Reservations for Nine

 bladder and colorectal cancer

George Beauregard is a doctor who writes about his bladder cancer and his son Patrick’s colon cancer in Reservations for Nine (2025). It’s a heartbreaking account that shares the harsh realities and tragedies of cancer, and he recounts his family’s struggles and courage while twice confronting the unthinkable. From his experiences with cancer as a patient, a parent, and as a doctor, he shares what he has learned.

My thanks to Cassandra Isley for telling me about this book. I knew little about colon cancer before reading it.

The most important message in this book is this: If you have any of these four symptoms of colon cancer, talk to your doctor about having a colonoscopy: abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, iron deficiency anemia. Seriously, the ugh of drinking the prep solution pales in the face of everything that your body will have to go through if you have cancer. Early diagnosis is critical with colon cancer because it’s hard to diagnose in its early stages.

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The first part of the book is about Beauregard studying to be an internist and finding out he has bladder cancer at age 49. Part of the diagnosis process was having a cystoscope pushed up his urethra and into his bladder to see what was going on and having tissue removed. He said it was extremely painful, and I concur. He discusses the chemotherapy and surgery he went through, his struggles with faith, going to counseling with his wife because the cancer diagnosis shut down their emotions and they weren’t sharing their fears with each other, having his bladder removed, and getting a neobladder, probably fashioned out of his small intestines to replace it. Given 10 years to live, Beauregard is now a 14-year survivor of bladder cancer.

“Having cancer is a non-linear experience; there are a lot of mood swings.”

“Withholding bad news from family and friends isn’t the best strategy.” We don’t want to burden them, but they will want to know what is going on because we are going to be moody with the bad news, and they won’t know how to respond. Cancer affects the entire family. Invite them in because you are going to need their support.

Beauregard says oncology nurses are a special breed. They are, and I can’t say enough about their compassion.

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The second part of the book shifts to Patrick. In September 2017, Patrick was diagnosed at age 29 with Stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer. We read about the trauma and agony of the treatments he went through trying to stay alive – the surgeries, rounds of chemo, and radiation. Part of Patrick’s grim situation was that he had a rare form of colon cancer that had the KRAS gene and microsatellite stability, which means that conventional immunotherapy drugs weren’t going to work. Because colon cancer is slow growing, Patrick’s cancer probably started in his late teens. He said he didn’t notice any early symptoms. 

After he finished radiation at the cancer center, Patrick rang a Chinese Chau Gong. The gong’s resonance moves you from an alert state (Beta) to a calmer state (Alpha) to meditative (Delta). This is what I wanted when I finished radiation. I wanted to feel those vibrations in my chest. The dinging of the bell in the hallway of my radiation center wasn’t going to do that for me, so I didn’t ring it. I still haven’t.

Patrick died in September 2020, three years after diagnosis.

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Beauregard feels that cancer is likely part of the human condition. Cells don’t always duplicate perfectly and mutations happen. Unorganized cancer cells are probably present in all of us, he says. That’s a sobering thought, and it’s slightly unnerving. 

Because of cancer research, new therapies are providing glimmers of hope for those with colon cancer. To counterattack cancer’s defenses, there is adoptive cellular therapy and CAR-T therapy (Chimeric Antigen Receptors). Beauregard explains the science behind how they work. Another promising area is the research into how the gut microbiome regulates immunity, affects cancer progression, and influences medication absorption. The idea is that a healthy microbiome can help prevent diseases from starting. MADP (Microbiome Alliance for Disease Prevention), is one of these places.

Also, coming on the market are multi-cancer early detection tests – the liquid biopsy — that can detect the presence of cancer. It can identify DNA shed into the bloodstream from existing cancers before there are any symptoms. This is particularly important for cancers like colon and rectal that do not have effective screening methods to detect when their cancers are beginning. While the test is more effective in indicating moderate and advanced cancer, if it picks up that something is amiss, then you know to see your doctor and get the more invasive tissue biopsy.

Doctors are concerned that colon cancer rates are increasing in those under the age of 50, and they don’t know why. They suspect it may be due from eating too much ultraprocessed food. 

2026 data reports that 75% of adults under the age of 50 who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer are already in the advanced stages. For this and other reasons, Beauregard feels that the approved screening age of 50 is too high. Unfortunately, insurance companies do not cover diagnostic tests for those who are younger.

Beauregard has become an advocate for the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer. I value the medical information that he talks about in his book, and I will share more of his observations and insights in a future post.

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On a personal note, Henry Heren III (Hank), who had a rare sarcoma, and was a dear members of my cancer support group, died this week. I will miss his enthusiasm and unflagging encouragement of anyone who had cancer. He advocated to increase funding for more cancer research into rare diseases.

© 2026 Mark Liebenow