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   Danny FosterListen to Your Body
In 1997 Danny Foster was a muscular 34-year-old former athlete who had played junior football and powered his way past tough defensive lines. But getting through to his doctor wasn't so easy.  Suffering from painful cramps, constipation and blood in his stool, he sought medical help. However, doctors just advised the big former fullback to increase his dietary fibre or decrease his stress. "I couldn't get anyone to take me seriously," Foster recalls. "They all just saw a fit, athletic guy too young to be truly sick. But I felt like I was dying, I was in so much pain."

Then Foster's tenacity paid off. In spring of 2000 he found Dr. Ron Bridges, a gastroenterologist who arranged for a colonoscopy. On March 16, three years and eight doctors after beginning his search for help, Foster was told he had a sizeable tumour on his large intestine. Tests showed that the tumour was not only cancerous, but had advanced to Stage III (of a possible four stages). Foster was devastated. "My first thought was that I had less than six months to live," he says. "Based on the tumour size, I was sure the cancer had spread all over my body." After removing the cancerous tissue, doctors searched the rest of Foster's body for other cancerous cells. Nothing. Except for the tumour, Foster was cancer free.

Seven years later, and with his cancer still at bay, Foster has become a source of support for others who are diagnosed with the disease. Speaking from experience, he brings them a message about perseverance and prevention.

When he was sick, Foster shared a house with four male roommates. Each told Foster that a colonoscopy was too horrible and shameful for a man to even contemplate. Foster knew better, and it saved his life.

Today he's trying to help others save theirs.

"I tell cancer patients that they can beat it. I know because I have," Foster says. "I learned that only we can know our own bodies, and we have to listen to what our bodies tell us. My roommates were classic examples of ignorance and fear. You don't want to go through the pain and discomfort that I did. To pay attention to your body, and to be tested, is to ensure you don't."

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