| They beat cancer, and that deserves a celebration 06/02/2001 By LINDA STEWART BALL / The Dallas Morning News
Survivors will be celebrating on Sunday at Bob Woodruff Park in East Plano.
Some will whoop it up while others will be much more subdued.
These aren't million-dollar winners in some reality TV show. They're big
winners in the game of life. They've survived the Big C. Some of them
are newly diagnosed and others, like Clifford Brandt, 64, of Far North
Dallas, have been "cancer free" for 10 years or more now.
"I never thought about not surviving," said Mr. Brandt, who spent nearly
three months in Medical Center of Plano beginning in late 1991 battling
acute myeloid leukemia.
As he grappled with his disease, he said, he went from denial to despair.
"Why me?" he asked. "I was living a decent life. I quit smoking years
ago. But it was me."
An intensive round of chemotherapy mixed with a massive dose of support
from his wife, Ann, their grown sons and friends from across the country
helped pull him through.
"Faced with the alternative, I feel pretty good about the whole thing,"
said Mr. Brandt, director of construction for Neiman Marcus.
Consequently, he'll be one of several people participating in "Life!
That's My Final Answer!" It's part of something called National Cancer
Survivors Day.
Organizers say it's the largest survivors' event in the world. The Plano
celebration is one of more than 700 across the country. The event is
designed to honor cancer survivors and those who rally behind them.
You're invited, too. It's from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Bob Woodruff
Pavilion off San Gabriel Drive.
The Jeff Taylor Quartet and Deja Voodoo will provide the music, and
there will be prizes, special recognitions and refreshments. KDFW
(Channel 4) reporter Steve Stoler, who is also a cancer survivor, will
be the guest speaker when the official program starts at 5:30 p.m.
"Whether you're a survivor, a family member, a friend or medical
professional, our community's event is a great place to see for yourself
that anyone can live a fulfilling life after a cancer diagnosis," said
Mary Jo Dean, National Cancer Survivors Day coordinator for Medical
Center of Plano.
They also want to take the fear out of cancer by stressing that many
forms can be prevented and most cured if detected early, Ms. Dean said.
The hospital is hosting the local event in conjunction with the North
Texas Regional Cancer Center in Plano.
Jennifer Duhon, 28, of Lewisville is the patients' financial counselor
at the center. She'll be at the celebration.
When she was 21, Ms. Duhon had Hodgkin's disease, a cancer that tends to
attack the lymph glands. After 10 weeks of radiation therapy, she was
told that her chances of ever conceiving a child were slim. But three
years ago, she gave birth to a healthy girl.
"Her name is Mia. Her name actually means a gift from God," Ms. Duhon
said. "She's the happiest baby that I have ever seen. She's beautiful.
She's a ray of sunshine in my life."
So of course, Ms. Duhon is bringing Mia to the party in the park.
"Absolutely!" she said.
Because of the cancer, Ms. Duhon said, she now takes nothing for granted.
"It happened for a reason," she said. "It put me in this job where I can
identify with people. When someone comes in my office they're so upset
they're crying. They say, 'You don't understand.' Well, I do understand.
I've been in that chair right there. I think my being sick helps me be a
better person in this clinic."
Then Ms. Duhon added something that surprised this jaded journalist.
"I would never change it," she said. "I would never ever change that I
was sick. It just did something to me."
An estimated 8.9 million Americans are now living with and beyond a
diagnosis of cancer, according to statistics on the National Cancer
Survivors Day Foundation Web site: http://www.ncsdf.org.
"At this cancer center alone, we see more than 150 newly diagnosed
cancer patients a month," said Becky Goodman, practice administrator at
the North Texas Regional Cancer Center on West 15th Street.
One of them is Heather Devine, 44, an Allen soccer mom and registered
nurse who has osteosarcoma, which is basically bone cancer.
Ms. Devine had a below-knee amputation to remove a tumor that was first
discovered in 1995. Last year, she underwent surgery to remove a lesion
found in her lung, but she doesn't let any of this slow her down.
"I'm looking at this as a minor annoyance and I'm getting on with my
life," said Ms. Devine, who said she has a house to decorate and a
husband and two kids to look after. They'll be joining her at Sunday's
celebration.
"I think you should never give up," Ms. Devine said. "You should always
keep fighting. There's lots of reasons to live. ... I'm not going to let
it get me."
Staff writer Linda Stewart Ball can be reached at 214-977-6968 or .
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