It’s been quite an eventful 12 months for Yorkton resident and karate instructor Ron Rurak.
Last summer Rurak, then 41, was given some of the worst news a person could receive – he was diagnosed with Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that occurs when white blood cells known as lymphocytes grow and multiply uncontrollably, attacking the person from within. “When I was diagnosed, it was a shock and not something you could really prepare for,” said Rurak, now 42, adding that while he wasn’t prepared for the diagnosis, once he got it he immediately set his mind to conquering it. “With that diagnosis, I instantly thought ‘hello no, I won’t take this lying down’ and put all my effort towards beating it.”
So instead of taking some time off to wrap his head around things, Rurak – who teaches karate in Yorkton and Roblin – decided to bulk up in preparation of his battle, hitting the gym (Pumphouse Athletic Club) on a regular basis while continuing with his karate classes, although admittedly he says he hasn’t been able to attend as many as he’d like. “Through the treatments, by the time the evenings roll around you’re a little tired, so I’ve probably got about a dozen classes that I’ve trained in this year, although I’ve been instructing more than anything lately.”
The combination of physical workouts and cancer treatments worked, too, as Rurak recently received the news that he is now 100% cancer free; which is yet another thing Rurak says a person can never really prepare themselves for. “I took a couple of good friends with me to Regina when I went to see the doctor, and when I went in she told me that I had a clean bill of health and that they didn’t find anything from biopsies and it didn’t hit right away, until we started going home,” laughed Rurak, continuing, “Then on the way home we were like, ‘wow! That’s awesome’, and by the time I got home it was like, ‘yeah, holy, I’m back to normal again’.
“Then the hair started growing back – or what little there was – but it still grew back, and everything started getting back to normal.”
Everything including, as it turns out, karate, as Rurak recently discovered that he can once again compete in the sport that he has been involved with since 1989. “The thought of competing again hadn’t crossed my mind a whole lot until recently,” mentioned Rurak. “I thought, ‘Jeez, I can get back in there and do this again’, which is something I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do again.”
That’s exactly what he did, too, as Rurak both officiated and competed at the Parkland Karate Association tournament held this past weekend at Dr. Brass, where he won a silver medal in the Kata competition (forms).
Rurak has also recently found employment at the one place he did most of his cancer battle preparation - Pumphouse gym - as a personal trainer.
In addition, the third degree black belt has also put his mind to yet another goal – competing in a body building competition next year. “That’s a goal that I set for myself and I set it as I was going through my treatments,” mentioned Rurak. “I thought that it was something that I’d like to try, so I decided to set a goal and I’m going to go for it and get it done.”
And if the past few months are any indication, when Rurak sets his mind to something, it will get done.
