Cancer Survivor Story

Bo Sibilsky

Bo Sibilsky remembers lying on his couch the night he found out he had cancer. He pondered the thought of not being there to watch his son grow up. He thought about not being able to see his daughter get married. As you can imagine, he did not get much sleep that night.
It all started in July of 2007, when he noticed blood in his urine. Concerned, his wife mentioned that he needed to go see a doctor to get checked out. Bo eventually made his way to Oconee Regional Medical Center where they ran tests on his kidney. The test came back showing a golf ball sized tumor located near his bladder. He had the tumor removed on September 20, but doctors confirmed that the mass was malignant. Bo was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Thankfully, it had not spread to any other organ in his body, therefore, treatment was in reach.
On October 9, Bo and his wife, Nikki flew to Rochester, Minnesota to have more tests done at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Blute, who specializes in bladder reconstruction gave Bo and Nikki a few options. Bo decided to have surgery and replace his bladder with something known as a neobladder which would be constructed by using three feet of his small intestine. On Bo and Nikki’s 12 year wedding anniversary, they flew back to Rochester to have the procedure done. Tuesday, October 30, Bo had his bladder, his prostate, and his lymph nodes removed. The doctors then reconstructed his bladder. Bo remained in the hospital the following week recovering.
As time went on, Bo had to learn how to control the functioning of his new bladder which became very difficult at times. He remained in good spirits throughout the process however, which enabled him to make it through the traumatic experience. He recalls thinking, “I’m not gonna let this beat me!” Bo did not allow the cancer to beat him mentally or physically. He is able to tell his story today, even adding a few humorous stories to lighten up the mood. “A lot of people are a lot worse off than I am,” Bo says. Going through this, he realized “the things in life that are really meaningful – family, children, and friends.”
Bo blames his cancer on chewing tobacco, which he had chewed since he was 12 years old. He quit the day he was told he had cancer. “I didn’t do it for me,” Bo explained, “I did it for my kids.” Today, as Bo walks around talking to friends and customers at his gym, he is proud to say that he is cancer free. “Life is not a guarantee,” he says. “I’m just thankful my feet hit the floor in the morning.” Bo said that having cancer made him realize that the small things in life do matter. October 30, 2009, was Bo Sibilsky’s 2 year anniversary for being cancer free. Now, he will be there for his children as they grow up. In fact, he was taking off early that afternoon to watch his son’s baseball game.