Relay race to honor survivor
By Jenny Jones
Summer
Reporter
Vietnam veteran and retiree West Lafayette police
captain, Harry Martin, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996.
Now, Martin is being honored as a cancer survivor by the American
Cancer Society.
The Tippecanoe County unit of the American Cancer
Society will hold its Seventh Annual Relay for Life as a tribute to
Martin at 7 p.m. June 22 at Jefferson High School in Lafayette. The
relay is free and open to the public.
Martin, 62, was hospitalized for bleeding ulcers.
Doctors performed a cancer test on him, which revealed no signs of
cancer. Having what Martin calls a "sixth sense," he convinced doctors
to do a retest. This time, the results came back cancerous and Martin
became part of a statistic; one in four people who has cancer.
When he heard those three little words, "you
have cancer," Martin automatically assumed he had been given a death
sentence. His doctor said that his biopsy went off the number scale;
it was severe. Martin said he remembers the doctor saying, "All cancers
are bad, yours is critical. You won the lotto."
After sitting in a stunned state for a period
of time, the first thing that came to his mind was to ask how long
he had to live. Instead, Martin asked what his options were.
Since then, Martin has undergone surgeries, radiation
and Lupron injections. The treatments have caused many side effects,
such as nausea and fatigue. The therapies continued to work until
Martin was tested in 1998; the cancer had returned. Continuing the
treatments, he managed to overcome the disease a second time. Martin
said he owes his recoveries to an extremely talented medical staff.
In 1997, Martin served on the board of directors
as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society. Martin said serving
as a volunteer has been the best treatment he could get. "You learn,
if they can make it, you can make it."
In addition to serving as a volunteer with the
American Cancer Society, Martin is a mentor for the Greater Tippecanoe
County Chapter of Man to Man, a support group for people with cancer.
He has also volunteered as a redcoat at the oncology, radiology libraries
and surgery waiting rooms at Home Hospital in Lafayette.
To honor Martin for his winning spirit and inspirational
ways, the Wabash Valley of Indiana Chapter of Oncology Nursing Society
granted him the Greater Lafayette Survivor Award in 1999.
June Haste, Relay for Life luminaria chairperson
said, "(Martin) is always willing to give to other people. He's a
very good example of a cancer survivor that doesn't believe cancer
is a death sentence."
Martin said he is honored the relay is being
held in his name, but it's truly in honor of everyone who has had
cancer.
During the relay, teams of 15 people or less
will run or walk on the track; team members will alternate every 30
minutes, keeping one team member on the track at all times. Each team
is required to raise at least $150 before the event, which will take
place over a 24-hour period.
At 9 p.m. June 22, there will also be a luminary,
or candlelight ceremony. Guests may purchase a luminary for a $10
minimum contribution prior to the event. (You do not need to be present
to purchase a luminary.) Each candle will be placed in a bag, which
will display the names of people living or have died from cancer.
The luminaries will line the track, and all the names will be read.
"The luminary ceremony is often very emotional,"
Martin said.
The money raised from donations and luminary
purchases will go toward the American Cancer Society and cancer research,
said Haste.
Last year the American Cancer Society held the
relay in honor of 250,000 survivors and raised $4 million in Indiana.
