Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 11,2007 - THREE
Benefit planned for HHS graduate in
need of bone marrow transplant
-Continued front page one
FA patient is still at high risk
for
o th e r
c an cers,
particularly head and neck.
Dave Frohnmeyer,
president of the University of
Oregon, and his wife, Lynn,
are
the
o fficia l
spokespersons for FA. Their
family has coped with the
disease for years since three
of their five children were
diagnosed with it. Sadly, two
daughters passed away due
to c o m p lic a tio n s o f the
disease. The Frohnmeyers
and their supporters formed
the
F anconi A nem ia
Research Foundation based
in
E ugene.
FARF
coordinates fundraising and
research for FA worldwide.
Since FA is an extremely rare
disease, funds for research
are scarce. Fanconi Anemia
is DNA lin k ed , thus
research ers believe that
when a cure is found for FA,
other cancers will be cured,
inclu d in g b reast can cer
which shares genes with FA.
The P ro cto rs have all
participated in FA research.
Funds are raised
privately for FARF and used
worldwide for FA research
grants. Since FA is an orphan
d isease w ith no m ajor
affiliation and funding, FARF
counts on FA fam ilies to
raise
m oney.
The
F ro h n m ey er fam ily has
raised the majority of funds
over the years, but many
other FA families work hard
year round to help.
In 2002 Roy was
granted a wish through the
Make A Wish Foundation.
R oy’s wish was to meet
M ichael Jo rd an . Since
Jordan was playing for the
W ashington W izards, the
entire family was sent by
Make A Wish to Washington
DC for an entire week.
W ith
the
developm ent this fall of
further illnesses due to his
immune system failing. Dr.
K urre, R o y ’s d o cto r at
D oern b ech er, and Roy
decided that now was the
time for his bone marrow/
stem cell tra n sp lan t. A
marrow donor search took
place including tapping into
w orldw ide registries. An
unrelated donor with 8 out
of 10 matching markers was
recently found for Roy.
Timing for a bone
marrow transplant for FA
p a tie n ts is tricky. If a
transplant is held off too long
and leukem ia d ev elo p s,
survival is rare. Roy was
diagnosed seven years ago as
p releu k em ic and was
showing signs of a failing
immune system. Doctors and
specialists monitored him
with monthly blood tests and
re g u la r bone m arrow
biopsies (he has had 17 bone
marrow biopsies). In 2004
and 2005, Roy was quite ill
and
h o sp ita liz e d
for
unknown viral infections. In
April 2006 he developed
p neum onia
and
was
hospitalized at Doernbecher
for five weeks. Surgeons
were forced to remove part
o f one o f R o y ’s lungs.
Serious complications set in
w ith p o st-o p , in tern al
bleeding and tachycardia.
However, Roy accomplished
his goal of walking at his
high school g rad u atio n
cerem ony in H eppner in
June.
Marrow transplants
for Fanconi Anemia are done
only at a handful of hospitals
acro ss the co u n try and
u n re la ted ,
u nm atched
tra n sp la n ts to h ig h -risk
p a tie n ts are even m ore
specialized. The Proctor’s
chose Dr. Farid Boulad at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center in New York
City for the procedure. The
success rate for transplanting
bone m arrow from an
u n re la ted
donor
and
imperfect match to a high-
risk patient with FA has
im proved over the last 7
years from a 25% success
rate to 50%. Dr. Boulad’s
has an even higher rate of
about 75%.
R o y ’s in su ran ce
companies have approved
coverage for MSKCC and
the transplant process will
begin around the First part of
May.
Accompanied by his
sister, Julie, Roy made his
second trip to the hospital in
New York the first week of
April for testing. He will
return to Oregon for a while
and then he and his mother
will travel to New York the
first part of May to begin the
transplant process. The goal
of 100 days is set for the
marrow transplant although
the hospital would like the
patient to live in the area for
a total of six months.
The Proctors will be
stay in g at the R onald
M acD onald H ouse in
M an h attan . The R onald
MacDonald House asks for
financial help from their
guests of $35 per night.
Parents M ike and
Kay Proctor o f H eppner
have worked hard to be sure
th eir fam ily alw ays had
health insurance coverage.
