Deputy deals with devastating cancer diagnosis

Fellow deputies holding benefit ride to help with medical bills

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com

For most of his life, Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Ryan has served his community.

He has been a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. He has raised money for the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Easter Seals and Muscular Dystrophy Association. He has helped families recover from fires that destroyed their homes.

Now, it’s time for Ryan to be on the receiving end of the help, as he battles advanced lung cancer.

Photo - TIM DOMINICK - tdominick@thestate.com

“It makes me feel good to do that kind of stuff,” Ryan said. “Being a recipient is difficult.”

To help Ryan with his medical bills, fellow deputies have organized Ryan’s Ride: A Dam Ride for Cancer on June 4 at Lake Murray.

They also are wearing black and red bracelets to show support for him and his three daughters, ages 14-20.

Ryan has been a deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department for three years but is on short-term disability. He has health insurance, but the bills still pile up.

Sheriff Leon Lott said he hired Ryan because he knew a man with devotion to single-handedly raise three girls would make a good deputy.

“His heart is in the right place with what he wanted to do,” Lott said.

Monday, Ryan and his daughters agreed to talk with reporters, a tearful interview for the girls as they watched their father talk about his disease, his love for them and his fellow Richland County deputies.

“It’s been very emotional for me,” Ryan said. “I’m proud to be a part of this organization, and I’m honored they’re helping me like this.”

If you go -

Ryan’s Ride: A Dam Ride for Cancer will be June 4 around Lake Murray.

The first vehicle will leave at 11 a.m. from Ray’s Place on Dutch Fork Road in Ballentine. The ride ends at 5 p.m. at the same location with a barbecue and silent auction. Motorcycles, convertibles and other automobiles are welcome to participate.

Registration is $25 per person and includes a T-shirt.

For more information or a registration form, email ryansryde@gmail.com.


Read the entire article here.

NASCAR legend Owens prepares for the homestretch

By MIKE HEMBREE
For the Herald-Journal
GoUpstate.com

It's a long way from the dusty leavings of what once was a country road — Reidville Road — in Spartanburg to the newly rarefied air of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

A certified pioneer of stock car racing. Winner of hundreds of races as a driver. A championship car builder and team owner. An innovator in racing safety.

Owens' racing story is interwoven with that of NASCAR — with the notable exception that his story predates NASCAR's.

Read more about NASCAR legend Cotton Owens' career and both he and his wife's battles with lung cancer.

South Carolina High School senior awarded John Atkinson Lung cancer Foundation Scholarship after losing parent.

The John Atkins Lung Cancer Foundation is proud to announce their out-of-state scholarship recipients: Jovanna Davis of Florida, Christiana Allen-Pipkin of Michigan, Sandra Whaley of South Carolina and Sharmae Young of Missouri. Congratulations to all of you!


About the John Atkinson Lung Cancer Founation

The foundation is providing leadership by increasing awareness of lung cancer and advocating for increased funding for research. We are dedicated to erasing the stigma that lung cancer can only happen to smokers. The foundation was named for John Atkinson, a nonsmoking father of three and devoted husband, who died of lung cancer in June of 2009 at the age of 40. The foundation carries the torch that John lit in the battle to end lung cancer.

To increase awareness of lung cancer in order to prevent the disease, to erase the stigma associated with lung cancer, to advocate for increased funding for lung cancer research, and to provide scholarships to students who have lost a parent to lung cancer. For more information - www.johnatkinsonfoundation.org

Cancer Survivors Day Celebration at Georgetown Hospital System in the Lowcountry

Cancer Survivors Day Celebration
on Sunday, June 5, 2011 from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM
Event is free & open to all local cancer survivors and caregivers
Location - Wachesaw Conference Center, 4367 Riverwood Drive, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

Georgetown Hospital System is hosting a First Annual Cancer Survivors Day Celebration, sponsored in part by Waccamaw Oncology, and held in conjunction with National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, Inc.

The "Chain of Survival" themed event will feature presentations from a two-time cancer survivor, a caregiver and oncologist. Displays and information will be available on such topics as support groups, cancer rehabilitation programs, nutritional needs, transportation and more. Refreshments will be offered.

Chain Project
A unique project recognizing survivors will be displayed at the event. Names, diagnosis and length of survivorship will be written on laminated paper links to form a chain. Survivors who wish to participate in the chain project should email their information to dmagnanelli@georgetownhospitalsystem.org.

The finished chain will be displayed at Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment Center in Georgetown after the June 5 event.

Steve Spurrier is participating in the Palmetto Health Foundation McDaniels Golf Classic & VIP Auction - June 16th & 17th.

Mark your calendars for the 2011 McDaniels Golf Classic and VIP Auction benefitting the Palmetto Health Foundation. The auction will be held Thursday, June 16 at The Zone and the tournament will be held Friday, June 17 at Fort Jackson Golf Club. Auction tickets are $100 each and are available online. Call Anna Saunders at 434.2830 for more information.

Treatment Shows Promise in Quelling a Type of Lung Cancer

Personalized Medicine Leads One Patient to Ask, "Can I go Scuba Diving?"
By Lisa Marshall of CU Medicine Today
University of Colorado School of Medicine

(May 2, 2011) The words "adenocarcinoma of the lung" required no further explanation. As a physician herself, Gene Burges knew what they meant.

"I told my husband, ‘I’ve had a really wonderful life,’" says Burges, 64, who received her grim diagnosis in April 2009. "I knew it was the end."

But nearly two years later, the dermatologist and associate professor at Medical University of South Carolina has kicked the chronic cough and night sweats, and—according to her grateful sons—has returned to her "energetic self." After watching the glowing orange beacons of cancer disappear from her scans, she went so far as to buy a new house this year.

Read more.