Every week, Richard Crouse stops by to tell you what movies are worth seeing, and to talk about the watercooler moments of the week. However, today he came in to talk about something that could save your life. Most people are not aware that over the past few months, Richard has been treated for colorn cancer. He’s doing well and his prognosis is good, but he wanted to share his story with you to make sure that everyone gets tested. Richard is a private person, and he hasn’t shared his story with a lot of people. I am so incredibly proud of him for coming forward to help raise awareness, and to help spread the message that cancer is beatable, so don’t be afraid. Just get tested. Thank you, Richard. Be well, my friend.– AM Producer Jen
“Michael Bay is directing a remake of Casablanca” and, “It’s not you, it’s me” appear on the scroll of things that hurt my ears. Top of the list, however, is, “We’ve found a tumor.”
In mid-2013, I had a colonoscopy, a procedure so routine I thought I’d be in and out and on my way to my favourite sandwich shop by lunch. I’m a nonsmoker, moderate drinker and I watch my diet. I even eat kale — lots of it. I had no symptoms, felt fine and only went because my doctor told me I had to due to my age.
Those four simple words went on to inform the next months of my life.
The doctor, squeezing my arm, saying, “I’m sorry,” before walking away, didn’t do much to alleviate the fear that quickly overtook me.
Besides becoming a human pincushion, pumped with toxic chemicals, the mental effect of being told you have cancer lingers.
I began the journey with the usual shock, but quickly skipped ahead, past denial, to anger. I was mad that a bullet shaped tumor in my colon — a dark spot that had grown quietly and insidiously inside me for the past few years — could possibly sideline all I had worked for.
The anger stage was quickly replaced by acceptance after long talks with the ever-rosy Andrea, my long-time girlfriend, and the cadre of doctors brought in to assess me.
It was then I decided to live my life with as little disruption as possible. It was my way of saying, “Screw you, cancer. You’re not making the rules, I am.” Optimistic maybe, but I firmly believe that a good attitude is one of the keys to leading a healthy life even in the face of serious medical issues.
I’m through the treatment now and the prognosis is good. It was a long journey — a trip down a dark and twisty road. I won’t miss feeling like I’m living in someone else’s body, waking up exhausted everyday or fearing the sinister tumor that was growing in me.
Today I’m confident that the surgery — I toyed with using the nickname Semi Colon Crouse in tribute to what was left of my insides, but better sense prevailed — more tests and scans than I can count and the gallons of chemo pumped into my system was all worth it.
This is my story, but it’s not my message.
I waited until after my treatment for my cancer coming out party because I didn’t want pity. I didn’t want to be viewed differently. I just want you to know that if this could happen to me, it could happen to you. March, being Colon Cancer Awareness Month, seemed like the time to share my story.
What I want now is for you to get tested.
Colonoscopy is a big word, but it could have a huge effect on your well-being. Having one at age 50 saved my life and it could save yours. Make an appointment today. Your colon and I will thank you.
Just the facts
The National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) acknowledges colorectal cancer (CRC) as the third most common cancer and the second most common cause of death from cancer for both Canadian men and women.
On average, 423 Canadians are diagnosed with CRC every week.
One in 14 men is expected to develop CRC during his lifetime and one in 27 will die of it. One in 15 women is expected to develop CRC during her lifetime and one in 31 will die of it.
175 Canadians, on average, die of this disease every week.
Anyone 50 and up should be screened regardless of family history.
Canada AM’s Jeff Hutcheson featured this picture of Richard and Jean-Claude Van Damme on Monday March 17, 2014 on his Things I Found on Twitter Today segment!
The new young adult movie Divergent declares, “The future belongs to those who know where they belong.”
In the film a Big Brother style government has divided the post-apocalyptic Chicago into five factions: the altruistic Abnegation sect, the peace loving Amity, the “I cannot tell a lie” Candor group, the militaristic arm Dauntless and the smarty-pants Erudites.
