Fight Cancer With Fun

By some miracle, when I reached 50, I decided to have my first complete physical. It was the right thing to do. You know, being middle-aged and all.

Blood pressure, cholesterol, lung x-rays and the physical stress test showed I was in good health. It was that darn PSA level that put a twist in my life. Even though a level of 2.5 doesn’t typically warrant immediate action and even though none of the four pathology reports were conclusive, I made the decision to have a radical prostatectomy rather than seeding and radiation treatments that would have been time-consuming with no guarantee. But I knew something had to be done.

Call me Mr. Lucky. The cancer proved to be seventy-five percent invasive and one millimeter from reaching the urethra. There were some discomforts for the better part of a year but otherwise there were no emotional scars and minimal physical impairments. Fate and Faith were both good to me.

Most cancer patients aren’t as fortunate. For example, mom had cancer in the lower jaw bone. After being surgically removed, her mouth had to be wire shut for a full year on a diet of liquids; milk shakes kept her from losing weight. She never complained but the pain was all too apparent to the day she passed away ten years later from causes other than cancer.

These thoughts on my personal experiences with cancer, including a favorite aunt who died from breast cancer, came to mind as a result of a series of events that began this past summer when I lost the remote control garage door opener. Since I hadn’t bothered to replace it after nearly six months, a friend gave me one as a Christmas gift. Odd thing is that I found the remote opener on Christmas Eve when I got out my ‘good shoes’ to wear to a dinner party. Never mind how the remote got in the shoe box but, once again, after six weeks of not bothering to return it unopened, the gift-giver took it back and was cheerfully given a refund.

Along with the cash back there was a flyer that caught my attention. It was from the place of business that installed my Liftmaster, had an occasion to replace the garage door due to an incident where I, as a passenger, witnessed the crumpling of my garage door as the driver had a moment of misjudgment. And now the remote. Yes, R&R Garage Doors and I have an on-going relationship.

One side of the flyer served as an ad for R&R with a date-limited discount coupon on the replacement of two springs. The other side, also in pink with black lettering, was an invitation to ‘Celebrate the day before Valentine’s Day’ with free admission to a few hours of fun for the family.

Games. Entertainment. Crafts. Prizes. Raffles. For a small donation, kids face-painting other kids which is pretty cool to watch. Kid-stores where they can shop for low-priced trinkets. And, yes, a variety of foods available to quell those mid-day stomach grumblings.

But the special occasion is all about cancer awareness.

What had started out with hopes of attracting fifteen vendors for the event turned into a fanfare of thirty-five participants. Victoria Crowe, two-time cancer survivor who has gone through both radiation and chemotherapy, and co-hostess Victoria Foust, also a cancer survivor, are astounded at the response and what it means to the success of their ‘At the Root of It All’ crusade to assist cancer patients with their special needs.

Sponsored by R&R, the event is being held to benefit the American Cancer Society’s ‘Hernando Gift Room’ where uninsured or under-insured cancer patients and survivors can get free wigs, prosthesis, bras, turbans and scarves. Victoria hopes the fundraiser will make people more aware of their services and that the response will greatly increase the number of visitors to the Gift Room – from August through December there were only six visitors.

The fund raiser will be at R&R Garage Doors, 16050 Aviation Loop Drive at the Hernando County Airport Industrial Park this Saturday, February 13 from 10am to 3pm. The Life South Blood Mobile will also be on site for ‘liquid donations’. Victoria and Victoria can be reached at 352-799-3685 or 352-442-9771 or e-mail info@ATROIA.org. Visit www.ATROIA.org for more information.

Few cancer patients are spared the trauma as I was, so uneventful that the episode is barely a memory even though, as with all survivors, it comes with the fear that the disease can recur anytime, anywhere in your body. Cancer does not discriminate against age, race or religion.

Support the fight against cancer. Wear pink – it has meaning.