Cancer Struggle Leads Volunteer To Help Find Cure

By Kari Hawkins, AMCOMFebruary 17, 2016

FRIENDS WITH A CAUSE
Angela Turner, at left, and Rachel Beard have become friends through their association with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Turner is a volunteer who is spearheading the Relay for Life walk-a-thon on May 14 and Beard is a cancer survivo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- It's been several years since Rachel Beard fought her own battle against cancer.

But memories of her struggle 12 years ago keep Beard, an Aviation and Missile Command Logistics Center item manager, in the fight for others who dream of living cancer free.

Memories of being sick and overwhelmed by the chemotherapy; of having to change her college plans temporarily; of the care and support she needed from her father, stepmother and older sister (Bethany Marbut of AMCOM's Security Assistance Directorate); and of the little children also fighting cancer whom she met while undergoing her own treatments spur Beard on as she works to help raise funds to find a cure for cancer.

"It's so important to get donations so that, hopefully, research will lead to a cure. We need to stop cancer. We need to fund research to prevent cancer and we need funds to sustain people who are having chemotherapy. Even when one person wins their battle, there's always another coming in who needs our help in their fight," Beard said.

Beard participates in the annual Huntsville Metro Relay for Life walk-a-thon to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Her association with ACS has led to her friendship with ACS volunteer Angela Turner, who works for AMCOM's Security Assistance Management Directorate. The Huntsville Metro Relay for Life will host a survivor's dinner with co-sponsors Center for Cancer Care and Texas Roadhouse on Feb. 25 at First Baptist Church on Governor's Drive and a Relay for Life walk-a-thon on May 14 at Huntsville Junior High School.

"I've volunteered with Relay for Life for four years. I got involved after my brother was diagnosed with bladder cancer," Turner said. "My dad was already volunteering with ACS, so when my brother was diagnosed I decided I needed to do something in the community to help my brother and other people. My brother is now cancer free."

Turner is the event lead for the Relay for Life walk-a-thon. There are now more than 80 participants signed up for the event on 31 teams. The goal is to have 100 teams and raise $215,000 by the May 14 walk-a-thon. Participants can sign up at www.relayforlife.org/huntsvilleal .

"Dollars raised by Relay for Life help the American Cancer Society save lives by supporting education and prevention efforts, funding groundbreaking cancer research, and providing free information and services for people with cancer," Turner said.

Beard was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that grows in the white blood cells of the lymphatic system and then can spread to lymph nodes, compromising the body's ability to fight infection.

"I had a bump on my collarbone that would rub against my seatbelt. I joked with a friend that it might be a tumor. But when my sister found out she said I better get it checked out," Beard said.

Beard was diagnosed at the Clearview Cancer Institute in the spring of 2004, as she was completing her first year at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Beard's family had already lost one member to cancer -- her mother died of a brain tumor when Beard was only a year old.

"This just popped up one day," Beard said. "It scared my dad. But I was mostly worried that this was going to prevent me from going to college. I ended up going to Calhoun Community College for a semester while I was having chemotherapy and radiation."

Beard's tumor was removed surgically in the summer of 2004. She then underwent four months of chemotherapy and one month of radiation. During that fall semester, Beard's life revolved around cancer treatments, going to class, dealing with sickness and muscle soreness, and sleeping a lot.

"My dad was such a great source of support," she said. "My dad took me to all my appointments. He was there every step of the way. He helped shave my head when I started losing my hair."

Dealing with the pain, fatigue and sickness was easier for Beard, who refused to feel sorry for herself because she knew children far younger than herself were fighting worse cancers.

"Many times when I was having chemo, I would be sitting next to a little five year old in the doctor's office who was doing the same thing," she said. "I felt so sad that a five year old had to go through this. And, I knew if they could do it, I could, too."

Because her cancer was caught early, Beard's treatments didn't last long. By the time the spring semester of 2005 came along, she was ready to go on to the University of Alabama, where she graduated with a degree in accounting.

"I'm 12 years cancer free. I'm a survivor. At first, I had to go back for checkups every three yaars. Now, since I'm more than 10 years out, I have MRIs and mammograms every year to make sure cancer doesn't come back. With the radiation I had to my chest, I am more prone to breast cancer. That risk increases after 10 years," Beard said. "But there is a minimal risk that my cancer will come back."

A community connection is important, Beard said, when battling cancer.

"It's always good to be plugged in with a cause or with a group in the community. But it's even more important when you have cancer to have a support group of other people who know what you are going through and can tell you what it's going to be like," she said.

Beard especially likes being involved with the American Cancer Society because she knows the work they do affects thousands of people and their families every year.

"I think everybody has been touched by cancer somehow," she said. "Everyone knows someone who has fought cancer or who has lost their fight against cancer."