attention and it was not my concern. They confirmed it when I was checked at the hospital.”

He added that it is not only men who are affected by colorectal cancer. “I have female friends who died of colorectal cancer in the United States. They did not know about it until it was already Stage 4. I never thought colorectal cancer would affect women, I know only men.

“But a large percentage of women are also affected by this type of cancer. That’s why I strongly urge everyone, especially those who are 50 years old and above, to have regular colonoscopy. Get yourself checked. My wife also has colonoscopy.”

Colon cancer is the fourth leading type of cancer in the CNMI, according to the CNMI Cancer Registry, behind breast, cervical, and oral cancers. Lung cancer is the fifth deadliest type in the Commonwealth.