ALTAMONT — Though the sun is not shining and rain has been falling ceaselessly, Kessler Giles smiles.

Giles, a cancer survivor, sits on the board of advisors for the American Cancer Society. He has lived in Altamont for the past 18 years with his wife and two daughters, and said he got involved with the society because there wasn’t a history of cancer in his family.

Last week, Giles represented the 21st District as a Celebration Ambassador at the society’s Celebration on the Hill, in Washington, D.C. As an ambassador, Giles met with others who have survived the disease. He also spoke with senators and delegates about ways the government can aid in the fight against cancer.

Ambassadors reiterated their need for the government to continue funding.
"It’s a terrible thing if [someone] finds they have cancer, and they can’t have the services," Giles said.

Giles, who at age 52 was diagnosed with colon cancer in November of 2003, considers himself lucky.

Leading up to his diagnosis, he said, he’d had symptoms. The symptoms, however, were subtle.
"I’d had rectal bleeding," he said, "but only in spurts. It’s hard to describe, but the best way to put it, is to say that I didn’t feel like myself"I didn’t have as much energy, but I attributed that to getting older," he said.

Before his diagnosis, Giles said, he had scheduled and rescheduled appointments many times to undergo a colonoscopy — a minimally invasive endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a fiber optic camera . But he didn’t make it to the appointments.

He missed the first appointment, he said, because he was required to travel for his job. He missed his second appointment due to his father’s death. He missed the third appointment, he said, because he was in the hospital.

His arrival in the intensive care unit followed a night when he woke up lying on his bathroom floor.
"I got myself up and called my wife," Giles said. "I lost so much blood."

At the hospital, he was given four units of blood, and it was determined Giles’s colon cancer was in stage two.

A foot was surgically removed from both ends of his colon. The surgery, he said, was performed on Friday, and he was home by Monday.

Giles said physicians did a biopsy, and concluded that the cancer hadn’t spread to other organs; it had been contained within his colon and hadn’t metastasized.
"There was nothing in my liver, lungs, or my lymph nodes, so I didn’t have to go through chemotherapy," he said.

He was told he had a 95 percent chance of surviving. Had he undergone any chemotherapy, he said, it would have had an adverse effect.

His recovery, he said, took about a month, and he knew it had ended once he no longer had to take a daily nap.

Giles laughed often and interjected humor as he told his story. He had the attitude of a grateful man — happy, simply because he was alive to tell his tale.

But while describing his battle with the disease, and his experiences at the Celebration on the Hill, it was clear that, though he felt fortunate, other concerns troubled him.

Celebration in September

The Celebration on the Hill, which was launched in 2002, brought nearly 4,000 ambassadors — representatives from each of the 435 Congressional Districts — and a total of nearly 10,000 people, to Washington, D.C. last week.

Cancer survivors, caregivers, and family members of people who had not survived the disease, flocked to the National Mall.

During the observance, survivors walked around the reflecting pool between Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, celebrating their survival.
"There was entertainment. There were speakers"The survivors were recognized," Giles said of the event. Fifty flags flew, one from each of the states, as well as the military color guard, and banners that created the "Wall of Hope."
The crowd sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
"It was a very uplifting experience," Giles said. People clapped for one another and gave each other high-fives.
"To see all the survivors is amazing," he said. "There were very inspirational stories from fighters."

Caregivers, people who helped those fighting the disease, also told interesting stories, he said.
"There was one story about a man whose child had the disease. He couldn’t pay the bills, and someone made an anonymous donation. The man set up a site for making pledges," Giles said.

Once the sun set in Washington, there was a luminary ceremony, where lighted bags lined the reflecting pool, in memory of those who hadn’t survived the disease.
"There are too many of those," Giles said. "It’s unbelievable."
"My emotions ran the gamut," Giles said.

Throughout his time in Washington, Giles and other ambassadors urged legislators to sign a Congressional Cancer Promise — a statement outlining the American Cancer Society’s mission, which calls for individuals to proactively join with the society.

The promise calls for the individual who signs it to: make health system reform a priority; elevate prevention, early detection, and survivorship; increase funding; and increase preventative health services.

Giles said Congressman Michael McNulty, who represents the 21st District, signed a promise.
"He’s been very supportive," Giles said.
The Bush administration has cut some funding from the program, Giles said. "It wasn’t a huge cut, but we can’t have any cuts," he said.

He said the cancer society is asking for a 5-percent increase per year for funding for the next five years.

The fight

Giles said more than once that early detection is the key to surviving cancer. He also said annual screenings are important, especially for individuals who have a family history of cancer.
"The number of deaths," he said, "are down, but we don’t want to see those numbers go back up."
"After the age of 50, it’s recommended that you have something done," he said.

Giles also said that there has been a decline in screenings for breast cancer.

There are many unknowns about cancer, Giles said; all the more reason for continuing research.
"We don’t know what causes it, or how it starts." Giles said.
"There is a higher amount of incidents in African-Americans and Hispanics," he said. "Cancer doesn’t discriminate. It will attack anyone."