Abilene, Kan. (July 13, 2015) – JD Miller goes fishing a lot more than he used to.
He also appreciates life a lot more.
The Solomon, Kansas man was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare aggressive form of cancer, in January of 2014. Two days after the diagnosis, he was at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The cancer was located in the lining of his stomach, and it was treated with the most aggressive chemotherapy possible. The 41 year old man spent the next eight months between the Medical Center, Hope Lodge in Kansas City, and the Westwood Cancer Center. He endured five-day chemo treatments, 24 hours a day, the most aggressive chemo possible to treat the disease.
He wasn’t able to work during that time, but his co-workers at Abilene Machine were “one hundred percent supportive,” JD says. They came up with t-shirts for his cause with the words “Miller Strong” on them, and the company was supportive as well. They held his job for him, and “they told me, from day one, no worries,” he says.
But he had plenty of worries while in treatment. Miller caught pneumonia three times, had several picc line infections, and was in ICU for a while. His mom Marshia Miller and girlfriend Diane Dowell were his caregivers. Marshia spent the entire eight months with him during treatment, helping him with meals, getting dressed, everything he couldn’t do, while Diane went to Kansas City on her days off, to give Marshia a break from her caregiver duties.
And a Dickinson County organization came alongside to help. The Elsie Brooks Memorial Cancer Fund donates money to cancer patients, to help pay for all the things insurance doesn’t cover: fuel to and from appointments, dietary supplements, and lodging and meals at treatment centers.
The Cancer Fund donation to Miller was a blessing. It allowed him to pay for medicines, gas and groceries, as his income was limited. His motorcycle friends also held a rally for him, entitled “Fire and Iron #27 Ride for Hope.”
The help is appreciated, Miller says. “I wasn’t much on telling people to donate to organizations (like Elsie Brooks Cancer Fund), but they made a hell of a difference. I couldn’t ask for better support.”
Miller was declared cancer free on September 5, 2014. Every month, he has blood work done to check for cancer, and every three months, he heads to the Medical Center for checkups.
And he’s back to his kids, son Jace, sixteen, and daughters Macie, fourteen, and Brookelyn, nine, and his fishing. “You get cancer,” he says, “and you have lots of time to think, laying in that bed every night.” Before cancer, he was too busy to fish. Now he makes time. “You have a whole new perspective on life.”
The Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene supports the Elsie Brooks Cancer Fund with its annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink night. This year’s pink night is Friday, July 31. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the rodeo that night to show their support of cancer patients, and voluntary donations will be picked up for the Elsie Brooks Fund. In the past six years, the rodeo has contributed $22,600 to the Fund.
The Elsie Brooks Cancer Fund was founded in 1993 by Elsie Brooks, a Dickinson County resident. Funds for cancer patients are available and are not restricted due to income.
For more information on the Elsie Brooks Cancer Fund, contact Chris Ostermann, Elsie Brooks Cancer Fund contact, at 785-479-3749. For more information on the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo, visit the rodeo’s website at WildBillHickokRodeo.com or call the Central Kansas Free Fair office at 785-263-4570.