Even so, since 2000 they
have paid over $89,000 out
of pocket for health related
expenses. MSKCC requires
a family member to be with
the tra n sp la n t p atien t
th ro u g h o u t the e n tire
process. Kay will be with
Roy in New York for at least
three months. During that
tim e, h ealth in su ran ce
premiums and other living
expenses will need to be met
with a reduced income while
their financial resources are
already stretched.
Any branch of the
Bank of Eastern Oregon will
accept donations to the Roy
Proctor M edical Savings
account.
For online updates of
Roy’s medical progress, go
to caringbridge.com and
enter royproctor.
Keeping informed about Fanconi Anemia
Fanconi Anemia is a
rare genetic disease where
the b o d y ’s DNA cannot
repair itself. Fanconi anemia
(FA) is one of the inherited
anemias that leads to bone
m arrow failure (aplastic
anemia). It is a recessive
disorder: if both parents
carry a defect (mutation) in
the same FA gene, each of
their children has a 25%
chance o f inheriting the
defective gene from both
parents. When this happens,
the child will have FA.
There are at least
thirteen FA genes (A, B, C,
D1 (BRCA2), D2, E, F, G
I, J, L, M and N). These
genes account for almost all
o f the cases o f Fanconi
anemia. Mutations in FA-A,
FA-C, and FA-G are the
most common and account
for approximately 85% of
the FA patients worldwide.
FA-DI, FA-D2, FA-E, FA-
F, and FA-L account for
10%. FA-B, FA-I, FA-J. FA-
M, and FA-N represent less
than 5% o f FA p atients.
Tw elve o f the Fanconi
anem ia genes have been
cloned.
FA occurs equally in
m ales and fem ales. It is
found in all ethnic groups.
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Though considered primarily
a blood disease, it can affect
all system s o f the body.
Many patients eventually
develop acute myelogenous
leukemia (AML) and at a
very early age. For a young
child diagnosed with FA,
achieving adulthood is rare.
FA patients are extremely
likely to develop head and
neck, gynecological, and/or
gastrointestinal squamous
cell carcinomas, again at a
much earlier age than in
squam ous cell carcinom a
p a tie n ts in the general
population. Patients who
have had a successful bone
marrow transplant and, thus,
are cu red o f the blood
problem associated w ith FA
still m ust have reg u lar
examinations to watch for
signs of cancer.
For
m ore
information about Fanconi
A nem ia
v isit
www.fanconi.org.
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newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that sou
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The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks w ill be placed in the
classifieds under "Card of Thanks" at a cost of $ 10.
Morrow County loses another “pioneer”
To the Editor,
With the passing of
Floyd Jones, the last of the
Jones boys. Morrow County
has lost another of a splen
did age of pioneers who have
enriched our common heri
tage in a land that is rightly
to u ted as the “ R ugged
Country” of Oregon. Floyd’s
heritage will long be felt in
4H, rodeo and fair, and es
pecially his passion for quar
ter horses and the art of
training cutting horses. He
and Lorena were wonderful
friends to our family. In an
hour when fee hunting has
closed the general public out
of hunting, Floyd always al
lowed the common folk to
hunt on his lands.
I appreciated the tes
timony of George Koffler on
behalf of another pioneer of
Floyd’s era. Gene Pierce.
Men like Gene Pierce, Floyd
Jones, Paul Jones, O scar
Peterson, Vic Groshens, Doc
Tibbies, Glen Ward, Sheriff
Clarence Bauman, Gordon
P ratt, Lois W inchester,
Delpha Jones, Orville and
Barbara Cutsforth, and my
father, Ed Dick just to name
a few, had an indelible im
pact on my life and the heri
tage o f all in M orrow
C ounty. L ike G eorge
Koffler, I miss these people.
With the passing of these
pioneers it is important to
sustain the values they all
represented. There are too
many examples of the char
acter and integrity these pio
neers brought to the table
that continue to bless our
common heritage to be in
cluded in this letter. Never
theless, George has inspired
me to include a couple of
examples of this integrity.
L arry M uessig cam e to
Heppner unbeknown to al
most all as a teenage orphan,
with no friends or family in
the county. Judge O scar
Peterson not only oversaw
his nurturing as a teenage
boy, but also was his most
faithful letter writer when
Larry served in Vietnam.
