‘SUP’ers make waves in cancer fight

                     

Two friends lead fight against two less-funded types of deadly cancer

BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News scott@gulfbreezenews.com

October has become a month during which wearing pink has become a popular choice, contradictory to traditional fashion advice.

The movement has not been a trend generated by the fashion industry but by millions of people joining together to fight cancer – specifically breast cancer.

Local friends, Heather Kelly and Cindi Bonner, had their pink tanktops on last Saturday, Oct. 8 at the inaugural Paddle For A Cure, but in support of two other deadly forms of cancer, pancreatic and colorectal, for which purple and brown are the official colors.

“We just love pink,” Kelly said, when asked if they were planning a merger with the “Save the Tatas” movement.

Over 90 people showed up to paddle in the Relay For Life-like event, helping raise over $16,000 for local pancreatic and colon cancer patients. Not too bad for an event that Bonner and Kelly organized in just six weeks.
“It was awesome,” said Bonner, who is the owner of Fitness On Board, which hosted the event in Little Sabine Bay. “We have been talking about doing something like this for about a year, and six weeks ago we said, ‘Let’s just do it.’

“It was our first fundraiser and we are definitely going to make it an annual event.”

Both Bonner and Kelly have seen family and friends affected by these two deadly forms of cancer.

Kelly’s father, Bobby DePew, battled pancreatic cancer before passing away nine years ago. The family made the horrifying discovery that many others do when dealing with pancreatic and colon cancer – there is very little available funding and treatment.
Colorectal and pancreatic cancer have two of the top five death rates among cancers in the U.S. Unfortunately, the two are the leastsupported of the top five killers in terms of National Cancer Institute funding.

The latest NCI statistics show that U.S. mortality rates for 14 of the 19 most deadly cancers are declining. For cancers such as pancreatic, however, there are still no reliable screening tests or effective treatments and death rates continue to rise.

That’s why Paddle For A Cure partnered with the Sacred Heart Foundation in Pensacola to direct the money raised to those who need it most.

“My dad was lucky enough to have good health insurance,” Kelly explained, “but there was not a lot of local treatment available.

“He had to go to Baylor University (Tex.) to receive treatment, and a lot of people would not be able to afford that. We wanted to provide them with some funds to hopefully make it possible to receive treatment.”
Still, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer, which recently claimed the life of Apple Co- Founder Steve Jobs, is 6 percent, compared to 90 percent for some forms of breast and prostate cancer.
Dr. Leo Villegas, a general surgeon who specializes liver, pancreas and bile duct surgery, recently joined the medical staff at the Sacred Heart Cancer Center.

Sacred Heart Foundation Director Bambi Provost said the conjunction of Dr. Villegas’ arrival and Paddle For A Cure’s donation will be “an incredible match” that will bless local cancer patients.

“We don’t yet know exactly how the money will be used,” Provost said, “but we are very grateful for their contribution.”

Kelly described her father as a man who was very outgoing and always willing to go out of his way to help others. “He would be very proud of us for putting this event together,” she said.

Paddle For A Cure is without doubt a fitting tribute to his memory.

http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2011-10-20/Island_News/SUPers_make_waves_in_cancer_fight.html