Lui Passaglia trying to give cancer the boot

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David
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Sad to read this morning that The Lion King, Lui Passaglia, is battling colon cancer STORY HERE.. The tumour was detected at the end of last summer for which he's been receiving radiation and chemo treatments and seems to be okay. :cr:

It really goes to show the importance of testing and early detection. Hard to believe an incredible athlete like Lui could get cancer at age 59. He had a 25 year career as the CFL all-time points leader, but really, could have played receiver (he was drafted out of SFU as a receiver and punter/kicker - and was a quarterback in high school).

Wishing Lui the best of luck to beat this thing!

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almo89
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That is devastating to hear. He was my favourite BC Lion growing up. I hope he makes a full recovery.
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Sad to hear. I wish Lui a speedy recovery
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WestCoastJoe
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God bless, Lui. Wishes for a speedy recovery.

I followed his career from his days at Notre Dame high school. And I was so happy when the Lions got him. :thup:
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Shi Zi Mi
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No one enjoys a colonoscopy (although the diet 24hrs prior to the exam is worse than the actual procedure).....but once you hit 50, it's a necessary evil every 5 years.
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What a shame. I hope Lui can beat this.

Regarding the colonoscopy, I had it done for the first time last year (just before my 51st birthday). These days they consider immediate family cancer incidence and the number of polyps (even if they are all benign) before they decide how often you have to repeat the procedure. They found 3 small benign ones with me and I'm on a 3 year schedule now. (my older sister died of cancer at age 48). If they had found more than 5 it would likely be an annual schedule. There is a therapeutic benefit to having the polyps clipped during the procedure.

As far as the procedure prep, it's best to start modifying your diet 5 days before to reduce the severity of the Pico-Salax purge.

Watching the procedure on the display monitor was interesting "reality TV". I opted for no sedation because I wanted to be able to drive myself home afterwards. It was really just the air pressure during the first few minutes that was uncomfortable, the rest of it was fine.
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Sad to hear the biggest Lion legend of them all is going through this. I hope he emerges in August with a clean bill of health.

I've also gone through the colonoscopy procedure (one of many exams/treatments I had to go through last year that led to my celiac diagnosis) and I have to concur it's no picnic — but the consequences of not having it done could be FAR worse. The 36hr fast and purge is really the worst of it as already stated, esp for me as I had no interest in being awake for the exam! There's no history of CC in my family, but as a celiac I'll probably end up on the higher end of the testing frequency spectrum, anyway.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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Shi Zi Mi
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Our "bum" doctor in Southern Ontario uses Rohypnol.....after getting "roofied" you don't remember a thing and the effects dissipate very quickly.
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This is a bit of a shock but if anyone can come up with the kind of fight and attitude needed to help in the fight it's Lui.

I being in HK have lost touch with those guys and this was the first I heard of this.

One of the truly fine people and a professional at everything he does.
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I'm really sorry to hear this about Lui and hope the disease was detected early. Early detection is the key to beating any cancer, and with early detection, Lui will have a good chance of surviving.

Perhaps some good can come of this if it serves as a wake-up call to all of the Lionbackers who are 50 or older. The first thing to make sure you do is to have an annual complete physical exam. This is essential. Ask your doctor to order up some routine tests (and hope that your doctor is one who leans this way, rather than seeing lab tests as an unnecessary drain on the resources of the health-care system, as some do, believe it or not). Insist on your doctor ordering up a PSA test (even if you have to pay the $25-$30 yourself)--every year and chart your results over time. Every few years, request a chest X-ray. Routine X-rays used to be more common with annual physicals, but now seem to have been eliminated. You don't need one every year, but I'd say maybe every three. If the X-ray is inconclusive, book an appointment for a PET scan of your lungs. Finally, at the very least, have a stool-sample tested for fecal occult blood. The latter is far less definitive than a colonoscopy, but it's quick, painless, and can provide an early warning of problems if blood is detected. I have included three specific tests here--one for each of the top three cancers in men: prostate, lung, and colon.

As for colon cancer, make sure that, if there any risk factors whatsoever for you, you insist on the full colonoscopy. Don't settle for a sigmoidoscopy (which only examines the sigmoid colon and rectum); get the full-meal deal. Another alternative is a virtual colonoscopy, where a camera is not shot up your bum, but rather a little air is pumped in to expand the colon and then a CT scan is taken. This will detect tumors, but cannot eliminate polyps or take tissue samples for further analysis. So, I'd recommend the real deal.

