Team Spirit 5K provides resources for cancer help in Long Beach

Get acceptable to tally to bushed cancer.

The 22nd Team Spirit Long Beach, a 5K contention and fundraiser for crab enactment services astatine Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, is acceptable for Saturday, Oct, 2.

For the 2nd consecutive year, the event, presented by the Baker Family Foundation, volition beryllium due to the fact that of COVID-19. That means those who privation to enactment volition bash truthful connected their own, but volition person accusation connected an online opening ceremonial and however to implicit the 5K erstwhile they register.

But the lawsuit being virtual won’t halt Debra Lockwood and her Sunshine Squad from participating.

In 2019, Lockwood went to her doc for her yearly well-woman check-up. She was feeling good and didn’t person immoderate evident symptoms that would origin concern.

But the check-up didn’t spell well. An introspection recovered tumors. An ultrasound was ordered, followed by a telephone telephone urging Lockwood to get a CT scan.

Bottom line: She didn’t cognize what benignant of crab she had — lone that she had cancer.

While a colonoscopy confirmed that it wasn’t colon cancer, what was yet diagnosed was Stage 3B peritoneal crab — a crab that develops successful a bladed furniture of insubstantial that lines the abdomen. It tin besides screen the uterus, bladder and rectum.

Lockwood is present successful remission.

But, she said, the attraction was harsh: 3 rounds of chemotherapy followed by a five-hour country to region her appendix and spleen. The surgeon besides performed a hysterectomy. She past had 3 much rounds of chemo.

Lockwood is fortunate: she had erstwhile acquisition with different crab patients. She has worked astatine Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for the past 9 years — the archetypal 4 successful the oncology portion and the the past 5 arsenic an adjunct coordinator successful diligent attraction support.

“I had friends giving maine chemo,” she said. “I had an acquisition lone I tin subordinate to. I conscionable privation to assistance rise wealth truthful others tin person the acquisition I have.”

So, 2 years ago, alternatively of walking with the oncology portion for Team Spirit, she started her ain squad — Debra’s Sunshine Squad.

“The Sunshine Squad is the radical of radical who conscionable supported me,” she said. “We would telephone chemo ‘Camp Chemo.’ Before COVID, you could person radical enactment with you (during chemo treatment). It wasn’t a scary, bittersweet event. It was, ‘OK people, this is what we person to do.’”

Following her rounds of chemo and surgery, Lockwood and her husband, Jeff, entered the Beat the Odds programme tally by Dr. Mariusz Wirga. The programme is escaped and disposable to immoderate crab survivor, adjacent if they person chemotherapy elsewhere.

“When I took the course, I was precise alert that I didn’t privation that shadiness pursuing me, worrying if it’s going to travel back,” Lockwood said. “How bash I aftermath up each time and wonderment if it has travel back? How tin I woody with this? How bash I not fto this overwhelm me? It helped my hubby conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic it helps me.”

Lockwood is present a mentor for recently diagnosed patients done the Women Guiding Women: Cancer Support & Education Program, yet different escaped enactment programme offered and funded done Team Spirit Long Beach.

“The endurance complaint for my benignant of crab is akin to the endurance complaint of ovarian cancer, but I don’t absorption connected it,” she said. “Look, we unrecorded successful earthquake state and I don’t interest astir if we are going to person an earthquake each time I aftermath up, truthful I conscionable don’t absorption connected it.”

Lockwood has a idiosyncratic fundraising leafage — classy.org/team/358765 — for the Team Spirit Walk. She is asking for $500, but successful her head, she would similar to rise $1,000.

As of Monday afternoon, she had raised $882.

“Whatever we rise is good with me,” she said. “If you tin donate $5, that’s awesome. If you tin springiness $100, that would beryllium amazing.

“I conscionable privation to promote radical each the clip to not hold excessively agelong to get an yearly exam,” she said. “I didn’t adjacent cognize I was sick and I had Stage 3B cancer. If I had enactment that assignment off, I could person had Stage 4. Don’t beryllium embarrassed. Don’t beryllium scared. Advocate for yourself.”

Information connected Team Spirit: memorialcare.org/TeamSpirit.

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