By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The subject of cancer is enough to strike fear in most people, simply by hearing it mentioned.
Dr. Gus Suarez, a North Shore oncologist for over 30 years, knows better than most about how difficult the disease becomes on an individual, and their family.
“If you have never faced it, you do not realize how many situations become hard to deal with,” Suarez remarked. “You would be surprised how many cancer patients cannot find a ride for their treatment. You must have someone drive the patient to and from the treatment, since they are not usually in condition to drive when it is over.”
Transportation is only one of many ways the Thomas/McMahan Cancer Foundation is helping cancer patients, doing so since the organization was founded by Oncologist Dr. Leonard Thomas, who began the group in 2001.
As fundraising efforts to help those cancer patients have gotten much more difficult with new federal laws prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from donating to organizations like Thomas/McMahan, the group is hoping for strong support at their next benefit event, set for Friday, Aug. 1 at MOVIESETS, a Hollywood sound stage and prop site in Slidell that is rented out for parties.
This latest fundraiser at MOVIESETS in Slidell promises to be an especially fun night, set at the Slidell prop house and movie filming location just off the Interstate 10 exit, at Old Spanish Trail. A former car dealership has been transformed into a location where dozens of scenes from movies are set up, and can be enjoyed during the fundraiser on Aug. 1.
The event is being promoted as a “Hollywood Night” when you can meet Cary Grant and Judy Garland amidst the many film scenes. Tickets are $35 per person with music by Full Circle. It is a BYOB event, with set ups provided. All proceeds will help cancer patients through the Foundation. Call 985-788-6951 for tickets or to support the organization in any way.
“Our group is simply about helping cancer patients with expenses they cannot afford, or the insurance will not cover,” Suarez said. “And there are many expenses that cancer patients need help in paying for, but they have no means to provide for them.”
Suarez is now chairman of the board for the Thomas/McMahan Cancer Foundation, taking over that role when his good friend “Lenny” Thomas died of brain cancer near the time Hurricane Katrina struck in August, 2005.
“I promised Lenny I would keep the organization going and that is what I am doing, along with our wonderful board and supporters,” Suarez said.
Suarez, a longtime St. Tammany oncologist who began to partner with Thomas in the 1980s, said it was his good friend who lost his own battle to cancer, after treating hundreds of patients for years. It was the work by Thomas that led him to form the foundation, since he saw the need to assist the patients when they had no other help.
“There are many other expenses cancer patients need help with,” Suarez said. “Transportation is certainly a common problem for many. They may have spouses or children who work during the day and can’t be gone for three or four hours while their loved one gets treatment. So we pay for a taxi to bring them to and from the treatment.”
The Thomas/McMahan Foundation also pays for genetic counseling and testing for family members who are related to cancer patients.
“We found that, especially with breast cancer, a woman is 25 percent more likely to have breast cancer if she has the same gene as her mother did,” Suarez explained. “Just because your mother had breast cancer does not necessarily make you more likely. But if you have the same genes, then it does increase your chances.
“We pay for genetic testing when a family member needs to be checked,” he said. “If you know you have the gene, then a woman knows she needs to be checked for breast cancer more frequently.”
The Foundation pays for women who have gone through breast cancer surgery and develop blood flow problems in their arms when lymph nodes have been removed.
“It is common for women to have poor blood flow, but treatment is not always covered,” he said.
The Foundation also pays for yoga classes, proven to be extremely helpful for cancer patients, and the group pays for spa therapy for an individual who has been treated for cancer.
“We do not spend any of our money on research,” the doctor stated. “Our money all goes to patients or their families who have these needs, but have no insurance coverage, or they cannot afford it. We know we are helping a lot of people.”
However, the group has faced mounting difficulties helping hundreds of people a year they have supported. Suarez said the Foundation has been spending approximately $200,000 annually to help others, and has received some grant money from the Susan G. Komen Foundation, among others. But new federal laws blocking pharmaceutical companies from donating to groups like theirs has hurt.
“So we do as many fundraisers as we can, and seek donations from the community,” Suarez said. “That’s why we hope to receive a strong turnout for our fundraiser on Aug. 1.”
Suarez said they are also looking for annual supporters for the Thomas/McMahan work. To discuss that further, call 985-788-6951.