A drummer, a barber and a bartender -- united through a common diagnosis of Stage 4 colon cancer.
All three men from Greater Moncton are going through chemotherapy treatment at the same time.
“It’s kind of wild,” said Weldon Hogue, the barber. “We have very similar diagnoses. We’re around the same age. We’re into a lot of the same things. I prefer none of us were going through this, but it is kind of cool to have each other.”
Hogue said a lot of their treatments line up timing wise at the oncology clinic.
“Usually someone’s in for a blood test, someone else is in for treatment. And often, at least one of the days, the three of us are there at the same time,” said Hogue. “That’s kind of nice.”
Jonny Flanagan, the drummer, realized he wasn’t alone at the Moncton Hospital, so he decided to contact Todd Burgess, the bartender, first and then Hogue.
They’ve been buddies ever since.
“It just blew me away how similar our symptoms were and our diagnosis was. I had to reach out,” said Flanagan.
They decided to get together for a picture, later sharing it on social media.
“The response from the photo was crazy,” said Burgess. “We had so many shares and likes and messages. It was nice to feel the support from everybody from just the photo alone.”
Another similarity between the three men: family and friends have thrown three separate benefit concerts to help raise money while they’re not working.
Burgess, 43, was the guest of honour for an all-day concert at the Holy Whale in December.
“For me, it was unreal. I didn’t expect the community to come together like they did,” said Burgess. “I couldn’t ask for a better place to live.”
A career drummer, members of Moncton’s music scene threw a giant bash for the 47-year-old Flanagan last June.
“It was an amazing night with friends and family and to see all the fans and the community gather like that, it was a night to remember to say the least,” said Flanagan.
Another concert was held this past weekend for Hogue and the 36-year-old was also blown away.
All three have GoFundMe campaigns to help with the financial strain of not working.
“It takes a good amount of physical energy to cut hair all day and be on your feet all day. So I figure mostly best to just focus on treatment right now,” said Hogue. “Yeah, it’s worrying not working, and I’m not used to not working, but I’m pretty fortunate for people’s generosity.”
Flanagan said it’s tough.
“We’re a drummer, a bartender and a barber. it’s hard to make ends meet when you can’t work at all,” said Flanagan.
“I’ve had a lot of support honestly, a lot of help,” said Burgess. “It is tough not working, but I have a very good support system behind me. The guys that I work with have taken care of me from day one.”
They were all surprised when they found out about their diagnoses and they’re urging other men to be proactive and get screened.
Hogue said he was a bit fatigued on Tuesday, but generally he’s feeling good.
Flanagan, who was the first one diagnosed of the three, said he’s starting to see the finish line in his treatment while Hogue and Burgess are just getting started.
“I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t think it was colon cancer,” said Burgess. “I just thought maybe it was something else. We don’t really know until we get ourselves checked.”
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