Research is constantly trying to determine why thousands of people are inexplicably diagnosed with cancer every year. It really didn’t make sense why Morgan Hill resident Teresa Glover, 39 – a former Gilroy local and longtime fundraiser for cancer research and awareness – was told she had stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma Dec. 18, 2013.
Because of her many efforts and hard work to raise awareness and money, not only for cancer but other medical causes over the years, Glover’s friends throughout South County decided to put their heads, hearts and wallets together to help her and her family with the costs for her treatment – which will last several months.
On Saturday, March 8, from 3 to 9 p.m. Troy’s Bocce Ball Room (adjacent to Morgan Hill Bowl) will host a benefit concert for Glover, featuring live music, a DJ, raffle prizes and a silent auction. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Teresa Glover Fund, and a portion of sales from food purchased from Betsy’s restaurant during the event will go toward the fund.
Glover found out this week that one of the raffle items for the March 8 event is a San Jose Sharks jersey autographed by the entire NHL team.
Live bands Gundacker Project and Mad Jack have confirmed they’ll be performing at the benefit, and organizers promise a “surprise music guest.”
The idea came from her co-worker at the M & H Tavern, Bob Allman, and longtime friend Pam Cummins St. Cloud. They contacted local residents with event production experience – including associates of Arts Related Technical Training for Entertainment Careers (ARTTEC) – to get started putting the March 8 show together.
The irony of Glover’s diagnosis following her years of active involvement raising money to fight cancer – including her four-time participation in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – is not lost on those who know her.
“She’s always doing fundraisers for cancer, so we should do something for her,” Allman said. “She’s my sister. She’s always going out of her way for others. It’s kind of weird” that she would now be facing the disease she has fought so hard against for others.
As part of the March 8 fundraiser, Allman and Cummins St. Cloud ordered hundreds of bracelets made in Glover’s honor, with the phrase “Because she is one of us” printed on them.
Glover has worked as a bartender at the Tavern since 2009. A donation jar with Glover’s picture attached to it sits behind the bar. Before working at Tavern, she was bar manager for a couple years at the Westside Grill in Gilroy, where she and her family used to live. She also worked for the Gilroy Dispatch from 2000 to 2004 as a graphics and illustration designer.
Through her work in the local food service industry, Glover has made many friends over the years.
A quieter fundraiser for Glover was held earlier this month at Noah’s Bar & Bistro, where owner Sadik Azar noted that Glover held a fundraiser for cancer research about a year ago. The event at Noah’s raised more than $3,200 thanks to generous raffle prizes donated by a number of Morgan Hill businesses, Azar said.
“I was so impressed. These people took care of her and that was so amazing,” he observed.
Glover, who briefly attended the fundraiser at Noah’s, said she was “overwhelmed” by the support.
“To have other people help you, it’s humbling,” Glover said one recent evening, sitting in the breakfast nook of her west Morgan Hill home where she lives with her husband of 17 years, Brian, and their two children Makayla, 9, and Darrien, 17. Brian made pizza while Makayla drifted back and forth between the kitchen area – where she hugged her mother every time she walked by – and the living room. The family was trying to decide whether they should play “The Game of Life” or “Monopoly” after dinner.
Teresa maintains her typical calm, stoic poise even while discussing her nightmare diagnosis, and manages to smile and joke while showing off her newly bald head, previously covered with long, thick blond hair.
Glover’s treatment includes a total of six rounds of chemotherapy – spaced three weeks apart and each requiring a five-day stay in the hospital, she explained. Starting Thursday, she was at Valley Medical Center for her second round of treatment.
“You do hit your lows, but you have to go through that, dig in and get mad,” Glover said. “All this is going to do is inspire me to do greater things.”
The Glovers aren’t expecting their health insurance to cover much of the cost of her treatment, which will reach into the six figures, they said.
Aside from the Nike Women’s Half Marathon, Glover’s cancer fundraising efforts include the “She Is Beautiful” race in Santa Cruz, which she was planning to run again in March. Last May, she ran with a number of other Morgan Hill residents in The Golden Gate Relay, a fundraiser for child organ donation. She has also spearheaded a number of raffles and silent auction events in support of cancer research and patients in Morgan Hill and Gilroy over the last few years.
Brian Glover, who works at Cisco as an IT engineer, said even though he knows how generous and supportive of others Teresa has been her whole life, he is still surprised at the support.
“It’s great there’s that many nice people left in the world. She’s nice, and friendly, and for people to do nice things like that, it blows me away,” Brian said.
Another friend of Teresa’s – Tim Hennessey – is helping to produce the March 8 benefit concert along with ARTTEC. He is well aware that cancer afflicts millions of people, but he hopes that supporting a staunch advocate such as Glover and raising awareness of her case will help others.
“The reason we’re making a big deal for Teresa is she will continue to help other people when she beats her cancer,” Hennessey said. “There’s lots of other people that are deserving, but through telling her story I think other people might decide to become more involved.”
Lymphoma is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system, or lymph nodes. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in 2013, more than 731,000 Americans were living with lymphoma. The five-year survival rate for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma patients is 69 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
Friends and family of Teresa Glover, a Morgan Hill resident who was diagnosed with lymphoma in December, are holding a benefit concert for her from 3 to 9 p.m., March 8, at Troy’s Bocce Ball Room, 650 Tennant Station. Tickets cost $5 in advance, and $20 for “reserved seating” close to the stage. For more information, or to purchase tickets or make a donation, go to www.teresagloverfund.com.
