Local man shares his story

When cancer touched the life of Osoyoosite David Diaz, he knew he would be facing one of the most difficult battles in his young life.
It was the end of February of 2000 when I was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, said Diaz.
Diaz was an athletic 15-year-old when the lymphoma began as a tumour in his chest.
As is the case with a disease as unpredictable as cancer, Diaz didn't have many of the symptoms of Hodgkin's' lymphoma.
I'd done a fitness test and right after that it started to bother me. I couldn't lean a certain way and I'd get extremely sharp pains in my chest, Diaz explained.
The intense chest pains brought Diaz into the South Okanagan General Hospital emergency ward in Oliver a couple of days later.
The doctor there was great. He looked at everything, did all the blood work, ex-rays, tests.
Doctors notified his parents as to the results of the biopsy before they told Diaz.
I started to get hints when a lot of my family came up to visit me.
I was upset at first because I would have liked to have been told first, Diaz said.
He understands now that it is not an uncommon practice to tell the parents before telling a young patient of a cancer diagnosis, so the parents can find the best way to approach the subject.
Cancer is the kind of disease that affects not only the patient but an entire family. Diaz said his family (parents and a younger brother) were struggling with their own fears at the same time they were trying to support him.
Doctors informed Diaz they were not able to remove the tumour due to the danger that it could spread even faster.
Diaz said that the doctors needed to determine first what kind of cancer he had in order to recommend the right treatment.
There are so many different kinds of cancers, Diaz explained.
I spent about two weeks in the hospital with them trying to figure out which one it was. They had a hard time figuring if it was non-Hodgkin's or Hodgkin's lymphoma, and the treatments are totally different.
Within a week or two after his diagnosis, Diaz began his battle to beat the disease.
The treatment began with six months of chemotherapy followed by three weeks of radiation.
The doctors were really surprised at how I was able to react [to the treatment]. It did drain me a little. I was really tired but that was it, other than the odd nauseous day.
The survival rate for Hodgkin's lymphoma is good if, as is the case with other forms of cancer, it is found and treated early.
Diaz feels that his youth and his energy went a long way in helping him to fight the disease.
In addition, Diaz received a tremendous amount of support from the community.
I was extremely shocked at how much people were willing to give and I thank the community for that, said Diaz.
When I was at Children's Hospital in Vancouver, some of my friends were telling me the kinds of things they were doing for me here.rnA group of Diaz's close friends held a banquet and donated all the money raised toward his treatment.
Cancer is an expensive battle to fight, Diaz explained.
Within a couple of months, the family's medical coverage was exhausted. In one week alone, Diaz had to take a series of five shots to boost his immune system, at a cost of $800.
Diaz has now been cancer free for nearly five years but continues to get tested on a yearly basis. He is optimistic about the future.
Diaz is currently in Vancouver studying game animation at the Art Institute. He finishes up in June and has already spoken to a number of people in the industry to help him line up a job.
The way I look at life and the way I've matured is really because of the cancer, Diaz explained, saying the experience teaches a person to live every day to its fullest.
You go on with life, but you never forget about it, either, said Diaz.