In September, a tumour was found in Steve West's throat. He was subsequently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that typically involves the lymph nodes, spleen and other parts of the body's immune system.
Mr. West informed his family, close friends, board and direct reports, then went on with the business of running one of Ottawa's largest locally headquartered companies while undergoing chemotherapy a few times a week at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre.
On Friday, he revealed his illness publicly on the same day his treatments ceased. His 500-some employees found out the day before.
There is no sign of cancer at the moment, he said. The outlook for his health is positive, with a typical survival rate for that form of cancer reaching well into the 90th percentile, he said.
"I'm doing good," he said in an OBJ interview on Thursday, the day before the news was revealed. "People have been asking me that the last few months ... I've always felt like saying, 'Good under the circumstances.' I haven't been particularly public about my personal health situation. It's kind of odd."
Mr. West's diagnosis came during a particularly busy time for Nordion, which saw its quarterly earnings halved recently amid declines in its targeted therapies, sterilization technologies and medical isotopes businesses.
Last quarter, the company also announced its sales of nuclear medical isotopes will fall again in summer 2012 when the Chalk River National Research Universal reactor will be shut down for required relicensing requirements. Nordion will see a shortfall that its Russian supplier won't be able to fill, Mr. West announced at the time.
Meanwhile, Nordion has been working hard to shift gears into its targeted therapies business. Its TheraSphere therapy for liver cancer is currently undergoing clinical trials; in September, Mr. West said the therapies division is the fastest-growing part of the firm.
"The timing has been very awful," Mr. West recalled. "There were a lot of tough weeks right after my treatment, whether it be board meetings or quarterly results and ... all the calls with analysts."
Through the tumult, Mr. West said he was able to work as usual. The chemotherapy did not produce very much nausea, and often he would do his treatment in the afternoon and show up at work at 7:30 the next morning. He never took a leave of absence.
The avid biker and runner was even able to continue his fitness workouts, albeit at a slower pace.
As such, as the treatments continued and Mr. West's health stayed strong, he chose to keep the news quiet as it was "more a personal matter" at that point.
There were no immediate moves to accelerate the succession plan or change the business focus while he was under treatment as things were going so well, he said.
"You have to be aware, as a CEO of a public company, and look at situations where you're not going to be misleading. But this is a different situation," he said.
Mr. West added that this private battle was much easier with the support of his wife, Eunice, as well as his three children. Eunice appeared by his side at the announcement of his final treatment on Friday.
"In my business we talk about milestones, objectives, deliverables and performances. This became a different kind of milestone."
