THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250062
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Brook Straeten found out last January that she had cancer of the lymphatic tissues in her tonsils.
Just 22 and an art therapy graduate student at the College of William and Mary, Straeten felt as though she had been slammed headfirst into a brick wall. ``Why me?'' she kept asking herself.
Surgery to remove the cancerous tonsils was successful, and Straeten underwent four treatments of chemotherapy over the next few months. The treatments made the Virginia Beach resident nauseous, and her beautiful long brown hair fell out in clumps until she was bald. Already on the thin side, Straeten lost 15 pounds.
Straeten could have chosen to pity herself, dwelling on her misfortune. But she took a different path to cope with her disease, now in remission.
On Sunday, Straeten will walk 26.2 miles in a marathon in Portland, Ore., to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to finding a cure for leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma and multiple myelomas, helping to finance research, patient aid and community service.
``I just thought it would be a really great thing to do,'' says Straeten, now 23, whose baby-fine brown hair has begun to grow back. ``If you raise $2,500 for the society, they'll pay for expenses. I thought that if I can go through chemo, I can raise $2,500.''
Actually, Straeten has raised nearly $3,800 - the most of any South Hampton Roads resident participating in the marathon, said Shawnee Sizemore, program coordinator for the Virginia chapter of the Leukemia Society of America. Thirty-two walkers from this area will be in Portland for the third annual walking marathon.
``We ask people to participate who would not normally contemplate doing a marathon and give them six months of training with coaches and a nutritionist,'' says Sizemore. ``A lot of them walk in memory of someone who died.''
That's what Straeten is doing. She's dedicating this marathon to the memory of family friend Lee Wynne, who died of leukemia 10 years ago.
Raising the money for the marathon was the simple part, Straeten said. She sent letters to businesses with whom she had contacts and asked them to sponsor her efforts. She was astounded at the warm response.
``I'm $1,200 over my goal. I owe a huge thank you to everyone who supported me,'' says Straeten. ``My friends and family have been amazingly supportive, too.''
Straeten's training regimen has been rigorous. For the last five months she walked on the beach three to 20 miles a day, six days a week. It takes her about one hour to walk five miles and five hours to walk 20 miles. She enjoys walking because it helps her to ``collect my thoughts.''
``Exercise and fitness were a huge part of my life before,'' says blue-eyed Straeten, looking tan and fit in shorts and T-shirt. ``I knew that having a goal of this marathon to work toward helped me so much. Walking helped me feel healthy even though I didn't have any hair and was wearing a baseball cap.''
An artist whose work adorns the walls of her parents' Bay Colony home, Straeten is continuing her graduate classes this semester and expects to earn a master's degree next May. She is a 1990 graduate of Norfolk Academy and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from William and Mary in 1994.
The possibility that cancer will return frightens Straeten, but she says that she tries to stay positive. Doctors have repeatedly told Straeten that her case is atypical because cancer of the lymphatic tissues usually strikes older people - not a young woman meticulous about her diet and lifestyle.
``I feel so much stronger now. I had no trauma before in my life,'' Straeten says. ``I don't think I would trade this experience for anything. I was really blessed.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Brook Straeten, 23, of Virginia Beach will walk 26.2 miles in
Portland, Ore., Sunday to raise money for the Leukemia Society of
America. Straeten's lymphatic cancer is in remission.
by CNB