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DEAN'S QUIET FIGHT
Dean Randazzo gears up for another stem cell transplant on April 23rd
By:
Evan Fontaine
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April 15, 2008
15268 visits
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When I first met Dean Randazzo he was ghostly pale, left thin and fatigued from the rounds of chemo and radiation in what was then his second bout with Hodgkin's disease.
And though I knew Dean for his prowess in the water - the first and only surfer from the Northeastern United States to qualify for the WCT, X Games MVP, East Coast icon - it was his heroic humility in what was a quiet fight for his life that left a lasting impression.
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"In the beginning of 2006 the scans came back and weren't too good," Randazzo said. "So they set me up for a stem cell transplant, which I went through in the summer of 2006. I came out of that, and I was supposed to get a scan a month later, but I didn't want to know if (the cancer) was growing back, so I waited. And I guess in December or November, it showed (the cancer) was growing back again. So then I had to do some radiation in January of '07. They thought they could just pin point a couple spots where it was growing back. And then here we are again, it kind of grew back in outside of where they radiated before. Now we're setting up for this next stem cell transplant." Randazzo is scheduled for another stem cell transplant on April 23rd. Previously, Randazzo used his own cells for the stem cell transplant. When stem cells are taken from the patient, stem cells are removed prior to chemotherapy and frozen, then transplanted post chemo as healthy stem cells. Because the last transplant failed, this time around Randazzo will use stem cells from a donor, his brother Joe. After his first stem cell transplant, Randazzo snapped back in freakish, almost dangerous, recovery time - surfing only 10 days removed from a hospital bed. But with the different nature of this transplant, using a donor's stem cells, there are new risks, namely graft-versus-host disease - a condition wherein the transplanted donor cells attack the host body. Even Dean concedes that a 10-day turnaround might not be in the cards this time. "It's hard to say," Randazzo said. "They've got to keep me on immuno suppressant drugs after that, for a short while, to see how I react to having foreign stem cells in my body. "It was pretty rough, you know, coming back. Trying to train after all that, it was like taking four steps ahead and three steps back. Trying to train like you used to, your body just couldn't handle it. It took awhile. It was frustrating because your mind is still set to how you used to be before, when you were healthy and trying to surf and exercise. Your mind still thinks but your body can't keep up." A relatively under publicized story during his three previous battles with Hodgkin's, Randazzo's most recent fight is one that has seen an upwelling of support in surfing circles spanning New Jersey to San Diego. Nick Bricker, a New Jersey native and good friend of Randazzo's has been a catalyst on the fundraising front since Randazzo was originally diagnosed in 2001. "It was truly amazing to see the support for Dean in his latest bout with cancer," Bricker said. "I threw together (Surf For Dean) contest at the last minute to see if I could raise maybe $1,000 to help Dean with his expenses since he wouldn't be able to surf or work for a few months while going through treatment. I sent out a few emails, and the next thing I know, almost every company in the industry had my back. The support from New Jersey was also mind blowing. It was a freezing February day, junky surf, and yet hundreds of people showed up to support and watch. "You want to get out there and beat this. Show other people you can be an inspiration for others. Show other people when you get sick, or something that's a huge uphill climb, that you can overcome it and still get through and get on with life."
-- Dean Randazzo
"The after party was one of the greatest fundraising events I've ever done. There were signed boards from Occy, Andy Irons, Rob Machado, Sam Hammer, Frank Walsh, Bethany Hamilton, and Dean himself. The highlight was a 9'6" big wave gun donated by Mavericks Champion Greg Long, and was the big money item of the event. When it was all said and done, the one-day event that I wanted to raise $1,000 ended up raising over $20,000." In addition to the $20,000 Bricker's contest raised, there has been a smattering of fundraising efforts to benefit Randazzo. Earnings from an eBay auction for a contest jersey from this year's Quiksilver Pro signed by Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning; the Do It For Dean Little Nasty Big Wave Competition, a contest where surfers solicit a pledged donation (per foot) from a sponsor, get photographed wearing the yellow contest jersey and riding the biggest wave they can find, then go and collect their ridden wave height in dollars for Dean; a fundraiser organized by Tony Butler in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina raised $7,000 for Dean; and the upcoming Golf For A Cause on May 10th, one of two staple events for the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation, is sure to contribute a sizable fundraising sum. "The support has been unbelievable," Randazzo said. "All of the people out there just jumping in. That (Surf For A Cause) contest started off just being something that Nick (Bricker) put together, and it just kind of grew and became huge. Things just kept snowballing. All the support. I got a lot of emails and letters. It's been amazing." Randazzo doesn't come across as the "why me" type. He's very matter of fact in his approach to the road to recovery. His expectations are modest. In the end, what he wants from life isn't extraordinary - by his own admission he just wants his one-year-old son to be able to remember him. A couple days after we met at Dean's house in Oceanside, I sat down and replayed the tape. For the entire 15-minute recording, Dean Jr.'s playful giggles spiked and faded in the background. I once wrote that Dean's great love in life is surfing. Not anymore. "I have a little kid I've got to feed," Randazzo said. "You have more focus. You want to get out there and beat this. Show other people you can be an inspiration for others. Show other people when you get sick, or something that's a huge uphill climb, that you can overcome it and still get through and get on with life." MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |
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