Crossing the Finish Line Together: Friends of 40 Years Won’t Let Cancer Keep Them From Completing a Marathon Together

Having the support of a big brother was a game changer for Crossley, and the two have maintained remarkable bond ever since. They have gone on trips together, and they have even been members of each other's wedding parties. "We’ve named our children after each other and have done adventures together and run businesses together," said Crossley.

In December 2019, Phil O'Hara, now 68, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In 2020, he learned that his cancer had metastasized to his liver, and though he knew his condition was not ultimately curable, he committed himself to pursuing the most aggressive treatment options to extend his life. In the summer of 2021, however, O'Hara learned that he had become chemo resistant. "That means that my body is ignoring the presence of the drugs so they are having no effect. I have exhausted my treatment options," he wrote in a blog post.

O'Hara and Crossley are about to embark on another adventure together: their first Bluenose Marathon. “The last time I ran, I did a 5k the week before I went in for surgery for my cancer and that was the last time I ran. I’ve lost so much weight, I can’t run anymore,” O’Hara told CTV News. “I’m pretty fragile, pretty weak, but not in spirit.”

“Phil’s going to walk the start and he’s gonna walk the finish and I’ll push him the rest of the way and we’ll have a great time doing it and it’ll be something that we’ll remember forever,” explained Crossley. Even with the end of O'Hara's life in-sight, O'Hara and Crossley are determined to take full advantage of the time they have, and to cross the finish line together.

Signs of esophageal cancer to look out for.

Understanding Esophageal Cancer

The esophagus is a tube that runs from the throat to the stomach, and cancer cells can form inside the tissues of this organ, which is an important part of your digestive system. Esophageal cancer is more common among men than women. The risk for men in the U.S. is 1 in 125, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). In 2021, there will be approximately 19,260 new esophageal cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S.

This cancer makes up only 1% of cancers diagnosed in the U.S., and is more common in China and India. Survival rates for esophageal cancer have improved over the years as treatments for the disease have advanced.

Some people confuse esophageal cancer and throat cancer. The cause of most esophageal cancers is unknown (though some risk factors, like tobacco use, can increase the likelihood of getting this cancer). Whereas human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus is a known cause of throat cancer. Esophageal cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Dr. Brendon Stiles, chief of thoracic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center, says esophageal cancer is one of the cancers with "one of the lowest cure rates out there."

"But like many cancers, if we find it early, we can often treat it effectively. Either with surgery, or surgery and chemotherapysurgery, chemotherapy and radiation sometimes," Stiles says. "My message to patients is the same as it is for most cancers, try to get diagnosed early."

For esophageal cancers, that means getting an endoscopy if you have any symptoms. An endoscopy is the use of a camera attached to a long, thin tube to look into the esophagus.

The problem with this cancer is it can mimic other diseases. According to Dr. Stiles, symptoms include weight loss, difficulty swallowing and heartburn. Although symptoms like heartburn can often be nothing, it's always best to get checked to rule out something more serious. The more aware you are, the more persistent you can be with your doctor if you feel there is something not right.

Treatment options for esophageal cancer.

Hope for Esophageal Cancer

There have been two recent immunotherapy drugs approved for esophageal cancer nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) both drugs showed promising study results, and Keytruda showed the most effectiveness earlier in the course of the disease.

"Immunotherapies are being tested not only in metastatic patients, but also in earlier settings combined with chemotherapy," Dr. Rutika Mehta, medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, tells SurvivorNet. "These immunotherapies have a survival benefit."

Normally the immune system finds and destroys cancer cells, just as it does bacteria, viruses, and other threats. But when cancers invade the body, they have a sneaky way of preventing the immune system from finding themthey block certain receptors on immune cells.

"Immunotherapy helps to reset that balance," Dr. Mehta says. "It helps to unblock the receptors on immune cells that the cancer cells are blocking." Essentially, this "resets" the immune cells so they can fight the cancer.

Some esophageal cancers respond better to immunotherapy than others. Squamous cell cancers are more responsive to this treatment because they already contain a lot of immune cells to activate. These are referred to as "hot tumors."

Immunotherapy doesn't work as well against adenocarcinomas, which make up the majority of esophageal cancers, because they're lower in immune cells. These are known as "cold tumors."

"They need special effort to get the immune system activated to kill cancer cells," Dr. Mehta says.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---