Crestview's mayor defeats cancer (PHOTO)

Few people knew it, but during the past year, Crestview Mayor David Cadle was struggling in a battle against what his doctors diagnosed as “an aggressive form of prostate cancer.” Recently, Cadle shared excerpts from his cancer journal with the News Bulletin.

The day in March 2009 that his doctors, Michael Foley and Kapil Puri, told him of the results of a cancer test will forever be seared in his memory, Cadle said.

“The most difficult part of that day was delivering the news to my wife, Shirley, and then calling my three sons and telling them also,” Cadle wrote in his journal. “They were all quite upset and I had to cheer them up and reassure them that through prayer and outstanding medical support, I would be just fine. While I was reassuring them I wasn’t quite so confident underneath my outward bravado.”

Cadle said he made an immediate decision to undergo treatment at a local facility to minimize his time away from City Hall and his duties. It was also a conscientious decision to demonstrate the quality of care available in Crestview. The mayor and his wife met with Dr. Warren Amos, of 21st Century Oncology on West Redstone Avenue.

“I could have chosen physicians and hospitals in Pensacola or Fort Walton Beach but I was determined to put my trust in what was available in my own city,” Cadle wrote, “Many of us have worked diligently through the years to bring better medical options for our citizens and I intended to take advantage of the tangible results of those efforts.

“Shirley and I were impressed with Dr. Amos and his staff and we agreed upon a radiation and hormone therapy that would eradicate the cancer if successful,” Cadle said. “The professionalism of the radiation department was first rate.”

For 43 days straight, Cadle left City Hall during his lunch hour and received blasts of radiation, sometimes for as much as 20 minutes at first. During the treatments he had to lie absolutely still to avoid the radiation burning any other part of his body.

Though the treatments often left Cadle feeling exhausted, he was able to maintain his rigorous routine as the city’s chief administrator. He managed to curtail a few, but not many, after-hours events, sometimes by making a brief appearance before heading home to rest.

“It was important to me to not spend time away from City Hall,” Cadle noted in his journal. “During this time I suffered a great deal of fatigue and was very pale, which caused a lot of questions about my health, especially from the people who work with me daily at City Hall. They were very concerned for me and I felt badly about not sharing information about my health, but I didn’t want this to become a distraction.”

In November came what the mayor described as “a bump in the road,” a mild heart attack he said doctors felt might possibly have been triggered by his treatment.

“The setback was brief,” Cadle said. “My heart remains strong, with positive checkups at the cardiologist, again, right here in Crestview.”

Cadle said his faith also helped him through the struggle with his cancer.

“I shared my medical condition with very few people outside my close friends at church,” Cadle wrote. “Cancer patients deal with the disease in different ways and I really didn’t want to speak about it any more than I had to…maybe that was a form of denial.

“Being a firm believer in the power of prayer, I prayed fervently for the Lord’s will to be done and to give me strength to face the ordeal,” he said. “My church family prayed for me constantly but didn’t press me for updates.”

Last week, on July 22, came the exciting news Cadle, his family and supporters were hoping and praying for.

“I was cancer free!” Cadle wrote. “What a relief for me and my family!”

After much internal debate, Cadle decided to contact the News Bulletin and share his story, not seeking sympathy for himself, but hoping it will offer encouragement for others facing a similar condition and provide assurance that top-notch care is available locally, without the need to travel far from home and undertake the additional expense of out-of-town treatment.

Cadle’s story also offers an example of how one man approached a potentially deadly adversary.

“Throughout the treatment and the stress it caused my family I never felt sorry for myself for having cancer,” Cadle said. “I spent 60 years of my life under the sound of my father’s preaching. He was a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in his straightforward manner he advocated meeting illness and crisis without complaint.

“He often said, ‘Don’t ask why me, just say why not me?’ His words are imbedded in my heart and they reminded me of how blessed I had been with a caring family and friends, a great job, and the opportunity to serve the city that I love.

“I felt extremely fortunate that I was able to receive treatment right here in Crestview and to be able to go about my duties with little or no interruption,” Cadle concluded in his journal. “I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my physicians, Drs. Michael Foley, Warren Amos, and Kapil Puri and their staffs. I am especially thankful for those who kept me in their prayers as I progressed down this road from illness to recovery.”