‭(573) 614-0503‬ [email protected] 705 Laurie Circle, Dexter, MO 63841

18 FORE Life Golf Event – June 4 & 5, 2010

Mark your calendars for June 4-5 and join us in Dexter as we celebrate 10 years!!!!!  I can’t believe our first golf tournament was that long ago and I sincerely can’t believe how we have grown in that amount of time.  I hope 2010 is off to a great start for each of you.  We will begin organizing and raising money soon, so any ideas you may have, please share them with us. We aim to put on our best event to date and look forward to seeing you there.

Banquet tickets will go on sale later in late April/early May!  Don’t miss this one. Golf Teams will be contacted to see if they want their spots back, then we will open it up and fill it up after that!

Thanks for all you do to support The Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life Charity Golf Event.  Ben would be so happy and so proud of our work.  I know he is doing his part now to bless us and send good things our way.  Something is telling me he would want us to set our goal pretty high this year after giving away over $100,000.00 in love offerings in 2009 alone!

Below comes to us from a friend named Debbie Rodewald.  She has battled and is winning her fight against cancer!  I believe her words and tone sum up what this charity is all about.  You can feel the determination, the Faith, the hope, the appreciation for this life we are given, and the love for family and friends.  Isn’t that what all of this is really about?  I asked her about sharing her words with you and she said to share it with anyone it may help!  Thank you Debbie for being a hero and motivating us all to live life to the fullest and to keep fighting this horrific disease.

I want to give my friends an update.  Tomorrow morning I will have my port a cath removed.  I am now a one year survivor and am told I am cancer free.  My recent tests are all clear.  I am on a five year treatment of one pill a day as a preventative and an injection every six months to prevent the pills from giving me osteoporosis.  Yeah, one thing leads to another….go figure.

You all have been so faithful to keep me in your prayers and to email me throughout the year.  I am so thankful for my friends.  You will never know how much it has meant to me to get those emails of encouragement and to know there were people out there holding me up to the Lord in prayer.  Last year was tough in some ways but such an enlightening and glorious year too.  I know that sounds odd but there have been so many blessings for me last year.  So many prayers answered.  I have reconnected with so many old friends, made new friends and found relatives that I may never have had the chance to catch up with.  All we ever hear in the news are the bad reports.  I have been witness to many good reports…oh, I have seen the bad too but I have met so many people with so much hope!  I ask that you continue to pray for me and I will pray for you too….we all need the support of others but keep those that are still struggling at the top of your list.  Cancer has become the plague of our time and there are many who will not win their battle.  Let’s keep them lifted up in prayer.

Again, thank you for walking thru this time in my life with me.  I have felt your presence and I will always remember what you have done for me….whether it be prayer, a card sent, a call, a ride to one of my treatments or simply thinking of me..there are so many things you have all done to help me…..I appreciate you.  I love you all!  I am blessed!

Please keep in touch.  Life is short and we need each other.  LU Deb

Using Twitter to Beat Cancer

You have to read this story about the very unique ways one person is raising money for Livestrong and how Drew Carey has stepped up big time to help out.

Using Twitter to Beat Cancer

In 2010, as 18FL moves into it’s 10th year of helping out local families in Southeast Missouri, we’re looking for ways to increase our gifts to those that need our help. Let us know if you have any ideas to help build more awareness of the Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life Foundation and to help make 2010 our biggest year yet.

Cathey Daniels – “Paying It Backwards”

nbcam_pink_ribbonSM

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we would like for you to hear from a true hero.  Mrs. Cathey Daniels is a cancer survivor who lives life to the fullest and is passionate about helping others.  An Art Teacher at New Madrid County Central Middle School, she is a regular attendee at the annual Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life banquet.  Mrs. D, thank you for inspiring all of us to cherish each moment and continue working to help area families battle this dreaded disease.

By Cathey Daniels ([email protected])

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Women across America are reminding daughters, sisters, and mothers to self-check and get a mammogram. There are no valid excuses to skip either one of these.

In October, 2003, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had had seventeen years of mammograms and was very conscientious about self-exams. In 1975, a month after my daughter was born, I found a lump in my breast and had a biopsy and the lump removed. It was benign. Twenty-eight years later, that scar tissue was cancerous! Nothing unusual showed on the mammogram, but I had an inner instinct that knew that something was wrong. Perhaps the fact that I had lost my only brother to brain cancer only a month before made me more aware. Whatever the reason, I moved quickly, had cooperative, understanding, and knowledgeable doctors, and lots of people praying for me. After a radical mastectomy, I received 8 treatments of chemo. It was an awesome experience! I continued to teach, had no adverse reactions to the medicines, except for being very tired, and grew spiritually in ways that I cannot explain.

