Survivor Story: Herman Cain
“You have a tumor, and it is as bad as it gets.”
This is how Herman Cain, syndicated talk show host and corporate visionary, learned he had cancer last February.
Cain had led a healthy lifestyle. He had annual physicals for the past 35 years with no symptoms of health problems. He even had a virtual colonoscopy just two years earlier.
Now, suddenly, his doctor was telling him he had a cancerous tumor in his colon that had metastasized.
“I had Stage IV cancer overnight,” he said.
Cain wasn’t alone. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, with 3,700 cases diagnosed in Georgia each year.
Ninety percent of colorectal cancer cases can be treated if caught in a localized stage. Cain’s cancer, however, had already spread to his liver. Although his prognosis looked grim, Cain never lost hope.
“I decided immediately that this wasn’t going to knock me in my grave.”
As a prominent businessman from an underprivileged background, Cain knew something about fighting the odds. So he took the same attitude toward cancer as he had toward professional challenges during his successful business career.
“In business you find out: 1) What is the problem, and 2) What are the questions you need to ask to develop a plan of attack,” said Cain. “With cancer, I knew the problem. I just had to learn as much as I could about the problem so I could best plan my recovery.”
Cain began reading voraciously about his disease. Soon, he was able to ask his physicians direct questions, and find out what sort of long-term statistics he should expect and which treatments he should pursue.
His doctors told him that 60 percent of people in his position survived for five years, while only 30 percent became long-term survivors. To this he responded, “Doc, I know which group I’m going to be in.”
“It was disheartening, but I was calm because of my faith,” he said. “I had no panic, no sense of fear. It was as if the spirit of God was saying, ‘Figure out the next steps.’”
Later, his doctor would tell him, “If I could prescribe your attitude, there would be a much greater success rate.”
“There is a direct parallel between my success in business and my success in fighting cancer,” Cain said. “You need an attitude of success, not an attitude of failure.”
It was a whirlwind year for Herman Cain. He had a tumor rupture in February of 2006, was diagnosed in March, began chemotherapy in May, had surgery to resection his liver and colon in August, and underwent the last phase of his treatment in December. Triumphantly, he entered 2007 cancer free.
Cain’s plans to resume all his pre-cancer activities in the coming months, including a weekly radio show on WSB-AM in February, regularly filling in for radio personality Neil Boortz, a busy schedule of keynote speaking, and sitting on the board of directors for four corporations.
Cain said that if he could get any message out to the public, the first thing would be to “Get screened. Normal physicals don’t detect cancer. It’s a silent killer.”
The ACS recommends screening by colonoscopy every year after the age of 50, or earlier if there is a family history of colorectal cancer or a change in bowel habits. Dr. David Kooby, Assistant Director of Surgery at the Winship Cancer Institute, agrees.
“Find out what your risk is,” he says. “Colorectal cancer is potentially lethal, but it can be screened for. It is encouraging that we can find and remove these tumors and their precursors, such as polyps, when they are small.”
Secondly, Cain said, he would tell people not to give up. “Too many people lose hope before they explore the options,” he says. “Cancer isn’t a death sentence.”
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