Scott Cook
My name is Scott Cook, I am a 29 year old from Kitchener. Fitness was always a passion of mine and I never thought it would save my life.
In February 2009 while dieting for an upcoming bodybuilding show, I was diagnosed with a plum sized Brain Tumor, near the centre of my brain. The next 12 weeks following this diagnosis, brought on 4 major brain surgeries and 30 radiation treatments. Two of these surgeries involved a shunt being placed in my head to redirect the fluid and decrease swelling. After treatment was complete, 50% of the tumor still remained.
By the end of May of 2009, I was in a wheelchair, participating in Physio and Cognitive therapy. Both of these therapies assisted me with learning to walk again, balance, memory and speaking. Many doctors and therapist’s agreed that my muscularity and strength saved my life going from 230lbs to 167lbs after the operations and radiation. In addition, I was also on multiple medications for the radiation and aftermath of the surgeries. Unfortunately these medications made me gain a lot of weight.
After a year of focused therapy and recovery, I felt healthy enough to begin my journey down the fitness road again. I knew this was going to be one of the biggest challenges to battle against, considering my current medical condition.
My hard efforts were soon proven, as my December 2010 MRI revealed that the tumor had shrunk away and was gone, therefore I was clear of disease and infection in my brain.
Based on everything I went through, I could not have dreamed of being where I am today. Bodybuilding helped me to prepare for the biggest contest of my life....survival.
My story is a clear illustration of how belief, positivity, support combined with physical fitness and a will to survive can lead you through anything that you are faced with. This is why I would like to help raise awareness for Men’s Health and support ALL cancer survivors.
Scott Barker
My name is Scott Barker. In the summer of 2008 I was faced with the greatest challenge of my life! After months of procrastination, ignorance, and sheer fear of the truth, I went to see my doctor. You see, I found myself in a similar situation as many cancer survivors do. One morning while taking a shower I discovered a painful lump on my testicle. As the head strong egotistical male that I was, I came to the conclusion that it would just go away. With the lump growing, so did my need to just ignore and believe it was nothing. After months of denial and increasing fear, I finally decided it was time to make that dreaded appointment to see my doctor. As I near my five year cancer survivor anniversary, I look back at the summer of 2008 and it still seems to be a blur. That first doctor's appointment became the first step of the biggest challenge of my life.
I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer that summer. Hearing those words that day was like a death sentence to me. I couldn't comprehend how the words "you have cancer" ever entered into my life. I was a fit, strong man in my mid thirties, how could this happen? What do I do? Am I going to die? All the questions that surfaced to my mind were all from fear and confusion. The next steps were surgery, and a lengthy chemotherapy treatment program. As the reality of the situation set in, I became a defeated man who gave into the notion I was going to die. My life had reached a bad stage, as I have dubbed it "poor me" stage. The will to live and the fight to survive was nonexistent. I had already accepted death and chose to wait for it to happen. Surgery came and went, now I had allowed depression to set in. Believing that having one testicle made me half a man, I went into a deeper depression and believed my life was over. I remember the day I finally broke free from the "poor me" stage, I was high on pain medication and was laying around waiting for the first day of chemo, I dozed off and had a dream that truly saved my life. In that dream I was reminded of who I was as a person and what was important to me. I was reminded of the man I once was and why I needed to fight and survive. I woke up from that nap with a new attitude and the will to live. From that moment on losing the battle wasn't an option. Chemotherapy is as horrible as all the stories indicate but it was there where I learned the true meaning of life. It was there where I learned the most valuable life lessons and am forever in debt to the angel who taught me them. Life is about happiness and denying one's self of this is like accepting death. I battled through 16 weeks of treatment with a positive attitude that I had never known before and I wear the survivor title proudly.
Looking back on my cancer fight, I see all the mistakes I made. I see my cancer as a blessing because of all the great people I met and life lessons I have learned. My survivorship comes with an important promise I made, it's my turn to give back to others what I was given in the biggest battle of my life. The message and goal to those who will listen is, be educated, know your body and overcome the fear that keeps us all from asking for help.
