By Chris Berendt

Staff Writer

Time is precious. When a loved one has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, it can be invaluable.

Every second means so much more, and Lazarex Cancer Foundation knows that. That is why the foundation has set out to assist those who have been given no hope. When cancer patients are given a death sentence, that is not the end of the line, foundation officials said.

The foundation can explore the patient’s options and what kind of financial resources are available to them to continue down life’s path, while offering needed financial assistance for participation in FDA clinical trials.

Dana Dornsife saw the pain her sister, Erin Miller and husband Mike went through when, in 2003, the doctor told Mike there was nothing that could be done to cure his pancreatic cancer. But they did not give up.

“It was through that experience he ended up on the clinical trial and it was through that experience that I realized there was just a huge gap that exists,” said Dornsife. “When a cancer patient is told they have cancer then there is kind of a plan that is laid out in front of them.”

That routine plan — chemotherapy, blood testing, checkups — is great as long as it works, she attests.

“But when it stops working you walk into the doctor’s office one day and the doctor says, ‘It was really great knowing you but there’s nothing else I can do for you,’” said Dornsife. “And then the patient leaves the doctor’s office and they’re basically abandoned at that point and there’s not any resource available for them to turn to to figure out what their alternatives for treatment are, what kind of financial resources are available to them, because typically insurance doesn’t cover participation in clinical trials.”

Most often, those clinical trials are not just down the street. Participating in them can includes additional costs such as air fare and a needed somewhere to live

“We need to address this gap that exists and we need to help people work through that point of being turned away basically by the traditional medical community and helping them take advantage of this technology that exists today to keep them alive,” Dornsife remarked. “There are literally thousands of FDA clinical trials that are going on every day. So many times the abilities of a person to write a check is standing between them and their participation in the trial — and life.”

That is where Lazarex can step in.

Still in its infancy, the Danville, Calif.-based foundation was established in 2006 by Dornsife after she saw what is possible through clinical trials. Her sister, Erin, a resident of Duplin County, listened when the doctor gave Mike five months to live at diagnosis. She held his hand when he passed away 19 months later.

“I feel like doing the clinical trial we did allowed us as a family to have time — good time, healthy time,” reflects Miller, who now serves as the foundation’s director. “I don’t really think my 4 year old would have many memories of Mike because she was so young when he was diagnosed. He would have died right away.”

Instead, he got to see 4-year-old Caitlyn, along with young sons Liam and Kyle, grow up for a while.

“What it allowed him was to go through a couple Christmases and a few birthdays and family vacations together,” his wife says. “He got to coach (Caitlyn’s) tee-ball team. It just created invaluable memories.”

That is what clinical trials can do and that is what Lazarex strives to provide to those who do not want their journey to end, said Dornsife, who serves as the foundation’s president.

At the end of last week, the foundation officially launched its second chapter, in Miller’s native Duplin County, the first attempt to branch out from the West coast offices. They held a “Lunch and Learn” at the Duplin Winery, a sort of meet-and-greet and a way to introduce themselves to the community.

Many in Duplin, Sampson and surrounding counties know all too well the toll cancer takes on those diagnosed with the disease’s various forms, and the friends and family of those it afflicts.

“When someone reaches that point in their disease, they’re basically mentally, emotionally and physically spent — and financially,” Dornsife attested. “If you have the financial resources to throw at it, most often you do. When they come to us and say ‘I’ve been told I don’t have any alternative and I’m really wanting to find a clinical trial,’ that is when we can take their hand and walk them through the Lazarex process.”

After being contacted by a prospective patient, Lazarex staff, which includes a medical liaison, can navigate the person’s medical history to see which clinical trials may best suit them.

Dornsife said the foundation has been able to help 60 people in its brief existence, including patients in 17 different states and three different countries, from 7 years old to 83. They are from all different walks of life with all forms of cancer, she notes.

Holly Webster, a champion for Lazarex, said she would not have her daughter Kelsea today had it not been for clinical trials.

“My daughter wouldn’t be here if it had not been for clinical trials and new drugs,” she remarked. “She had cancer for almost 12 years and the way chemo tends to work is it works for a while then it quits working and you have to move on to another one. The one she is on now is from a clinical trial and we know someone has had success with that. Otherwise, we would have been out of options if that clinical trial had not been performed.”

Susan Sappington, director of development for Lazarex, said she knew after the foundation’s first fund-raising gala on July 21, 2007 that the foundation was capable of something special.

“People said you’ve got something here that’s incredible,” Sappington recalled. “That night, we had patients that were speaking and there was not a dry eye in the house. We both knew at that moment we had something and that we needed to do it.”

That event was able to raise over $300,000, money that meant life — and time — to patients, said Dornsife.

“Research is very important, but research for tomorrow is not going to help patients who need the technology today,” said Dornsife. “And we have got many patients who are still alive and who are still doing well long after the medical community predicted their demise. They’re with us today because we were able to connect them to this technology and help them participate in it. This money is going to definitely directly make the difference in the life of a cancer patient today.”

Another moment that further reassured Sappington of the ability of the foundation to touch the lives of others was when attending the memorial service of young teenager Ian Smith, a Lazarex patient with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). He succumbed to the affliction in January 2008, but not before he was able to have one final summer — spending time with friends, and a girlfriend.

“When Ian passed, it was devastating to us,” Sappington said. “We went to his memorial service and we were both apprehensive, because he passed away. We weren’t sure how we were going to be accepted. I have to tell you, when they found out what we did and who we were, people came up and thanked us. That is when I knew. It was huge. Because we gave him that summer. We gave him the opportunity to be a kid. That was a very big for me.”

Dornsife said people have asked her if the foundation has been successful. She pauses and almost winces when she hears the question.

“What’s the litmus test? The majority of our patients however ultimately do pass away. So is that successful?,” Dornsife asks. “If you’re looking at life or death then I would say, for the most part, if that’s what you’re looking at — no we haven’t been.”

“But if you look at what happens in between life and death and all these things our patients are able to do, the goals they’re able to achieve, all the holidays they’re able to spend with their families, every single one of those is a success.”

To learn more about Lazarex Cancer Foundation, to read stories from patients or donate to the cause, visit www.lazarexfoundation.org. The foundation is scheduled to hold its first local fund-raising event, “Hogs and Hens for Hope” at the Duplin Events Center in Kenansville Oct. 17.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.