TURNER (NEWSCENTER Maine) — The Dempsey Challenge is coming up on the weekend of September 29th. In the weeks leading up to it, we want to show you some of the lives the Dempsey center has touched over the years.
We met Laura Tanous Marshall and Tina Green at Bear Pond, a place that holds special memories for these lifelong friends. They met when they were just ten-years-old, yet thru moves, marriages, children, and careers, somehow Laura and Tina always found their way back to each other, and to Bear Pond.
They are virtually inseparable living less than two miles apart. They raised their children together, worked together teaching in Greene, and then last year they got diagnosed with cancer...together.
Laura says, “I was diagnosed September 11, and five months later Tina was diagnosed in January.”
Laura's cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer. Tina's brain cancer is incurable.
Each of them says finding out the other had cancer was harder to bear than hearing their own diagnosis.
They talk every day and are committed to staying positive and supportive of each other. They have also attended many classes and session at the Dempsey Center in nearby Lewiston and they have taken nutrition classes, Reiki, yoga, and acupuncture, all free of charge.
The friends say they have met other positive and supportive people to join them in the fight to survive.
Laura says “Every day is a gift. You live each day. You don’t think about tomorrow or the past. You live today. That’s really important .”
Perhaps not just for cancer patients, but for everyone.
If you haven't signed up for the Dempsey Challenge yet, it is not too late. This year's run/walk event is Saturday, September 29th and the ride is Sunday the 30th.
NEWS CENTER Maine will have extensive coverage of the event on our weekend morning report.
Viewers can find the coverage on our subchannels as well, 6.2 for viewers in the Portland area and 2.2 for viewers in the Bangor area.