Jim Hager is a two-time cancer survivor who looks forward to his life ahead with hope and gratitude for all those who have helped him.
Hager, 61, is a lifelong Poplar Bluff resident, an Air Force veteran, a former firefighter, and a current sales representative at Bluff Powersports.
He was first diagnosed in 2002 with a melanoma on his back. His first wife saw the spot, which was then biopsied by Dr. Gary Ward. The surgical removal took places at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.
“They caught it when it was one millimeter away from my lymph nodes, so I was really close to getting lymphoma,” Hager said.
“The one thing you realize when you are diagnosed with cancer is your mortality,” he said. “I was in my late thirties, so I was really young.
“I had a lot of heart-to-heart talks with God and soul searching, and I just realized I wasn’t happy,” Hager said.
The year after the cancer experience, he and his first wife separated and divorced. After two years on his own, he met his current wife, Becky. They will celebrate their 20th anniversary later this year.
Becky, a paramedic who works for Community Urgent Care in Poplar Bluff, helped guide him through his second cancer experience one year ago: colon cancer.
“It was a routine colonoscopy that the VA had me do,” Hager said, “and they found a couple of polyps.
“The doctor at the VA showed my wife the picture of it, and he said, ‘I’m not really sure,’ and my wife said, ‘Oh it’s cancer,’” he recalled. “She knew, so that’s why we immediately scheduled it with Dr. Lawrinenko’s office to get it taken out.”
Hager went to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape for his colon surgery. He credits his surgeon, Dr. Ann Lawrence, and his oncologist, Dr. David Naughton, for their excellent care.
“They caught it before I had to have any chemo or radiation, so I’m very blessed because I didn’t have to go through that,” he said.
He has another colonoscopy scheduled in mid-April to ensure that he is still cancer-free. He advises anyone in their fifties or later to have a colonoscopy if they haven’t already had one.
“Absolutely get one. It saved my life. Get one even if you think you’re fine,” he said.
“That’s how I they found it, and if I hadn’t done that, God knows,” he said. “If you’re over 50, even if you’re not feeling any pain, get it done — all it can do is prevent something like this from happening.”
Hager has been not only a cancer survivor but also a volunteer in the cancer support community, having served as a DJ for the Relay for Life events in Butler County and several other neighboring counties.
“I felt really close to some of those people,” he said. “I talked to almost all the survivors, and with a lot of them, we hugged, and it was always a very emotional experience.”
Even though Hager has had cancer twice, he doesn’t live with any fear of the future.
“If you do, you’re just beating yourself up,” he said. “You just stay on top of it and there’s no sense in worrying.
“I’m very positive, and I love my wife through helping me, and my mother and my in-laws have been very supportive and helpful,” he said.
“It takes everybody who helps to get you through it.”