Stand Up To Cancer

Ernie Harwell

This article from the Detroit News looks at the life of Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who for 19 years announced games at Tiger Stadium. Harwell was recently diagnosed with incurable cancer of the bile duct. Writes Neal Rubin, "Listeners always had the sense that Harwell was the nicest man on the planet. They were correct. He has a knack for deflecting and refocusing awe . . .You want to talk about him, but he wants to hear about you. He's a truly humble soul who has accepted last week's diagnosis with the same grace he accepted all the good things to come his way."
http://detnews.com/article/20090908/OPINION03/909080329/1005/LIFESTYLE/Ernie-Harwell-accepts-cancer-news-as-humbly-as-accolades

Dan Barry

In an article for the New York Times, Dan Barry, who has been through chemo twice in the past decade, writes about the effects that cancer treatment had on his mind. Arguing with the concept of "chemo brain," he writes: "Chemotherapy transformed me into a bald guy whose pallor was offset only by the hint of terror in his eyes. But the chemo also wiped away the muddle, revealing the world in all its mundane glory. I won't tell you that I wept at the sight of a puppy. But I did linger over my sleeping daughter to watch her tiny chest rise and fall. I did savor the complexities of a simple olive. I did notice fireflies, those dancing night sparks I had long ago stopped seeing."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/health/01case.html?_r=3&ref=health

Nina Gleason

A piece out of Visalia, California looks at the incredible life of Nina Gleason, a former Army spy turned whitewater-rafting chef. Now Gleason, who was treated for cancer three years ago, is helping to recruit participants for a long-term study aimed at identifying the lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer. "You just want your life to have a different quality" after surviving cancer, Gleason says. "You don't want to waste any of your time."
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20090908/NEWS01/909080322/Plucky+cancer+survivor+pushes+participation+in+research

Cindy Selig Sabin

In a Facebook comment on last week's edition of "With You, We Stand," Cindy Selig Sabin shared her story. She wrote, "My dear mother passed away August 5th from colon cancer and fought the good fight. Never let cancer rule her life. She was diagnosed at 83 and given three weeks to live. She lived to 85, an amazing quality of life all the way to her last breath. I say, how beautiful that I was there as she took her last breath, as she was there as I took my first. I will ALWAYS stand up to cancer."

As always, we invite you to share your stories in the comments below.