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POSTED: Monday, Jul. 06, 2009

Cancer survivor finds new cause in Relay for Life

Three years ago, Bruce Vander Meulen had never been involved in Bellingham's annual Relay for Life fundraiser. Now he's a cancer survivor who has helped form the first two fundraising teams from The Firs.

"The Firvivors Teams I and II" will be among hundreds of people walking in the annual Relay for Life by Bellingham Public Library this Friday and Saturday, July 10-11. The first walk, for survivors, starts at 6 p.m. Friday.

Vander Meulen, 52, is director of maintenance and operations at The Firs. He and his wife, Barb, have two children and three grandchildren.

Question: You had never heard of the local Relay for Life?

Answer: We went to our first one in July 2007, when Barb and I walked for an hour for a WeightWatchers team. We had never done it before, and I'm not sure if we even knew about it. But we saw people we recognized and we told ourselves, "This is a cool thing and we ought to get involved."

Q: Then what happened?

A: I went for my annual checkup early in 2008 and my prostate-specific antigen number had gone up. The doctor was concerned and we had it checked a month later. It had doubled, so he sent me to a specialist, and a week later my biopsy came back: cancer.

Q: But you still walked in 2008?

A: I had surgery for removal of my prostate. It wasn't terribly painful, but I had no energy. Even so, I felt we had to walk in July, about three weeks after the surgery.

Q: How did that go?

A: I had wonderful treatment from everyone at St. Joseph. It was as "enjoyable" - if that's the word - as it could possibly have been. But I just had no energy.

In 2007, we had walked the circle 28 times, but we made it four times in 2008; two laps the first night and two more the second day. The walk was more emotionally difficult than physically hard; I was teary-eyed, and it still affects me.

Q: How's your health now?

A: I was clear on my most recent checkup, and I go for another soon. I have to have them every six months.

Q: And you have a new cause in your life?

A: Barb and I are now totally committed to raising funds for early detection and research, to help with programs for cancer patients and to help with awareness. It's also important to me because my father is 81 and has prostate cancer. Our two sons will have to be checked regularly after they reach 40. My mom and my sister also were treated for cancer.

Q: How was the response from other people at The Firs?

A: Wonderful. We've already had a couple of fundraisers, and so many people wanted to get involved, we had to form a second team. Altogether, 28 people are now involved from The Firs.

Q: What do you tell people now?

A: I tell people they need to understand there are all kinds of tests now to help with checks, and that early detection can be a wonderful thing. Believe me, I know!