Robert Barham’s reaction to the news that he had cancer was
shock.
”
Here I am, running marathons and feeling great, and I find out I
have something that’s deadly,
”
he recalled.
Robert Barham’s reaction to the news that he had cancer was shock.
“Here I am, running marathons and feeling great, and I find out I have something that’s deadly,” he recalled.
After he had ignored a lump in his neck for two years, a biopsy in 1988 revealed that he had Hodgkin’s disease.
“I was mortified,” he said. “I was in the doctor’s office, and things seemed unreal.”
Barham, who underwent radiation treatment at Stanford for two and a half months to kill the cancer, found that it was “good to actually involve people so that they understood.”
At one point, Barham brought his son, eight at the time, with him for treatment.
“His idea of radiation treatment was something that he saw in a cartoon,” explained Barham.
That misconception was cleared when he was able to see the procedure himself.
“He saw all these really nice nurses,” Barham said. “There weren’t zaggy green lines hitting me.”
Treatment for Hodgkin’s disease is gauged by assigning it a stage number between one and four.
As the stages progress, more treatment is needed to beat the disease. Barham had “six weeks of the upper mantle,” indicating his throat and upper-chest, “and six weeks of the lower mantle, which is below the belt line.” Today, Barham has been cancer-free for 15 years.
Barham’s experience with cancer affected both his daily routines and his outlook on life.
“I had to slow down my work and back off on exercising,” he explained, describing Hodgkin’s physical effect on his life, some of which are still present today.
“I have to work hard and exercise to keep in shape,” he said, because of the possibility that muscles that received radiation might atrophy.
Hodgkin’s also changed Barham’s outlook. He compared cancer to an automobile accident, in that it’s a near-death experience. “If you can overcome cancer, it gets to be a friend,” he said, explaining that it forces a person to re-evaluate his or her priorities.
This weekend, The American Cancer Society Relay for Life will take place at Christmas Hill Park.
“The Relay is a 24-hour celebration of life,” explained Event Chair Gabe Nino. “We honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones who have died of cancer.”
Team captains build teams to participate in the relay, and members of the team collect donations from the community. These donations go to the American Cancer Society to fund research.
This year is the relay’s seventh in Gilroy. Since the first relay, it has grown from fewer than 30 teams to more than 50 this year. Nino expects about 800 people to participate in the relay this year. The event begins Saturday morning with an opening lap dedicated to cancer survivors, and ends on Sunday. Events at the relay include live music, a kid’s camp, and a luminaria ceremony in the evening to remember those who have died.
Barham’s involvement in the Relay for Life stems from his experience running marathons for cancer research funds, and his role as the head of Gilroy Rotary’s team.
“As soon as the relay came to Gilroy, it was natural to put my effort there,” he said.
Attending the relay, he explained, is an effective way to contribute to cancer research. Several years after he underwent treatment for Hodgkin’s, a young man participating in the Relay was diagnosed with it as well.
“He had to go through the treatment, but they had changed it – it was a combination of radiation, and a little bit of chemo,” said Barham. “It was neat to see a young person contribute to his own cure.”
Barham encourages participation in the relay because cancer affects the lives of many, not just those diagnosed with the disease. “One in two men will get cancer, and one in three women,” he explained. “If you just think about family, everyone is affected by this terrible disease.”
He added that even if someone hasn’t joined a team, there are still opportunities to participate as volunteers. The Relay for Life is also an opportunity to be a part of a community.
“Everyone there is the kind of person you’d want to meet,” he said.
This year’s Relay for Life will take place at Christmas Hill Park’s Ranch Site beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and ending at 10 a.m. Sunday. Relay teams have already been signed up, but donations are still accepted. Donations can be exchanged for baked goods and barbecue, or find a volunteer at the event in a Hawaiian purple or red shirt for more information on donations.