When Dan M cBride told
Judge Paul Jones he couldn't
enlist in the Navy during the
same war because o f his
court record. Paul told Dan
“ W hat record? Go serve
your country.”
The closing of the
Kinzua Mill has proved the
stro n g e st eco n o m y o f
Heppner is the integrity and
grit of the people. That great
industry has been built upon
the integrity of our pioneer
fathers. Heppner continues
to thrive because the next
generation has sustained the
integrity of our fathers. The
story of the Bank of Eastern
Oregon under the leadership
of George K offler is one
shining example. The qual
ity of journalistic excellence
and integrity under David
and April Sykes equals or
exceeds the excellent work
of earlier Gazette publishers
Wes Sherm an and Bob
Penland. H eppner sports
programs continue to pros
per because of the integrity
and commitment of the le
gions of volunteers that sup
port the program s at the
grass root level. How many
young men have been
changed because of the love
and co m m itm en t Rick
Johnston has given to base
ball in Morrow County? It is
no surprise that the roots in
tegrity of Morrow County
and Heppner has produced
two athletic directors at Or
egon and Oregon State. Pat
Kilkenny and Jim Barrett.
Thanks George for
inspiring me to write this let
ter to give thanks to the great
men and women that came
before us. Floyd Jones was
one of those great men and
hell be sorely missed.
(s) Stuart Dick
Pendleton
Community colleges getting shortchanged
To the Editor:
For the past 45 years
Blue Mountain Community
C o lleg es has su p p o rted
Eastern Oregon communi
ties, now we need to support
them. I need your help in the
State Legislature. Send let
ters and make phone calls to
the legislative budget com
mittee; an important part of
our econom ic future d e
pends on your support.
O regon's 17 Com
munity Colleges are getting
shortchanged in the state
budget process. Legislative
leaders have cut $70 million
from the amount proposed
by Community Colleges just
to maintain programs for the
next two years.
The impact could be
especially devastating for
rural institutions such as
Blue Mountain Community
College where students al
ready drive long distances to
attend class. Since 2000,
BM CC en ro llm en t has
dropped from 15,400 to
12,300 and tuition increased
from $40 to $61.80 per cred
it hour. As one BMCC ex
ecutive recently wrote me,
“there’s a dark cloud on the
horizon.”
Community Colleg
es shouldn't have to compete
against K -12 for funding. In
fact Community Colleges do
a lot to help our high school
graduates who aren’t ready
for college.
We also know Com
munity Colleges are the best
source of workforce training
Old-Time
Fiddlers to hold
performance
I wish for
chocolate
The Blue Mountain
Old-Time Fiddlers will hold
a concert on Saturday, April
28 at 6 p.m. at the Stokes
Landing Senior Center in
Irrigon. Cost is $5 for adults;
$2 for children 6-12; and five
and under are free.
T here
w ill
be
sandwiches, pie, soda and
coffee available at 5:30 p.m.
for family wage jobs in Ore
gon. They provide essential
services and workers to help
our agriculture industry and
small businesses sector.
Budget deliberations
for Community Colleges are
underway in the Joint Ways
and Means Education Sub
committee. Please contact
my office if you want to sub
mit letters or other testimo
ny in support of Community
Colleges. After all - there’s
a reason they have that name
- they are truly part of your
Community.
Sincerely,
Greg Smith. State
Representative. House
District 57
Justice Court
Report
Judge C h arlo tte
G ray, H eppner Ju stice
C o u rt, has released the
following report:
-Rita Jean Glover,
24, Heppner, no operator’s
license, $244 fine.
-William Maddern.
Heppner, DUII 180 days in
jail with 165 days suspended,
three years probation, must
complete alcohol education
program. $2312 fine with
$500 suspended.
Birth announcements
Bridget Doherty, 3. daughter
of Chad Doherty, checks out
her prizes after the annual
Heppner Easter Egg Hunt on
Saturday, April 7. This event
is sponsored by the Heppner
Elks Lodge.
Luke Emery Sarich - Nick and Lori (formerly
Moeller) Sarich of Nampa, ID welcomed a new baby boy.
Luke Emery Sarich, on Thursday, March 15, at 8:14 p.m.
At birth he weighed six pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 Vi
inches long.
Grandparents are Chuck and Douna Moeller of
Hermiston, and Gerry and Guy Sarich of Boise, ID.
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