Dave Shogren

A fit and young Dave Shogren is a survivor up for the challenge

By Kristin Tabor

Last summer, I was watching my son’s baseball game and found myself up against a fence with my husband and a couple of other fathers. One dad started talking about a young father we all knew named Dave Shogren. Dave had been recently diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer in June of 2009. There I stood, listening to these dads saying that Dave was “too fit and he was far too young at age 41 to get this disease. “

Diet and exercise
Growing up, Dave was very active. He played basketball in college. Later, as he focused on his career, Dave became less active and started gaining weight. He determined that if he wanted to function well on a daily basis, he needed to exercise. So in his mid-twenties, he began to run on a regular basis and play team sports such as basketball and hockey.

Since Dave lived an active life, he ate most of what he wanted but always tried to make the healthier choice. If he was eating red meat, for example, he usually selected a filet because it had less fat. When Dave started a family, his healthy choices stayed in tact and they remain standard operating procedure in the Shogren household today. At home, healthy foods are emphasized and processed foods are kept to a minimum. The kids know that sugary cereals and snacks are not the healthiest choice.

In October 2008, Dave injured his leg and had to limit activity. By June of 2009, when he was diagnosed with cancer, his knee had heeled and he started running and lifting weights. He wanted to be in the best possible condition to be ready for surgery and treatment. Dave is a percentage guy and felt his strive for a healthy lifestyle allowed him to be at 85% two months later while undergoing radiation.

Since being diagnosed, Dave has changed his diet significantly to avoid things such as MSG, aspartame, Splenda, sugar and red meat. He has added more fish and chicken and greatly increased leafy greens and vegetables. His diet during treatment has eliminated some of the foods considered most healthy such as fruits and vegetables in raw form, but he plans on including those foods again after treatment ends in June of 2010.

Diagnosis
Having been in touch with his body, Dave thought something was wrong when he started to see blood in his stool for two to three days. It wasn’t constant. It wasn’t dramatic. He questioned the severity because there was nothing heavy and then the blood went away. He determined it was a fluke and maybe something in his diet causing the issue.

When the blood reoccurred 3-4 days later, he knew he had to make a call and find out if he needed a colonoscopy. He was not going to wait months to get the answer. He knew that it might be nothing, but he also knew it could be something.

With a history of colorectal cancer on both his mother and father’s side of the family (grandmother, grandfather and two great uncles) in their late 60’s and 70’s, Dave had extra reason in his mind to get the answer. During his last physical he had spoken to his doctor about when he should have a colonoscopy and the doctor recommended the standard age of 50.

Dave went in for his first colonoscopy thinking he’d know soon if it was just hemorrhoids or cancer. His father joined him in the surgery room where Dr. Stone immediately found a cancer growth and was going to order a biopsy. Thankfully, Dave was still under sedation which made him relaxed, but he was still aware of the situation. Panic didn’t set in. Instead, he thought to himself, “If this is what it is, it is time to figure out how to beat it.” Dave is always up for a challenge.

Treatment
After the biopsy came back confirming he had cancer, Dave had a handful of exams including CT scans and a rectal ultrasound. The cancer had spread to six lymph nodes which were close to the tumor.

When he went to the staging room to meet with the first surgeon, it was the same staging room section of the hospital where his wife Melissa’s mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years earlier. Melissa’s mom eventually died of breast cancer at age 44. It was not a very pleasant experience for his wife, to be in that same place. She had always thought she would be the one to get cancer and now she was sitting there watching her husband. Dave could see the fear in both his wife and his parents when it was determined he had stage III rectal cancer. But, he felt blessed because it was stage III and not stage IV.

Dave underwent over five weeks of radiation in conjunction with chemotherapy, starting the first week of July. The second staging session identified surgery would occur to remove part of the rectum as well as all of the infected lymph nodes. He had surgery on October 22 and his doctor was very pleased with the results. Dave will have a temporary ileostomy and 6 months of follow-up chemo as part of his treatment. After his ileostomy is reversed in mid-July of 2010, he is looking forward to a normal lifestyle after battling this awful disease for 14 months.

On Monday, November 16, after eight days in the hospital, Dave was released after a set-back with a blockage in his bowel He told me he still wanted to attend a fundraiser as a speaker two days later benefiting the Colon Cancer Coalition. But, Dave’s mind over matter attitude didn’t win this time. He still wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday. He had to decline our invitation to attend the fundraiser so he can reach his goal: to finish and survive his cancer marathon.

Dave’s perseverance over these last six months is proof that he has been up for the challenge he spoke of on the first day he knew he had cancer. His mindset has not changed. In fact, it is more steadfast. Dave speaks openly about his rectum cancer in circles where conversations are usually centered on hockey. He is a role model to hundreds of parents. He truly believes that what does not kill him will make him stronger!