Canton-based We Beat Cancer wins Audesse Award

On the evening of November 6 at the Hilton in Dedham, Jeff and Pat Gallahue stood before a room full of oncologists and oncology nurses and humbly soaked in their applause.

For the Canton couple, the occasion was both very meaningful and also quite surreal: Here were these lifesaving heroes, dozens of them from across Massachusetts, clapping for the Gallahues and their family and friends when it could have been — and in their eyes probably should have been — the other way around.

Pat and Jeff Gallahue pose with one of the comfy chairs that they helped purchase for area hospitals.

Yet on this night, at the 2014 annual meeting of the Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncologists, the spotlight was deservingly affixed on We Beat Cancer, a Canton-based charitable organization and this year’s recipient of the prestigious Audesse Award.

Named in honor of former state senator Nancy Achin Audesse, a four-time cancer survivor and a tireless advocate for Massachusetts cancer patients, the award is given annually by the MSCO to an organization or individual who has made a “significant contribution in the area of cancer care and treatment, patients’ rights, or cancer education.”

Past recipients of the Audesse Award include the Ellie Fund, the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, the Melanoma Foundation of New England, Senate President Robert Travaglini, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, among other notable names and organizations.

In the case of We Beat Cancer, the nomination came via the support staff at Boston Medical Center and caught the attention of the president of the MSCO, Dr. Omar Eton, who had little trouble convincing his fellow board members to approve it.

“He said it was the quickest nomination they’ve ever gone through,” said Jeff Gallahue. “That made us feel good.”

If Jeff comes across as proud of the accomplishment, it is because he is, having successfully battled stage four throat cancer and lived to see the kind of impact that We Beat Cancer has had on hundreds of families in the region over the past four years.

It was Jeff’s own cancer journey, in fact, that inspired the formation of We Beat Cancer and continues to drive its mission, which is to “assist those who are going through what we went through.”

As noted on its website, WeBeatCancer.org, when Jeff was diagnosed with cancer, his “family, friends, and medical team surrounded him with love and support and were blessed to say ‘We Beat Cancer.’ The foundation now wants to help other cancer patients and their families as they battle this dreadful disease.”

Started and run by members of the Gallahue and Rooney families and their friends, the private, all-volunteer nonprofit works with hospitals, cancer support groups, and other foundations throughout New England to provide financial assistance to patients and their families, ranging from gas cards and parking vouchers to hotel accommodations. For instance, they recently purchased parking passes for a woman who could not afford to go in for her daily treatments, and they are currently helping a Canton resident find transportation arrangements for her father, who requires radiation treatments four times a week.

“Even if you have the best insurance plan in the world, it doesn’t take care of all those little problems,” explained Jeff. “These are some of the little things that we can do that help take away a lot of the stress.”

In addition to providing financial support for patients, We Beat Cancer is also a proud supporter of various outreach programs, including Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut and the Stowe Weekend of Hope in Vermont. Through their fundraising efforts, hundreds of patients and their caregivers have had the opportunity to attend these events.

“In most of these cases we’re dealing with poor folks — people who can’t get their significant others to go to their treatments with them, often because they are working,” said Jeff. “[These trips are] an opportunity for them to get out of the city and all of the hustle and bustle, and it’s maybe the only opportunity they have to get out of the city for the whole year.”

We Beat Cancer gave gift baskets to 27 Boston Medical Center cancer patients last Thanksgiving.

We Beat Cancer also helps patients and their families by funding wish-list items at area hospitals, such as a surround sound system and a mammogram x-ray chair. They have also placed 125 comfortable chairs in infusion rooms at UMass Medical Center and Beth Israel in Boston and Needham in honor of Pat, whose only complaint during Jeff’s cancer journey were the uncomfortable chairs that she had to sit in while he received his eight-hour chemotherapy infusions.

Of course, that is not to suggest that Jeff’s battle was somehow an easy one. On the contrary, it was both terrifying and grueling, he said.

Diagnosed in the fall of 2009 after noticing a lump on his neck, Jeff underwent what his doctors described as a “very aggressive” treatment plan that included three different types of chemotherapy and repeated radiation treatments. The pain in his throat eventually became so severe that he had to have a stomach tube inserted, and he literally didn’t touch solid food for six straight months.

“The silver lining in the whole situation — there’s always going to be some good even in the worst situations you could find — is that I managed to keep 50 pounds off and I feel much better,” said Jeff, “although I would never suggest this diet to anybody.”

Even after he had the stomach tube removed, Jeff still could only eat soft foods for several months, and he suffered from tremendous fatigue caused by muscle loss. Yet he continued to press on, and from the moment he received his first clean scan, he declared that he had “beaten cancer” and set about “living [his] life to the fullest.”

“I don’t worry about this five-year remission idea because there are no guarantees after that,” said Jeff. “I just insist upon the fact that I don’t have cancer.”

Today, Jeff is healthy and lives his life with gratitude and zest. He is a proud father of three adult children — Tom, Joanne and Patrick — and he has found a new passion through his work with We Beat Cancer. He is back to golfing regularly and carrying his bag for all 18 holes, and he has been able to run in the last two Falmouth Road Races alongside fellow We Beat Cancer members and supporters.

The way Jeff sees it, he is “cancer free but not free of cancer,” and the reminders of his journey — the radiation mask that hangs on his office wall, the conversations he has with fellow throat cancer patients — fuel his work with the foundation.

He is proud of the work that We Beat Cancer has accomplished, and he is quick to give credit to his fellow board members, including his wife and children, as well as Jim, Steve, Bob and Dave Rooney, Vicki Balsamo, Ed Martin, Bob Donahoe, Cathi Scollins, Tara Shuman, Megan Martin, and Julie Walker.

Already, they are busy planning the foundation’s annual dinner dance, which is scheduled for March 21 at Lantana in Randolph. The event is a blast, according to Jeff, and it raises approximately $75,000 for We Beat Cancer.

“There’s an awful lot of very generous, generous people in Canton,” said Jeff. “I would say a good 70 to 80 percent of people who go to the dinner dance are from here. It’s like having a reunion, seeing all of the people from Canton — and it’s for a very worthy cause.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Nov 20 2014. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.