Back pain leads to leukemia diagnosis and life-changing ordeal for Chilliwack soccer coach

Following lab tests, blood work came back with a diagnosis that floored him. Corke had leukemia; a cancerous mass had formed in his stomach that was causing the pain. He needed treatment immediately.

“I started chemotherapy on Christmas Day,” Corke said. “It was confusing, scary, and obviously I couldn’t see my family because of the pandemic.”

Corke went from being on the soccer pitch helping promising young athletes to being isolated in hospital away from everything he loved —his wife Vanessa and two teenage sons. He went from being a healthy, strong, dynamic, and confident person to dropping down to 51 kilograms, unable to climb stairs or bathe himself.

Thankfully, Corke had the support, care and expertise from Dr. Maryse Power and the health care teams at VGH—the provincial centre for the treatment of blood cancers and blood diseases.

“Dr. Power spoke to Vanessa and said, ‘Yes, your husband is very sick, but now we know his diagnosis, we now know what to do.’ Whereas before it was like, let’s throw some mud at the wall and see what sticks, as it were, in terms of test after test,” said Corke.

The next several months would take everything David had in him, with two rounds of chemotherapy, full body radiation treatments and ultimately a stem cell transplant on April 30, 2021.

During his chemotherapy sessions, Corke also encountered a spiritual care practitioner. Although he doesn’t consider himself religious, he found himself surprised at how meaningful the conversation was.

“She sat with me for, I’m going to say at least two hours one day, where I was hooked up to machines galore and she, and I remember this is clear as day, she said to me, ‘What does cancer mean to you?’ And I broke down because my mother passed of breast cancer, my grandmother passed from breast cancer, and recently my mother-in-law passed of multiple myeloma. So cancer to me meant death,” said Corke.

“And she sat with me for and taught me about being positive, staying positive, and some mechanisms to cope,” adds Corke. “And I can’t really express this enough, we had a phenomenal conversation.”

After the toughest months of his life, with thanks to the many specialists and health care providers at VGH, Corke made it through. And in April 2021, his cancer was in remission. Though his journey to recovery was far from over, for the first time in months Corke felt everything might turn out OK.

In celebration of his care team’s dedication, Corke, his family, and his friends started a fundraising campaign called the “Corke Classic”. It began in 2021 with 60 golfers raising money to support patients and their families struggling with new living expenses: gas cards, grocery cards, flight tickets, and more. It has since tripled attendance with 180 golfers and raised $20,000 in 2023.

“I feel outstanding today,” Corke said. “This is about me giving back and providing what I can. I can’t say thank you enough to all the teams at VGH.”

VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation utilizes its widely known Millionaire Lottery to raise vital funds for people like Corke. Tickets for the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Millionaire Lottery are now on sale until midnight, January 11, 2024, or until tickets sell out. The Millionaire Lottery supports VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation and money raised goes to funding innovative research, advancing specialized adult health care, and purchasing critical medical equipment at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Vancouver Community Health Services and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Back pain leads to leukemia diagnosis and life-changing ordeal for Chilliwack soccer coach

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