J-M student’s event to raise cancer awareness, funds
A fundraiser for the Lung Cancer Foundation of America is being held Sunday at the Carmichaels VFW in memory of Doris "D.J." Bedilion, pictured with her husband, Gary.
Jefferson-Morgan senior Gavin Koratich looks over some of the 40 baskets donated for a fundraising event for the Lung Cancer Foundation of America in memory of his grandmother, D.J. Bedilion.
CARMICHAELS – Gavin Koratich, president of the National Honor Society at Jefferson-Morgan High School, was just 11 years old in 2008 when he lost his grandmother, Doris “D.J.” Bedilion, to complications from the medication she used to treat lung cancer.
On Sunday, Koratich and his fellow NHS members from Jefferson-Morgan will hold a fundraiser, Dancing for D.J., from 3 to 6 p.m. at Carmichaels VFW Post to raise money for Lung Cancer Foundation of America.
“My grandmother said at the end of the day, if nothing else, she wanted to make a difference concerning this disease,” Koratich said. When he was looking for his presidential service project for the NHS, he wanted to fulfill her wish to somehow make something positive come of what she went through.
Admission to the dance is $5. Children 10 and younger will be admitted free. Those attending will have an opportunity to purchase 50/50 tickets and chances on 40 different themed baskets. Some of the baskets being offered contain board games, small appliances, Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia and Christmas items.
When Koratich began to look into what is being done to combat lung cancer, he said he was as surprised as his grandmother was in 2008 to learn how little research money was going to find a cure, considering it is the number one cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
It is the No. 2 leading cause of death in the United States, second only to heart disease, according to the LCFA.
“I think it is because people believe if you have lung cancer, you brought it on yourself by smoking,” Koratich said. “But, more than half (of lung cancer diagnoses) are in patients who never smoked or who already quit smoking. Obviously, if you smoke it will make your chances greater. But, you could be a perfectly healthy person (a nonsmoker) and get lung cancer. That is what people need to understand.”
LCFA was chosen as the recipient of the proceeds of the dance. The money raised will be used to fund doctors and researchers directly who are seeking the best treatments and a cure for lung cancer. The foundation was founded by two lung cancer survivors and the widow of a lung cancer patient when they, too, realized how little was being done in the way of research for the disease.
Koratich’s mother, Tammy, had just finished treatment for breast cancer the year before her mother was diagnosed. Nine years prior, a PET scan revealed scar tissue on Bedilion’s lungs. She was told it did not need to be removed, only monitored. By the time Bedilion learned she had lung cancer, it had already progressed to stage IV, Tammy said. The initial signs were random, including an odd twitching sensation in her back.
“You have to be your own best advocate. Take the next step. Follow up. Do it yourself,” Tammy said. “It’s a horrible disease and what people go through that have it is awful. She couldn’t breathe. My mother was so active and with the fluid in her lung she came to a halt.”
When the cancer began to shrink from chemotherapy, the family was optimistic. Bedilion was even more hopeful about a new medication she was to receive. Sadly, it was never administered. She succumbed to blood clots brought on by the chemotherapy the day before she was to take it.
Two years after her death, the family was dealt another blow when it learned Bedilion’s 8-year old grandson, Colby Simkovic, had a brain tumor. As Simkovic underwent and completed treatment, the Bedilion family rallied with community members to support him through a fundraiser based upon the “Dancing with the Stars” television show. He is cancer-free today. Dancing with Colby’s Stars continued after Simkovic was better to provide support for other families with children undergoing treatment for cancer.
“That was how we were raised, to pay it forward,” Tammy said.
Dancing with Colby’s Stars is now a nonprofit foundation under the name of Colby’s Stars. Donations to the Dancing for D.J. effort can be made payable through the Colby’s Stars foundation with a note on the memo line for LCFA or directly to LCFAmerica.org.
Wearing a T-shirt that said “Making a Difference” on the front and “I danced for D.J.!” on the back, Koratich said, “The whole point is there is nothing that’s been done like this around here for a direct cure. Maybe this will inspire others. Maybe it won’t change the world, but it will change our little world around here.”