At sixteen months old, Charlie Beecher was a healthy kid who never even had an ear infection. But when he showed signs of a bellyache, the diagnosis was quick. Charlie had rhabdomyosarcoma, a tumor that can occur anywhere in the body.
Brady Lucas was also a typical kid, smiling and energetic at age eight. When he lost his zip and suffered severe headaches, the diagnosis took a while. Finally, tests showed that Brady had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
In both cases, a grueling journey through the medical system was made easier by Four Diamonds and its primary funder, the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, known far and wide as THON.
THON conjures images of students “canning” to collect spare change from passing motorists. It’s known for the yearly dance marathon at Penn State, forty-six strenuous hours ending when students lift placards revealing the millions of dollars raised.
But THON is much more than that. Year-round, THON activities at schools and in communities raise money for Four Diamonds, devoted to conquering childhood cancer. THON is also a thriving support system for families of children–like Charlie Beecher, like Brady Lucas–who are living life with cancer.
Charlie’s Story
Charlie Beecher and his brother, ten-year-old Max, are crawling under benches and generally skirting trouble during a visit to Penn State Hershey Medical Center for a Four Diamonds event. Life with childhood cancer, including forty-two weeks of chemotherapy and six weeks of specialized radiation in Boston, “makes you appreciate things, like them punching each other,” says their mom, Anne Beecher.
Charlie’s parents, Anne and Shayne Beecher of Manheim Township, Lancaster County, learned about THON and Four Diamonds while Charlie was under anesthesia for his biopsy. For forty-two years, Four Diamonds has covered 100 percent of medical expenses not covered by insurance for families of eligible childhood cancer patients at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. That care totaled $985,711 in 2014. Four Diamonds also supported fifty-eight pediatric oncology research professionals and sixteen specialty care providers catering exclusively to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and families.
But families get more than money, skilled care, and research. They actually become THON families, adopted by Penn State fraternities, sororities, or other organizations devoted to THON. The THON groups provide a range of supports for families, with visits, parties, presents, and invitations to fun fundraisers year-round.
Within the Penn State Harrisburg THON chapter of fifty to seventy students, it’s the families that “have people coming back every year,” says co-chair Corinne Palese, an English major from Camp Hill.
“A lot of students just want to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” says Palese. “It’s not about the dance party in February. It’s really about the kids.”
THON and Four Diamonds pointedly include all siblings in activities, so families achieve something like normalcy. The Beecher boys toured the Penn State football team’s locker room and met players who gave up a Saturday afternoon to goof around with a bunch of worshipful kids.
Anne Beecher can’t imagine her family’s life without THON and Four Diamonds. In September 2015, Charlie will have gone five years without treatment, “which is when they use the word ‘cure,’” although the family has learned to “just keep moving forward.” Like many THON families, the Beechers have become active themselves, assuring other families the same supports they received. Shayne speaks at fundraisers. Anne runs in Hope Express, the annual relay delivering letters of thanks from families at Penn State Hershey to the THON dancers in State College.
The loving spirit from THON weekend, and especially the final two hours when flagging energy levels are rebounding, is what will linger forever with the Beechers. THON and Four Diamonds are now “so much of what we are and who we are,” says Anne. “I can’t imagine ever not wanting to be a part of that.”
Brady’s Story
THON is 100 percent student-run, by 15,000 volunteers devoting an average of fifteen hours a week FTK (their way of saying “For The Kids”). Chapters at main and branch campuses raise money year-round. The Penn State Harrisburg chapter holds a swim-a-thon, spaghetti dinners, and a bowling night.
Brady Lucas, the son of Tom and Lisa Lucas of York, knows every aspect of THON. He’s a Penn State sophomore bio-behavioral health major, a THON chapter chair, and a THON kid. His cancer journey started at age eight with three-plus years of daily chemotherapy. At age fourteen, he suffered a relapse, and this time a bone marrow transplant was the best option to avoid further damage to his liver, already harmed by the initial chemo. Brady has an older brother, Ryan, and a younger brother, Shaun. Shaun, who was ten at the time, was a perfect match.
“He wanted to basically save my life,” says Brady now. “That’s what he was doing.”
THON and Four Diamonds helped the Lucas boys “live a normal life,” and Brady was able to keep the smile on his face. “Four Diamonds helped my parents be able to focus on me and focus on the whole family, making sure that I would get better and everyone would stay content, everybody would keep growing.”
Brady’s THON involvement stepped up with the relapse at age fourteen, when he thought, “I can make a big change in the world. I can go to events, meet people, and tell them my story.” There was money to be raised and, more importantly, awareness so people would understand the enormous impact of THON.
“Money can only get you so far,” he says. “Everybody’s coming together for this cause. It’s another family away from your family that’s really pushing you to keep fighting and fighting and fighting to get to the next phase of your life.”
From the first diagnosis, Brady knew he wanted to attend Penn State. He’s aiming for a career as a pediatric oncology doctor or nurse. “Not many people can go to the college that saved their lives,” he says. “People think college students can’t make that big a change in the world.” But Penn State THON students raised more than $13 million in 2015. THON is the celebration for children who are still there, and those whose lives have been lost, inspiring “the will to keep fighting, raising awareness, keep raising funds.”
“You’re all a big family in the end, all fighting for that eventual cure to childhood cancer,” Brady says. “The will to live. That’s what we all do.”
