Jardine: Valley survivor to be leader of the pack

From the e-mails and voice mails:

BIG WINNER -- Sometime this afternoon, valley resident and cancer survivor Kenny Chew will be able to claim he beat both the disease and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, himself a cancer survivor.

An hour or so before the pro cyclists pedal into Modesto in Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California, Chew will lead a small pack of riders in the Breakaway Mile, a ceremonial event aimed at raising cancer awareness. It's one of four such events throughout the Amgen tour. Santa Rosa had one Sunday, and events in Paso Robles and Esconido will follow Modesto's. Each city selected its own cancer survivor and support teams.

Chew, 49, learned he had cancer in November 2007. He said it began on the back of his tongue and spread into his neck. He spent much of 2008 receiving chemotherapy and radiation, and had neck surgery.

"I went into the treatments with lots of optimism," Chew said.

He owned a Kirby vacuum cleaner shop in Manteca and was visited by a representative from a financial company shortly after the diagnosis.

"He noticed I was kind of distant," Chew said. "I told him about (the cancer) and he said, 'Do you mind me praying for you and buying you a Bible?' "

The next day, Chew went to visit his mother's minister.

"I got saved," he said. He doesn't recall that

particular minister's name. "But I do remember the guy's name who I talked to, and that was God. My faith got me through this whole thing."

He needed every bit of help he could get. The treatments were debilitating.

"I could barely walk," Chew said. "I had a feeding tube because the radiation kept me from eating or drinking anything. I survived on six cans of Peptamen (liquid food) a day. It's like baby formula. It has all the protein you need to keep you alive."

He endured burns from the radiation that prevented him from eating solid food for several months after the treatments ended. His wife, Bernadette, helped him get through it, and his daughter, Melissa Smith, raised money for cancer awareness by running in a marathon.

Despite the support, it was the most difficult ordeal he's endured. "There were two times -- I remember the days specifically -- where I did give up," Chew said. "I cried like a baby."

Because of the radiation burns, he took a two-week break from treatments. When it came time to resume them, he flat-out refused. His wife had other ideas.

"What if these are the four treatments that make the difference between you making it and not making it?" she asked. He resumed them and finished the program.

He continued his recovery by joining the Triumph fitness program at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.

"They gave me complimentary everything," he said. "Weight training to pilates to cycling. I started gaining my strength back."

Having closed the vacuum shop because of the illness, Chew was happy that a friend who owns a water softener business asked him to help out whenever he felt physically able.

"It gave me back my sense of worth," he said.

He's been given a clean bill of health and will lead a team consisting of his wife; his daughter; his brother, Kelly Chew; Cheryl Casey and Seth Stone of Memorial Medical Center; and his young granddaughter, Tatiana Chew, who will ride along with the benefit of training wheels.

They'll leave from the finish line downtown at 3 p.m. and ride about a half-mile through Modesto before returning to cross the finish line, less than an hour ahead of the Amgen racers.

WAGON WOES -- For all the freedom that wagon master Ron Dakotah enjoys, there are inherent dangers with life on the road. He and a number of others traverse the nation in custom made, horse-drawn wagons.

Dakotah arrived in late January and plans to begin his return trip when the weather improves. Most of the wagons look more like Tuff Sheds on radials than your great-great-great- great-grandparents' Conestogas.

But because they travel roads and highways, they're at the mercy of the same perils as joggers, cyclists and anyone else going slower than the flow of traffic.

Last week in Mississippi, an 18-wheel tanker truck obliterated a wagon similar to Dakotah's near the small town of Macon. The driver, Bob Skelding, was fortunate only to suffer several broken bones. Two Percheron draft horses from his team, however, died instantly.

So as Dakotah makes his way out of Stanislaus County, heading back to Idaho, slow down and keep an eye out for him.

HORSE RESCUE -- Last month, I wrote about the number of horses being abandoned or not receiving proper care, in part because of the economy. Some folks simply cannot afford feed, shoeing and veterinary care. Consequently, horse rescue outfits are getting more calls and horses than they can handle. One rescuer, Raquelle Van Fleck of ReHorse Rescue in Jamestown filed articles of incorporation last week with plans to create a nonprofit organization. In the meantime, she's trying to feed 11 rescued horses. Anyone wanting to help can call her at 337-5886 or can prepay for hay at Hurst Ranch feed in Jamestown.

Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.