STOUGHTON - Jonathan and Cheryl Lake have made the Stoughton area their home.
They live south of Stoughton on a farm with their children, Cheyenne, William and MacyLynn. They have always been highly active in the community through 4-H, Girl Guides and playschool, to name a few.
Lake worked for 30 years as an electrician in the oil sector while Cheryl remained at home, caring for their children and running a beauty spa from the farm.
Over the last weeks, Jonathan Lake developed a nasty cough and he chalked it up to having a bout of bronchitis, as he typically gets one each year. This time the cough lingered on. It was suspected that it could be COVID-19, but after six tests in four days, the tests came back negative.
After a 10-day stay in the Arcola Health Centre, a chest x-ray was the next step, and it showed a mass in his lungs. They thought it could be pneumonia.
Lake was admitted to the Regina General Hospital where further testing would continue.
It turned out that Lake had metastic adenocarcinoma, which is a form of colon cancer that had spread to his lungs. This was not the diagnosis for which they had hoped.
This was going to be a long haul for the family and difficult with young children. The treatment began quickly.
Every second week, Lake needs to go to Estevan three times.
First, they need to do blood work. Lake said when this is completed, he goes for his second trip.
“He has a PICC line in the artery in his bicep,” said Cheryl. “It will remain there throughout his treatment.”
A PICC line is a peripherally inserted central catheter.
Lake’s intravenous treatment consists of four medications, which take three hours to complete. He needs a fifth medication referred to as the baby bottle that takes 46 hours to finish, but this one is completed at home. It is a third trip to Estevan to have the baby bottle removed. Lake then has a week off from his chemotherapy treatments.
Chemotherapy has caused Lake’s taste buds to be off.
“Cold drinks make my hands feel like pins and needles and cold food makes my mouth feel the same,” he said.
“Some foods taste great one day and the next day they can taste terrible.”
Over the course of getting sick, Lake has lost about 75 pounds.
Although the family is trying to stay strong, they have good days and bad.
Once the chemotherapy treatments are completed, Lake will return to Regina for more testing to see if it worked. If it did not, a round of radiation could be in store.
Expenses add up quickly, and with all the travelling back and forth to the hospitals, it could become a challenge for the family when Lake is not able to work. A donation account is set up at the Stoughton Credit Union in Lake’s name. Please feel free to visit the credit union if you wish to donate to help this family.