To be sure, the thought of a colonoscopy is gross in the extreme, but the reality, as has already been noted, is far more benign. You'll get a mild sedative to calm you down and mask most discomfort, and you will likely feel no pain at all. It's in and out in about 15 minutes. The full colonoscopy is the gold-standard for colon tumor detection, and, with most or all of us covered on one medical plan or another, you are getting a very expensive procedure (about $2500 a pop for those--like many of our American cousins--who have to pay) for nothing out of your pocket. Your doctor may be reluctant to order up a colonoscopy because of the cost, but be firm about this if you feel that you need one and make your case as effectively as possible.
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One way of avoiding the cost of the PSA test is to have your doctor write on Lab test requisition something to the effect of "enlarged prostrate". The PSA test is then considered part of a continuing treatment thus no cost to the patient.
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DanoT
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South Pender wrote:I'm really sorry to hear this about Lui and hope the disease was detected early. Early detection is the key to beating any cancer, and with early detection, Lui will have a good chance of surviving.

Perhaps some good can come of this if it serves as a wake-up call to all of the Lionbackers who are 50 or older. The first thing to make sure you do is to have an annual complete physical exam. This is essential. Ask your doctor to order up some routine tests (and hope that your doctor is one who leans this way, rather than seeing lab tests as an unnecessary drain on the resources of the health-care system, as some do, believe it or not). Insist on your doctor ordering up a PSA test (even if you have to pay the $25-$30 yourself)--every year and chart your results over time. Every few years, request a chest X-ray. Routine X-rays used to be more common with annual physicals, but now seem to have been eliminated. You don't need one every year, but I'd say maybe every three. If the X-ray is inconclusive, book an appointment for a PET scan of your lungs. Finally, at the very least, have a stool-sample tested for fecal occult blood. The latter is far less definitive than a colonoscopy, but it's quick, painless, and can provide an early warning of problems if blood is detected. I have included three specific tests here--one for each of the top three cancers in men: prostate, lung, and colon.

As for colon cancer, make sure that, if there any risk factors whatsoever for you, you insist on the full colonoscopy. Don't settle for a sigmoidoscopy (which only examines the sigmoid colon and rectum); get the full-meal deal. Another alternative is a virtual colonoscopy, where a camera is not shot up your bum, but rather a little air is pumped in to expand the colon and then a CT scan is taken. This will detect tumors, but cannot eliminate polyps or take tissue samples for further analysis. So, I'd recommend the real deal.

To be sure, the thought of a colonoscopy is gross in the extreme, but the reality, as has already been noted, is far more benign. You'll get a mild sedative to calm you down and mask most discomfort, and you will likely feel no pain at all. It's in and out in about 15 minutes. The full colonoscopy is the gold-standard for colon tumor detection, and, with most or all of us covered on one medical plan or another, you are getting a very expensive procedure (about $2500 a pop for those--like many of our American cousins--who have to pay) for nothing out of your pocket. Your doctor may be reluctant to order up a colonoscopy because of the cost, but be firm about this if you feel that you need one and make your case as effectively as possible.
^^This post begs the question: Are you a doctor or did you just stay in a Holiday Inn last night? :wink:
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sj-roc
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Someone tweeted these photos this afternoon: from the game day program for the 1968 BC provincial high school football championship, in which Lui appeared as a 14yo QB (and lone freshman on his team). I'm guessing he didn't take many snaps what with three other older QBs in the lineup. Lot of Italian-sounding names on the roster.

Image

Image

Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
TheLionKing
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Noticed Chris Beaton was on that team.
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David
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sj roc wrote:Lot of Italian-sounding names on the roster.
Much of East Van (Grandview-Woodlands especially) was Italian in those days and Notre Dame is a Catholic school, which explains why about 1/3 of team was Italo-Canadese. Many of those families migrated east to North Burnaby in the 70's and 80s. Although Notre Dame has an Italian presence today, there are many Philippine students.

Funny how the program lists him as "Louis Passaglia" when his name is actually Luigi (shortened to Lui).


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