Tony McEachern loves to give.
After five surgeries for brain cancer and years of chemotherapy, he's still in the mood to help others.
So, after he participates in Saturday's Angels Among Us 5K and Family Fun Walk at Duke University, he will keep right on walking -- from Durham to Sarasota, Fla.
It's his way of trying to raise as much money as possible for Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, which he credits with saving his life.
When McEachern completes Saturday's Angels Among Us walk, he's just begun. That's because after a brief meal, he'll point his toes due south and begin his 750-mile walk, hoping to raise even more money for the brain tumor center.
"I'll have a bite to eat, then hit the road," he said.
He expects to make the journey in 35 days, stopping at hotels every 20 miles or so. He plans to walk about seven hours each day, at about 3 mph.
Someone will be with him during the entire walk -- friends will take turns.
McEachern has been training for months, walking five hours every Sunday and about 90 minutes on other days. He says he feels his strength growing, and is confident he'll make it to the finish line.
"I'm ready," he said.
McEachern's brain tumor was discovered in 2003, when he was 33, athletic and feeling fine.
"It was right out of nowhere," he said in an interview this week from his hometown of Sarasota. "I hadn't even had a headache prior to this. I was riding my bike one day and had a full seizure. I went to the hospital and they found a lemon-size tumor. They told me it had been growing probably for three years."
His first surgery was in Sarasota. The tumor grew back in about three months, and he had a second procedure there.
After the cancer again returned, he went to Duke for an experimental treatment.
"They had me in a room that was literally wrapped in plastic," he said. "The treatment was a radioactive isotope that they injected into the tumor cavity, and because it was radioactive, they put me on a floor that was isolated. They had to slide food underneath the door, and they would come to the door with a Geiger counter."
McEachern, 39, has had three recurrences of the tumor since that treatment. His last surgery was in 2005, and he is now considered cancer-free. His last three scans showed no sign of cancer.
"I feel a little bit like Frankenstein," he said. "I have a shunt in my head; it is a tube that runs down to my stomach."
The cancer has taken more than half of his eyesight.
"My wife and I went to Hawaii on my honeymoon. I didn't get to see a lot of it,' he recalled.
But despite what the cancer has stolen, McEachern has a grateful heart, especially for the Duke Brain Tumor Center.
"I feel so fortunate for what the Brain Tumor Clinic has done for me," he said. "I really feel I'm here because of what they've done. I feel obligated to give back, pay forward, and raise some money for them so they can do for others what they've done for me."
McEachern, who grew up in Nova Scotia, has been athletic most of his life. In high school, he played soccer, basketball, hockey and volleyball. He has competed and placed in competitions from mountain biking, track and field to adventure racing.
Today, he is no longer able to drive or ride his bike, but he still walks and works.
He used to own a bike shop in Sarasota. After the illness, he sold it and now works there as an employee.
"I enjoy putting people on bikes," he said. "We're creating experiences for people.'
He'll also be creating an experience for himself and others as he hits the road on Saturday. And he hopes everyone will come out on Saturday and participate in the Duke walk.
"I'd really like to have people come out and join me in the walk, because I think it's so important to create awareness," he said. "The money we can raise for research will make an incredible difference. That's why I'm out there." To see more of The Herald-Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald-sun.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.