Amedee Frederick knows all about having the blues. They don’t call the Abita Springs musician “The Creole-Cajun Bluesman” for nothing.
But on Friday (Sept. 22), Mr. Frederick was all smiles as he took the stage with his son’s band, the Pontchartrain Shakers, to celebrate Survivors Day at St. Tammany Cancer Center – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center.
That’s because, like so many others in attendance, he is himself a cancer survivor, having lived for more than four years with pancreatic cancer.
“If it wasn’t for the doctors and nurses here,” he said from a stage set up in the cancer center parking lot, “I guess I wouldn’t be here. So, I’m so happy to be here playing for you today.”
He had just finished playing a cover of the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin’,” with its chorus of “Without love/Where would you be now?” – which was perfectly appropriate given the love on display at the midday event.
There were hugs, there was dancing, there were fresh-off-the-grill burgers and dogs, and there was an assortment of other goodies to be had from the dozen or so participating sponsors.
The central focus, though, was on the assembled survivors and their families, who got a chance to reunite with the care providers who stood beside them – and, in some cases, are still standing beside them – through their treatment.
That included Lacombe-area siblings Janice Harris, celebrating one and a half years of remission after being diagnosed with three separate cancers, and Karen Harris Barnes, in remission for five years.
“The people in this building, they are terrific – A-number-one. I would recommend them to anyone,” big brother Donald Harris said, flanked by his sisters. “… They treat you like you’re family.”
That is no mistake, according to Cancer Center Administrator Jack Khashou.
“The best thing about Survivor’s Day is we’re doing a better and better job every day, so we have more and more survivors – and they’re not just surviving. They’re thriving,” Khashou said.
He added: “Survivorship starts the day you are diagnosed, and it goes on forever. So we are here to celebrate every day you are a survivor.”
For the Harris family, the cancer center and its staff have been godsends.
Asked what prompted them to turn out for Survivor’s Day, Donald Harris made it clear it wasn’t just about the food and fun. It was also about the care providers who showed them so much compassion – and an opportunity for the Harris family to pay it forward.
“(We’re here) so we may be an inspiration for another survivor or somebody that’s going through cancer,” he said. “They figure there’s no hope. There
is hope.”