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Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
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Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
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Man learns he has skin cancer on his head only because he removed his hair for charity
By Jewell Cardwell
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Monday, Feb 18, 2008
Last year, Larry Durian jumped into his first St. Baldrick's Day activity head first — so to speak — at the urging of a colleague.
This time around, the Canton man is being led by his heart.
And for good reason.
Durian volunteered to have his head shaved last March at Canton's St. Baldrick's Day, a meaningful alternative to St. Patrick's Day as well as a major fund-raiser to fight childhood cancer. He thinks that good deed just may have saved his life.
''Larry Durian was shaved and the stylist saw a spot on his head that she suggested he have looked at,'' Sue Stevenson, veteran planner of Stark County's St. Baldrick's Day activities, said about last year's party with a purpose. ''Sure enough, he had skin cancer, and he would not have probably found it if he hadn't shaved his head for our event.''
Durian, who is director of the pretrial department of Stark County Family Court, was all too happy to talk about the
serendipitous circumstances.
''A funny thing happened at a court administrators' meeting last year — a week before the St. Baldrick's event,'' Durian said. ''At the end, Chuck Schuster, another department head, told all the supervisors about the St. Baldrick's event and having our heads shaved to raise money for childhood cancer research. He asked if anyone was interested.''
Willing to give
Because he had a full head of hair, Durian was quick to volunteer, along with court administrator Rick DeHeer.
''To make a long story short,'' Durian said, ''Chuck and I collected $4,000 in five days, and we had so much fun doing it — turning it into a major competition.''
Then it was just a matter of showing up that Sunday and getting his head shaved.
That's when Durian was told by the woman shaving him that he ''had a spot'' on his head that he ought to have checked.
Early warning
Durian said his barber had alerted him to the spot six months earlier and he had dismissed it, figuring it was caused ''by the way I combed my flaxen, waxen hair.''
But once his head was shaved, Larry Durian was able to see for himself the silver-dollar-size area in question, which he described as ''ugly.''
''I got a little scared and I called my dermatologist, Lizabeth Powers (in Canton), and got the first available appointment,'' he said.
Sure enough, Powers told him he had cancer — basal cell carcinoma.
''Hearing the word cancer really knocked the wind out of me,'' Durian said candidly.
Powers, who scraped the area and biopsied it to find the extent of the damage, ended up referring Durian to Dr. Jennifer Popovsky, an Akron dermatologist/oncologist. Ultimately, it took two operations to remove the tumor.
Durian described the scar as being ''an inch north to south and one and a half inches east to west.
Still helping out
''Who knows what would have happened had I not gone to St. Baldrick's Day?'' he said.
By the way, Durian is still raising funds for childhood cancer research and is getting shaved again next month at the St. Baldrick's event.
''I just think it's a worthy cause,'' he said. ''I get very emotional talking about it.
''What this has caused me to do is to stand naked in front of the mirror once a month and look at myself. Believe me, that's no pretty sight.
''What I'm looking for are growths, abnormalities, anything that I would perceive as cancerous. I'm now hyper-vigilant about skin cancer.
''And, lo and behold, about two months ago, I found one on my back.''
Durian rang Powers, who removed and biopsied the cyst, which turned out to be benign.
He urges others — men and women — to do monthly examinations of their bodies, too.
How to participate
Two St. Baldrick's Day events are planned locally — in Stark County and in Barberton/Norton. Both are on March 9.
The Stark event, in which Durian again will participate, is set for 1 to 5 p.m. at the Winking Lizard, 5710 Fulton Road N.W., Jackson Township. The other party is noon to 5 p.m. at JW Cheers, 285 31st St. S.W., Norton.
Sue Stevenson is in her sixth year of hosting Stark County's party in memory of her niece, Abbey Foltz, who died in 2000 after a long battle with childhood cancer. She was 19.
Stevenson, a cancer survivor herself who is actively lining up participants for March 9, promises this year's affair will have even more surprises and shavees, including her husband.
''I would be happy to be a 'shavee' again,'' she said. ''But after going through chemo, my family thinks I look like I'm sick when I'm bald.''
Stevenson's all-in-the-family mantra has recently spread west.
''Our daughter moved out to Denver a year and a half ago,'' she said. ''And, in fact, she's the organizer for the Denver event now and is doing that in Abbey's memory.''
The organizer of Barberton's St. Baldrick's doings, Amy Mangione, is equally enthusiastic about her event.
The reason?
''My sister is Dr. Laura Gerak, who is on the Palliative Care Team at Akron Children's Hospital. And she's shaving her head this year,'' Mangione said.
''She'll be donating a good foot of hair to Locks of Love. . . . She knew she would go through with it if I was organizing the event.''
Mangione said a silent auction, appetizers, lots of games for the children and raffles are planned.
Event details
More information about St. Baldrick's Day is available on the Web site http://www.stbaldricks.org. Or, call Sue Stevenson at 330-848-3829 or Amy Mangione at 330-686-9783.
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.
Last year, Larry Durian jumped into his first St. Baldrick's Day activity head first — so to speak — at the urging of a colleague.
Get the full article here.
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