"You can’t let cancer define you,” said cancer survivor Tom Hiatt. “I’m dealing with it day by day.”
Hiatt’s not making the journey alone. He was diagnosed with a disease he knew little about.
“I was a poster child for ignorance about prostate cancer. So suddenly to be hit with this was devastating,” said Hiatt.
Hiatt’s cancer had spread to his spine and his hip.
“Basically, my doctor said 18 to 24 months, you better get your house in order,” Hiatt said.
Hiatt thought things were hopeless, but his wife, Ann, told him to fight.
“She said you’re a survivor,” Hiatt said, “You’re not going to let this beat you.”
“We knew there was more to it than just popping pills,” Ann Hiatt said.
Many cancer survivors say they can’t let cancer define you. Casey Bortnick has more.
The Hiatt’s took charge of their own treatment. Hiatt changed his diet and began exercising more. A holistic urologist recommended low dose chemotherapy.
“You hear the word and you immediately panic,” Hiatt said.
Hiatt made it thought 12 weeks of treatment. Seven years later, his cancer is in remission.
“I don’t think the drugs alone would do it,” Hiatt said. “I don’t think the supplements alone would do it. I don’t think exercise alone would do it.
Hiatt is sharing his story on DVD with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
“I wanted to give people hope,” said Hiatt. “I know how hopeless I was when I was first diagnosed.”
Now he spends more time with his family. Hiatt said fighting cancer is a road he is still walking.
“If I would have missed that because I didn’t fight, I would have been very upset,” said Hiatt.
For more information, visit <www.canceradvocacy.org .