Chuck Strahl, M.P. Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon

8615 Young Street, Unit 106 Chilliwack, BC V2P 4P3

604-792-3311 riding@chuckstrahl.com

Newspaper Column – August 22, 2005

Some newspaper columns åwrite themselvesπ. Some of them are written after extensive research, while others are just human interest stories. Often, (for a part time, occasional writer like me) they happen in a fit of emotion- anger or compassion. This one doesnπt seem to fit any of the above, although there are elements of each one in it, I think. This column is about me (always a difficult subject), and it is about my cancer.

I donπt see any other way around this. Iπm a kind of private guy in many ways, and I like to be pretty stoic about problems I face day to day. But my job is so public and expectations so obvious that it canπt really be a secret. And perhaps it wouldnπt be fair to be secret anyway, because there are so many people who need to know and want to help out in ways small and large.

I didnπt start the summer with cancer, but I did start with some medical problems that I kept sort of quiet. My lung collapsed at the beginning of July, but I thought it was just the flu or perhaps pneumonia, and I was too busy and too stubborn to rush into the doctorπs office. By the time I saw him in July, he had me go immediately to the Emergency Room, where they re-inflated my lung and sent me home.

The following week I toured the north part of our riding, met with folks and did the usual summertime shtick. When I returned, however, the lung had recollapsed, and they stuck me in the hospital for a couple of days while they worked on it. But there were ongoing problems, so down I went to Vancouver General where I spent last week going through a third operation and a bunch of tests. The news didnπt get better.

By weekπs end the pathologists had determined that the lining of my lung (the pleura) had developed cancer, likely because of an exposure to asbestos when I was a young man. My logging days included a time when we used open, asbestos brakes on the yarders, and while my exposure wasnπt that lengthy, it was intense. Typically, 20-25 years later, the asbestos works its ugly magic. Unfortunately, Iπm right on time.

A column like this could have the word ≥unfortunately≤ sprinkled throughout, and it is the perfect word for the situation. Unfortunately, I was exposed to asbestos. Unfortunately, my body couldnπt handle it. Unfortunately, it targets the lungs. Unfortunately, there is no cure, only treatment. Unfortunately, like all cancer, the disease has an awful, debilitating effect on your family and friends, all of whom want to help, canπt believe it is happening, and just wish they could do something to make the world årightπ again.

Iπm none too thrilled with it all either. The treatment will be determined in the next few days, and Iπll have to start that soon. It wonπt be any fun, but it has to be done and Iπll just get at it when theyπre ready. Iπm hoping to be able to keep working while this happens, and the shock and the disbelief will slowly make way for reality for me and Deb and those around us.

There is always the åother sideπ to a story like this. While much of it is åunfortunateπ, we chalk up many, many things in the positive column. My entire family was around me as the doctors broke the news, and while itπs very sad, knowing your loving family is close by makes it so much easier. My friends and people I know make never-ending offers to help, and theyπre going to have to put on an extra shift in heaven just to answer all the prayers that are being offered up. I simply canπt be bitter about it, because so many people are expressing their love in so many ways to me and Deb, and we are so glad our Christian faith is mature and well-grounded. Things will be fine.

Over the next few months there will be many decisions to make, including decisions about running for election again (or not). Thankfully, that doesnπt have to be done this week. In the meantime, I know that people will be respectful of my need for a little personal space, and if they need to contact me about politics they should contact me at the office rather than at home.

Cancer is a serious disease, but those of us diagnosed with cancer donπt want to be rushed off the playing field and sidelined any too soon. Iπll be in there slugginπ for now, and much of what comes up will be simply business-as-usual. I promise to keep my constituents and friends in the loop as things develop, and I know for certain that my next newspaper column will be easier to write than this one.