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John McCulloch, 40, is an up-beat and active individual whose passion for life and positive attitude is as inspiring as his story battling colorectal cancer. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and to raise awareness about the condition and inspire the thousands of Canadians that are affected by it each year, this is John’s story.

Since February 2008, John’s life has been turned upside down by a terrifying diagnosis of Stage IV, colorectal cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs. Since his diagnosis, John has gone through numerous chemotherapy treatments. He was originally treated with the most commonly used treatment, which was effective for eight months, however, his cancer eventually came back and he had to move on to new treatment options.

After several unsuccessful rounds of chemotherapy, John was tested for his eligibility to receive a new class of biologic drugs that interfere with a common pathway involved in cancer spread called EGFr. In patients whose tumours have a mutation in a gene called KRAS, cancer cells continuously receive messages to grow and divide – these patients do not respond to anti-EGFr therapy. Luckily for John, his results showed that he was one of the 60 per cent of colorectal cancer patients who have the normal KRAS gene, making him a candidate for this new type of treatment.

“For patients with colorectal cancer it is important to detect the mutated gene so the right treatment can be prescribed. The results with new biologic treatments can prove to be very beneficial to the patient, as was seen in John’s case,” says Dr. Hagen Kennecke, medical oncologist and clinician researcher at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. “The decisions made by some provinces to include the medication in their health care plans, is a step in the right direction for cancer care in Canada.”

John was immediately put on a biologic agent with encouraging results. “Since being on this new biologic drug, my overall health is improving; the cancer levels are decreasing, my energy levels are rising, my appetite is coming back and today I feel better than I have in a long time” says John.

John’s battle is far from over, but cancer has taught him some valuable lessons both on life and on battling cancer. Not only is he now well-versed on the different chemotherapy treatments, their names and side-effects, but he also recognizes the importance of having access to the newest treatment options. Currently, less than half of Canadian provinces have included third-line treatments for colorectal cancer on the list of medications covered by provincial health care plans.

Most importantly, John has learned that a positive attitude and a passion for life are key in battling cancer. John continues to work at Best Buy Head Office, enjoys being surrounded by family and friends, and plans to travel for his spouse’s upcoming 40th birthday. Cancer may have attacked his body, but it did not attack his spirit.

More information on third-line treatment can be found online at www.personalizingmedicine.ca.

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