Renowned fashion director and model agent Christopher Nathan, 63, faces a profound medical and personal crossroads following a devastating stage four metastatic spinal cancer diagnosis. The Trinidad-based industry pioneer, whose career has spanned nearly five decades, must now decide between palliative comfort care or aggressive treatment involving radiation and chemotherapy.
Nathan’s health crisis began with severe back pain initially misdiagnosed as osteoarthritis by physicians at multiple Trinidad and Tobago hospitals in August. The situation escalated dramatically in late November while Nathan was in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where he experienced alarming neurological symptoms including full-body numbness and paralysis from the chest down.
Emergency medical intervention at Milton Cato Memorial Hospital revealed the true nature of his condition: advanced prostate cancer that had metastasized to his spine, creating five lesions and causing spinal fractures. He was subsequently airlifted back to Trinidad for treatment at Sangre Grande Hospital Campus, where he now confronts significant physical challenges including loss of bladder and bowel control.
Despite the grim prognosis, Nathan finds solace in his extraordinary professional legacy. Through his company Coco Velvet International Fashion and Model Management, he has mentored over a thousand young professionals and established the Caribbean’s first university fashion program at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. His recent production of Styleweek Caribbean Fashion Collections, created while enduring considerable pain, stands as what he considers his finest creative work.
The fashion community has rallied around Nathan, with notable figures including Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam and designers Peter Elias and Claudia Pegus offering support. While emotionally fluctuating between despair and acceptance, Nathan maintains spiritual comfort, stating: ‘I am totally satisfied God put me on this earth to do a job and I did it well.’ His remarkable career additionally includes roles as flight attendant, merchandising manager, and chairman of Trinidad’s sustainable garment manufacturing standards committee.