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CANCER SURVIVORS CELEBRATE LIFE -- Survivors Day

event draws nearly 200 to Long Beach VA hospital.

 

 

This is a simple story with a very important message:  You can beat cancer...with early detection and treatment.

Women veterans:  Make sure you get a mammogram and pap smear.

Male vets:  Be sure to get a prostate exam.

Story here... http://origin.
presstelegram.com/news/ci_6098567

Story below:

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Cancer survivors celebrate life

Survivors Day event draws nearly 200 to VA Hospital.

By Hanna Chu, Staff writer

They have lived to tell their stories.

About 200 current and former cancer patients gathered in the Pantages Theater room of the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Long Beach on Friday to celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day.

The holiday is normally observed on the first Sunday in June.

The event brought past and present cancer patients of the hospital together to celebrate their success stories.

The theme this year was Mardi Gras, in honor of the rebirth that New Orleans is undergoing.

"They're both given a second chance," said Monica Batts-King, who organized the event this year.

Long Beach resident Cathy Almon shared with the crowd that she has been cancer-free for 36 years.

Almon was diagnosed with cancer in 1970.

"They told me I had three to six months to live. I said I'd live until I was 150," Almon said.

Fullerton resident Bob Braunhardt was diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer.

"I've been told it's a tough cancer to beat, but I'm going to do it," Braunhardt said.

He said that he had been cycling in the Solvang Century bike tour since it first began 25 years ago. Because he is the only person who has participated for 25 years
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in a row, he received a special jersey and a plaque this year.

"I plan on cycling 25 more years," he said.

Gerard Allen has been a prostate cancer survivor for nine years and is currently a caregiver for another cancer patient, Sandy Dee.

"Yes, I'm a survivor, yes, I'm a caregiver, and I don't know what's harder," Allen said.

Allen said he saw a need for cancer support groups at the VA Hospital in Long Beach, which is why he and Dee decided to start two support groups, one for men and one for women.

"It's a slow process," Dee said.

National Cancer Survivors Day is celebrated to educate the public on issues of surviving cancer, stressing the importance of early detection. For more information, visit www.ncsdf.org.

Hanna Chu can be reached at hanna.chu@presstelegram.com  or (562) 499-1476.

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Larry Scott  --