Carl Armato was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colorectal cancer in 2022, and he underwent surgery and intensive chemotherapy.
Carl Armato did everything right. A former college basketball player and coach, he stayed fit and ate well. He also had regular colonoscopies because a family history of colon cancer.
His stage 3C colon cancer in November 2022 came just 14 months after he had a clear colonoscopy.
“My cancer was inconceivable,” said Armato, 66, of Rockford, Illinois. “I never smoked. I rarely drink. I exercise regularly and I have my whole life. I always prioritized and lived a relatively physically active and healthy lifestyle. The last thing on my mind was cancer.”
Thanks to expert care at UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center in Rockford and in Madison, Armato has had no evidence of cancer since July 2023. He credits regular exercise as a significant factor in getting back to feeling healthy and playing basketball. His medical oncologist, Dr. Nameer Mardini, notes that a growing body of research shows the benefits of fitness after cancer treatment, including reduced risk of recurrence.
“I look at exercise as a medicine, as part of the healing, part of reducing the chance of cancer recurrence,” said Mardini, who is also medical director of UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center Rockford.
Concerning symptoms
In the weeks before his 2022 diagnosis, Armato spoke with his primary care provider about cramping, constipation and a small amount of blood in his stool. Armato was diagnosed with an aggressive subtype of colon cancer that had already spread to seven lymph nodes.
Scans also showed a dark spot on his left kidney. Dr. Julia Berian, a UW Health colorectal surgeon, knew that Armato also had a family history of kidney cancer and asked for additional imaging. He was then diagnosed with early-stage kidney cancer as well.
Berian arranged for Armato to have a dual surgery in Madison in December 2022 that would remove both the affected kidney as well as the tumors from his colon cancer in the same procedure.
After surgery, Armato started infusion chemotherapy at Carbone Cancer Center Rockford every three weeks, and in between he would take daily chemotherapy pills. This came with extremely difficult side effects, including fatigue, nausea and weight loss. His faith and the loving support of his family helped him through treatment. He also praised the compassion of the care team at the infusion center.
“Everybody there is unbelievable,” he said of the staff. “They were like your guardian angels. They’re warm, they’re caring, I have nothing but great things to say about them.”
Getting back in shape
After eight months of chemotherapy, Armato had lost a lot of weight and muscle. With the encouragement of Mardini, Armato eased back into exercising with walking and small at-home workouts, like squats and push-ups. He then moved on to exercising in the weight room at nearby Rock Valley College, where he had coached the men’s basketball team for 12 years. The progress at times felt slow, but he knew pushing through would pay off.
“I would probably say it took a couple of months where I was gaining some strength, feeling like when I was going to the gym, I wasn't just spinning my wheels,” he said. “I started to go up slightly in the amount of reps, the amount of weight, and things like that. And then the energy levels started coming back a little bit more right around then.”
Mardini said a growing body of research supports physical activity’s role in better recovery and increased survival after a cancer diagnosis. He praised Armato’s resilience and mental strength, knowing how hard he worked to get back to his athletic lifestyle.
“I see him in the gym on my day off, and it just brightens my day to see my patients exercising and doing well,” Mardini said. “As a physician, I look for those moments in my life when I help the patient to go back to normality, and always I feel happy.”