“I’m glad I broke my tailbone,” is not a common sentiment among those who have done so. But it was for senior Mitchell Wertheimer after he had a first-hand experience with an infamous enemy — cancer.
Wertheimer broke his tailbone by falling off a railing during a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Little did he know that the damage would be much worse. It wasn’t until the surgery on his break that surgeons discovered the cancerous tumor on his tailbone.
Wertheimer was not able to sit on his tailbone; he was in constant pain and could not see his friends since he was too tired and too sore. But what helped to get him through was having something to occupy his time.
While in Massachusetts for treatment of his tumor, Wertheimer got a job in construction. A family friend arranged the job.
“It helped having something to do everyday,” Wertheimer said
Wertheimer had to go to Boston, Massachusetts, where he received radiation therapy at Yawkey Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. He did not receive chemotherapy since his kind of cancer was unresponsive to it.
For his radiation therapy, he had to get small tattoos. Every day, he would lie in the same place and let lasers come down and hit the tattoos, which took half an hour. The radiation therapy itself did not hurt, but the side effects of it did. The radiation caused Wertheimer’s skin to peel and be tender.
The treatment worked, however, and Wertheimer has been free of cancer for six months.
“Some people were more sympathetic,” Wertheimer said. “[They] thought differently of me because of [the tumor].”
Along with having family and something to occupy his hands, Wertheimer’s positive attitude helped him to persevere. He did receive advice from friends who had cancer.
“They told me to keep my head up and think the best of everything,” Wertheimer said.