High school seniors Ray Saari of Oak Park and Max Galeassi of Harrisonville have never met, but they share a common bond.
The same three words changed both athletes? lives.
You have cancer.Saari, the leading scorer on the Oak Park boys soccer team, was diagnosed with testicular cancer on Nov. 19, 2010, when he was 16.Galeassi, a linebacker on the Harrisonville football team, learned of his diagnosis ? also testicular cancer ? on June 12 of this year. He was 17.Neither knew a thing about cancer ? Saari generalized it as an ?old man?s disease? ? but they knew they were scared.Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in males between the ages of 15 and 35, and the numbers are slowly increasing. But it is also one of the most curable kinds when detected early.In an effort to raise awareness, Saari will lead Oak Park onto the field tonight when the Northmen face district rival Park Hill at Livestrong Sporting Park. The game, which will follow Sporting Kansas City?s Major League Soccer match against Chicago, was organized by Saari and his Oak Park coaches.The severity of testicular cancer wasn?t lost on the two teenagers, who separately figured those three words were the equivalent of a death sentence.Describing himself as one of the most competitive people you will ever meet, Saari recalls his first thought after learning he was in for the battle of his life.?Wow,? Saari said matter of factly. ?I?m going to die.?
Galeassi turned 18 on Tuesday.Two weeks removed from his latest ? and perhaps last ? chemotherapy treatment, he celebrated adulthood by putting on his football pads for the first time this season.His Harrisonville No. 13 jersey fit neatly over the pads, and he donned a skull cap that hid his bald head.Six weeks into Harrisonville?s football season, Galeassi has yet to play a game. He attempts to practice but is easily fatigued. Still, he is determined to get back on the field.?It?s my senior year,? said Galeassi, who was fourth on the team in tackles last year as a junior outside linebacker. ?I don?t want to miss it.?Galeassi rushed home after being diagnosed with testicular cancer and scoured the Internet for more information. What he found was mostly good news. It was treatable and, most likely, curable.Satisfied he would eventually survive an encounter with an ugly disease, Galeassi turned his attention back to football.?I knew my chemo was going to cause me to miss a lot of football,? he said. ?I didn?t like that.?Although Saari?s cancer was much more advanced ? it had spread to his lungs, which developed tumors that were later surgically removed ? he too relied on sports as a means of maintaining some normalcy.?It wasn?t long before I didn?t think about dying anymore,? Saari said. ?I thought about when I would be able to play next.?For awhile, that (soccer) was all I really thought about.?Against his doctors? wishes, Saari played pickup soccer games between chemotherapy treatments. By March 2011, only four months removed from his diagnosis, he was again playing in games for his club team, Billy Goat FC. He played all of last season for Oak Park, including a cancer-awareness match against Staley that raised $2,600 for charity. The idea for tonight?s game was inspired by the support they received last year.?I couldn?t keep him off the field. The kid doesn?t hear ?No,??? said Billy Goat FC manager Abdullah Parker. ?And you know what? After (four) rigorous rounds of chemo, he was still one of the best players on the field.?
Saari will walk onto the Livestrong Sporting Park soccer field tonight for the second time. When Sporting Kansas City?s stadium opened on June 9, 2011, Saari accompanied Lance Armstrong onto the field. Armstrong was 25 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. He survived the disease, which spread to his lungs and brain, and recovered to win the first of seven Tour de France titles three years later.Saari and Armstrong shared similar fights. They now share outcomes, too.As he did a year ago, Saari leads the Northmen in scoring with 10 goals. He scored 26 after his return last season. He plans to graduate after this semester and then make an early departure to the University of Tulsa, where he will play soccer on an athletic scholarship.?Being on the soccer field makes me feel like everything is behind me,? Saari said. ?I never think about (my cancer) when I?m playing.?Galeassi yearns for a similar moment. He won?t play tonight when Harrisonville hosts Grain Valley.Still, students have rallied around Galeassi in the same way others have rallied for Saari. Harrisonville fans plan to wear T-shirts tonight in support of Galeassi?s ongoing fight ? ?Live life to the MAX,? they will read. Many of his teammates wear wristbands with the same message.?He?s very close with his football family,? Harrisonville coach Chuck Lliteras said. ?I think it?s really brought up the caring and compassion of everyone on this team. Max never has a negative thing to say, and that?s kept our spirits high, too.?
There are moments that cancer patients don?t forget ? the day they?re told of their diagnosis, or their first round of chemotherapy.Karen McWhirt remembers the day that doctors told her son, Ian Drazick, that he was going to die of testicular cancer. In fact, she will never forget the exact words Drazick said to her after being told his disease, which was detected after it had spread to his brain, would ultimately prove fatal.?Mom, I want you to write a book about me,? McWhirt remembers Drazick asking in 2005, ?so other guys will know about this cancer, and they will have a better chance than I had of surviving it.?A former Lee?s Summit High School football player, Drazick was gone less than a month later, one month after his 20th birthday.Galeassi?s parents heard Drazick?s story on a local news broadcast. Two weeks later, Galeassi began to feel an aching pain in his scrotum.?The only reason I went to the doctor is because it ached,? Galeassi said. ?And that only happens in 10 percent of the cases.?Galeassi and Saari were both originally misdiagnosed. Each was told he was likely too young to have testicular cancer.Saari went through bags of cough drops every day to soothe a cough that wouldn?t go away. Galeassi took antibiotics for his pain.Weeks later, they received their correct diagnoses.?I was embarrassed,? Saari said. ?At first I didn?t want to talk about it.?Shame is a common reaction ? especially among younger males ? and perhaps the main reason testicular cancer is rarely spoken about.McWhirt is trying to change that. She has written the book her son requested ? ?Together We Will Win: What Happens When We Don?t Talk About Testicular Cancer? ? and hopes it will shed more light on the disease.She also receives donations for a college scholarship in Drazick?s honor. McWhirt gives the annual award to a Lee?s Summit football player at a banquet each May.?People are afraid to talk about that part of a guy?s body. They get embarrassed,? McWhirt said. ?That?s something that frustrated Ian to no end. He couldn?t figure out why, if this was common in young men, why isn?t anyone talking about it??
Saari considers himself one of the lucky ones. Even through four rounds of chemotherapy, the only side effect he experienced was hair loss. Of course, it fell out in the middle of a high school exam.But his brown locks are back now, and the cancer, as far as he?s concerned, is behind him. Saari?s cancer is clinically in remission.?His mother and I could never be prouder of the way he fought this,? said Ray Saari?s father, John Saari, his voice breaking. ?He did better with it than we did, especially better than I did. I was very angry with God. Ray, though, he never got angry. He accepted it and moved on with his life.?The battle is far from over for Galeassi, who still can?t build up enough stamina to return to the sport he loves.While going through chemotherapy, he attempted to join his teammates during practice, but he wound up vomiting under the stadium bleachers.?I run about 100 feet,? Galeassi said. ?And it feels like I ran eight miles.?Even so, Galeassi?s outlook remains positive. His maturation over the past four months is evident in his lack of negativity, said his mother, Renee. Saari beams with the same upbeat attitude.But while Saari has found his breakthrough moment ? returning to the soccer field ? Galeassi is still waiting for his.?When I walk onto the field, it?s going to feel like I accomplished something ? like I climbed a mountain,? Galeassi said. ?It?s been really hard, but I think I?m more positive after it. I think it?s easier to be positive and appreciate the minor things in life when you go through this.?
To reach Sam McDowell, send email to smcdowell@kcstar.com.
Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/27/3837320/sports-help-teens-cope-with-cancer.html
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