In the middle of this muddle is Four, played by Theo James, a Dauntless warrior with a sensitive side. He’s a mentor of sorts and love interest to Tris (Shailene Woodley), a sixteen year old who has recently pledged to Dauntless. During her grueling training Four helps her disguise the fact that she is “divergent,” a person who cannot be pigeonholed into just one designation.
James, the English-born star, beat out half of young Hollywood for the role, which was made popular in the wildly successful Divergent series of books. Sales of over five million copies puts the novels into Hunger Games territory, but why are they so popular with teens?
“I think there are two things to summarize it,” says James, a philosophy graduate from the University of Nottingham. “One, on a generalist level, it’s a good story to be able to be involved in in the same way as some others in the genre are. The faction system is a good thing for young people to grab hold of because they can question themselves. They can say, ‘Which one would I be in?’ There are cliques in high school, and it has those kinds of ramifications.
“There are other high school parallels; it’s a big assembly hall, there is a kind of teacher, there is a kind of ceremony which is almost like graduating from high school.
“Then there is the college era, being in Dauntless and then choosing what kind of job you’re going to go into. It has those fun things to be able to latch on to.
“On top of that there is the fantasy level of being in a world which is relatable because it is Chicago. You can see these landmarks, so it makes sense, but then it is the future so there is something more fantastic about it. As a result of that, there is also a deeper world you can step into.
“Then, you wonder about the generation now. Growing up they are constantly hearing the conversation about depleting resources and all these kind of environmental things. Not to say that everyone is partaking in it, but you can’t get away from it so they’re hearing, ‘Oh, the population is massive. China is two billion; we’re not going to have enough resources by this time. Look at India.’ As a result they are questioning the future and are questioning how they will be in the future and how they’re kids will be, so maybe it is kind of a relatable fantasy.”
Remember the Mazda commercials that were on a few years ago? I felt like the kid from those ads was sitting on my shoulder whispering “zoom, zoom” into my ear for the entire running time of “The Hot Wheels Movie,” er…. “Need for Speed.”
Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever, the movie is Aaron “Breaking Bad” Paul’s first lead in a feature. He plays Tobey Marshall, a speed-demon mechanic, jailed for a crime he did not commit. Out of the hoosegow with revenge against adversary Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) on his mind, he finagles a spot at the De Leon, a high-octane underground race that makes the Cannonball Run look like a kid’s Go-Kart sprint. You just know it’s only a matter of time until someone says, “We’ll settle this behind the wheel.”
Between him and the race, however, are miles of hard road, bounty hunters and police. Will his dreams of racing and revenge come true? Or will his need for speed go unfulfilled?
This is a fast paced car race movie that zips along as quickly as you’d hope a movie with the word speed in the title would, but character wise, it’s not quite as fast or furious as you might like. The cars are the stars, while the characters are largely left in the dust. The story and the characters feel like McGuffins to support the screeching tires and revving engines.
Paul, who brings a gruff Batman voice to the role, and his navigator / flirty love interest Julia (Imogen Poots) are charming and charismatic, but aren’t given much to do other than shift gears. That’s OK, this is a car movie after all, but when the story grinds its gears when it shifts from the action sequences to the human story.
Poots starts off strong, but is soon reduced to the hysterical girl role while Paul could have used a lesson or two from Jesse Pinkman in the passion department. It says something when the movie’s most interesting character—the eccentric millionaire The Monarch, played by Michael Keaton—never gets behind the wheel of a car.
I liked the race scenes. They feel authentic and by and large done by brave speed demon stunt drivers without the use of CGI. They’re exciting, pedal-to-the-metal sequences that put the audience in the driver’s seat. You may wonder about glorifying the romance of reckless street racing, but the movie isn’t a commercial for vehicular mayhem. There are some wild rides, but there are also consequences for many of the drivers and their need for speed.
“Need for Speed” isn’t “Downton Abbey.” It’s a car crazy story where characters take a backseat to the action, but if you know what a Two Lane Grasshopper is, then you’ll probably get a kick out of the driving scenes.
RICHARD’S EFFORT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE 
