When Stettler firefighter Tony Cianfarani says he’s feeling great, this is a huge contrast to last spring, when he was undergoing chemotherapy after surgery for colon cancer.
“I was pretty down and out for three quarters of last year, but now I’m back, and training for the firefighter stairclimb challenge is going well,” said Tony.
Officially, this will be Tony’s third time doing the stairclimb challenge, but actually, he counts last year’s replicated version of the climb as one of his most memorable.
“Last year, after I was diagnosed with cancer, we knew I would have to miss the climb. So in between my surgery and starting chemotherapy, when I wasn’t feeling too terrible, some of my teammates gathered with me at the training tower at our fire station, and we climbed 57 flights with our gear on; so I still felt like I got to do it,” said Tony.
“Then, when I was in the middle of chemotherapy and these teammates did the actual stairclimb in Calgary, they put my name on their bibs. It was cool—made me feel really good.”
Living east of Red Deer in the Stettler region, Tony didn’t tap into any in-person Wellspring programs, but he did attend an online program, and he said he found it helpful.
“The program put things in perspective for me. I was feeling down on myself; feeling a bit sorry for myself, but when I saw what other people were going through, I realized it’s not just me, and I could be a lot worse off,” said Tony.
This year, with an all clear on scans, the husband and father of two young girls is glad to be back to his active lifestyle, and is gearing up to give his all at the stairclimb challenge in June.
“My goal has been to put some weight back on, build up muscle, get back to some cardio, and go for it,” said Tony.
With cancer in the rearview mirror, he now knows firsthand what it means to have Wellspring support, and he is deeply grateful to his firefighter community.
“My work buddies were a huge help to me. They checked up on, and came and visited me all the time. They are a second family for sure,” said Tony.
