When David Vail was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 28, his physical recovery was quick. The emotional recovery took a little longer. Once he healed from the surgery, he says, “I excluded everyone and chose to bury the incident. I didn’t talk about my experience easily and saw the follow-up colonoscopies as embarrassing disruptions to my life. My only real support was from my wife. For me, it wasn’t a very healthy attitude.”

Thirteen years later, David, now the father of 4, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “This time, I fully realized the importance of support of family and friends. My life was completely dictated by health professionals most things were out of my control. I needed to rely on everyone to get by and delegate responsibility to family and friends. But I learned that people would step in, above and beyond my expectations.”

He also learned that support could come from less familiar sources. “I needed a bone-marrow transplant. My parents and siblings were tested as possible donors, but they didn’t match. The task then fell to Canadian Blood Services and the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry to find a donor. After several anxious weeks, they found a match. All we know is that the donor was a woman from somewhere in Europe.”

David spent three months in hospital, having chemotherapy to get the leukemia into remission. Then, he and his wife moved from Saskatchewan to Calgary for another three months for the transplant. Again, he welcomed and was surprised by the support he received. “The Canadian Cancer Society and a local sponsor provided a hotel room until we could move into our apartment.” He is now an active volunteer with the Society.

Although the treatment was difficult (high-dose chemotherapy and total body irradiation), “the hospital staff were great. I was surprised that the people working on the cancer wards would genuinely open up to you. Many of them were like family.”

“Before each round of chemo, my oncologist would warn me that I would lose my hair. But as the weeks turned into months, I was getting very shaggy. Finally, I went to the barber to get a haircut. When I got back to the hospital, the nurses were happy to see that the chemo was finally taking effect!”

Back home, David helped promote a blood clinic at work by telling his story. “It was like therapy for me. I realized that cancer has touched almost everyone’s life and many people have a cancer story to tell.”