Introduction

The committee working to raise money for Beau's Benefit, want you to meet our friend Beau Dudte, third-time cancer warrior.

He’s not just a warrior in the cancer world, but a fierce lover of his family.

Beau loves to coach his young kids' flag and tackle football teams, and be involved as much as he can with all of their endeavors, including his daughter's cheer team. At heart, he really is 'that girl-dad'. He’s often at football games , not for the football, but to cheer on his little cheerleader.

He is married to his high school sweetheart, who he first started dating over 20 years ago, and says that there’s nothing in this world that could make him fight harder than the thought of not spending another 20 years beside her.

They've lasted through more cancer recurrences, more chemo treatments, more setbacks and trauma than many marriages can endure.

Four years ago, Beau was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Philadelphia Chromosone Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Worse, he was told it was even rarer for someone his age to develop this type of Leukemia. Through genetic testing, they found that Beau has Positive B cell, or Philadelphia Chromosome issues, and that this accounts for only twenty percent of this cancer type.

When you receive a cancer diagnosis, the last thing you want in your chart is the word "rare"; even worse, rare to the point of it being only 20% of diagnosed cases.

That word, that number, is really a bitter pill to swallow. It means not as much research monies go to your cancer. It means you have to find the few doctors in the US that can treat this rare cancer. As well as figuring out what treatments the insurance companies will even cover and when.

It means, you're kind of out on a limb, watching a storm approach, as the winds start whipping from all directions, just hoping to hold on through the night. 

Each diagnosis takes a part of your soul. Each diagnosis your soul dives deeper into the "Valley of Death" feeling. Each diagnosis gives your wife and family a new terror they hoped would never revisit them again.

Yet each time Beau, through much suffering, much hardship, has pulled himself out of the clutches of death, choosing to live his life.

That's not easy for a cancer patient to do. Most people that have not had cancer, and lengthy, horrid treatments, don't understand the depths your mind, soul and body have just come through. Most people don't understand how difficult it is to be boomeranged back into "life", when you've been doing nothing but suffering and surviving for months, years.

Many cancer patients are later diagnosed with PTSD. Those closest to the patient end up with a healthy dose of PTSD themselves.

Maybe they haven't been to the middle east fighting a war in brutal conditions, but the war within the body and mind and soul can be very intense, even under the kindest of medical care. 

Any way you look at it, it's still a bed of nails. A bed of nails you spend too much time on, and then when you're told the cancer center - your second home away from home - doesn't want to see you anymore because you've achieved some sort of remission, your body and brain - even if you don't want them to - watch over your shoulder every single day wondering if the enemy is still lurking, still hiding out in the tiniest micro-cell of your body.

Even so, Beau dealt with those demons and chose to live each diagnosis, each lengthy painful treatment go-around. 

LIVING IT OUT

Like all of us, Beau lives in different worlds. 

There's his family world. His football world. 

He also has another world that very few of us have experienced or known - his cancer world.

Over the years he’s become well known up on the leukemia floor at the world famous Cleveland Clinic. That floor has become very much like his version of "Cheers", where everybody knows his name. With each unfortunate visit he’s often seen walking the two hallways, smiling and talking to other patients, passing along his experiences just as others did for him in the beginning of his journey. 

Always paying it forward, always making a new friend feel better having talked with him.

Lastly, there's Beau's inner world.

Beau finds peace on the water. He has a boat and loves to fish. His family lives in a unique community called Cinnamon Lake. Many that live there talk about “Lake Life” - Beau lives it. You can find him on the water in a fishing boat early in the morning before many are awake, contemplating the beauty of the lake, soaking in the peace and serenity of a new morning.

You can find him on the lake in the evening with friends, sharing a beer, and having a laugh.

I asked Beau how do you start living after each terrifying diagnosis, each brutal treatment? 

His answer was simple, "I have a wife and family that I love too much".

HOW MANY TIMES, OH LORD, HOW MANY TIMES?

This is Beau’s third go at the beast of a cancer that wreaks havoc on his body, on his mind, on his soul, not to mention what this beast has done, and is doing to his wife, his children, his friends.

The first time, he just wanted to get through treatment to be able to be home with his family. The second time, he knew in his bones that this was a fight to finish.

And he did finish that fight the second time. He did everything he had to do to win this game - days and weeks, and even an entire month away from his family and football teams and his beloved lake.

But we all know cancer isn’t fair, is it?

For Beau’s third cancer recurrence that was found at the end of this summer, the Cleveland Clinic is trying a new drug for him this treatment go-around, using immunotherapy. All the while adding in some good heavy doses of chemo, just because. 

And again, for the third time, there is great hope and love and strength in Beau’s eyes, willing his body to respond to treatment.


WE CAN HELP LIFT THIS FAMILY ABOVE CANCER CHAOS

To ease Beau's burden, and the burden his young family is shouldering bravely, his friends and family are sponsoring a benefit to raise money to make 12 mortgage payments.

Life still goes on for his family - the car breaks down, the roof suddenly leaks, and you spend any tiny bit of extra money at the gas pump, running kids to practices, running to appointments.

You make too many drives to a large city an hour away.

Parking fees, parking fines, sterile bandages, germ killers by the bottles and bottles, scripts upon scripts, over the counter meds - the expenses add up so very fast.

Making 12 mortgage payments for them so they can breathe a little, live life a little is the least we can do, knowing what blood, sweat and tears Beau, his wife, and his children have already poured into this battle.

While our committee is dreaming of raising money to aid our friends, we also dream for them:

• Donated lawn care for this fall and next spring
• Donated home cleaners to keep germs at bay and give a full time working mom a break.
• A new car. Smile. But seriously car mechanic care, oil changes, new tires. Amanda is driving a 2008 van, Beau has a 2012 truck

Again we say, meet our friend Beau. He's a pretty awesome, ordinary guy just trying to do things most dads do for their families, and fighting the most unfair of enemies daily in this battle named cancer.