Today, I take no medication, and am cancer free! I still have blood work every 4 months, but that is a small price to pay for living. Cancer is a horrible word. Just hearing that you have it takes your breath away. But, research is moving at a fast pace, thanks to heightened awareness.

Of course, now it is my responsibility to try to encourage as many women (and men) with cancer as I can. And, I have two daughters and two granddaughters whom I want to save from this disease. I guess you would say that I’m “paying it backwards” instead of “forward”. In 2004, Dr. Salamat, his nurse, Kim Peters, Dr. Reintjes, and I started a “Breast Cancer Support Group” at Missouri Delta Medical Center. We now have approximately 70 on our mailing list and 15-20 who attend the meetings at the hospital on alternate months. If you know of anyone who needs encouragement, contact me, so that I may invite them to the meetings. In August, Kim Peters shared “The Lydia Project” with our group, and The Standard-Democrat covered the story. This grass-roots organization supplies a hand-made bag full of treats (a journal, lotion, pen, etc.) to any female cancer patient in the United States. Now, our Support Group is helping supply these to women in our area. For more information on this, contact Kim Peters at [email protected]. In addition, I believe that Relay for Life is a worthwhile organization for raising funds for research. Without the breakthroughs in breast cancer research of the last twenty-five years, I would just be a statistic. Of course, 18 Fore Life is an excellent avenue to helping cancer patients. I applaud and support this organization for the tremendously unselfish way that they disperse the funds that they raise. Opening an envelope with an unexpected check in it, with no strings attached, brings encouragement, love, and knowledge of real concern to the recipient.

Cancer is a monster! But—through the efforts of individuals and organizations who strive to make life safer and more bearable and with the help of God-given knowledge, the monster will be destroyed!

If you or someone you know has an inspiring story of battling cancer or surviving cancer and would like to share it with us, please use our contact page to get in touch with us.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

nbcam_25yrs_web_logoSMToday is the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As with most diseases, early detection is key.  When breast cancer is diagnosed early, it is easier to treat and treatment is much more likely to be successful.  Research shows that survival rate is more than 95 percent if breast cancer is caught at an early stage.  The National Cancer Institute encourages women 40 and older to have a mammogram every 1-2 years.  And the American Cancer Society recommends women in their 20s and 30s get a clinical breast exam as part of their regular physical exam at least once every three years.

For more information, please visit the NBCAM website – http://www.nbcam.org

Ozark Wellness Monster Dash October 31st

This Run’s For Vaughn was a HUGE success for our community. The fun surrounding the 5K walk/run has hopefully spread and will allow the folks at Ozark Wellness to succeed in hosting their own 5K run on Halloween Day! If you have never participated in something like this, go for it! You will find you are more than capable and the atmosphere surrounding an event like this is very fun.

Ozark Wellness has stepped up and designated 18 FORE Life as the recipient of any proceeds made from this inaugral event, so come out, have a fun little workout, and support 18 FORE Life as we continue to add to our 2009 total and help as many families fighting cancer as we can.

View/Print/Download the Monster Dash entry form here – pdficon

This Run’s For Vaughn

This Run’s For Vaughn is a 5K Walk-Run taking place this Saturday, September 19th at 10:00AM. The start/finish line is at the First Christian Church parking lot, registration is $20, and all participants will get lunch and a FREE Tshirt. This is NOT a race, but a journey through the streets of Dexter. The course goes by Vaughn’s window 2 times so he will be able to see the support and love we all have for him. A Bake Sale will begin at 9:00AM the same day, so there is something for everyone and we hope to see you out there. It promises to be a GREAT day.

If you are interested in donating and/or participating, contact Scott Kruse @ 614-0503 or Kenny Pope @ 421-2535

If you would like to mail in a contribution, you may do so with a check payable to: This Run’s For Vaughn

Bank of Advance
c/o This Run’s For Vaughn
Bus Hwy 60
Dexter, MO 63841

We Still Miss You Ben

Five years ago today Ben was called home, and those of us who knew him and loved him have never, and will never, be the same. We lost a son, a husband, a brother, a friend, a buddy. He lived 28 years and 7 days to the very fullest, treating each one as a gift and making all of our lives better for having been around him. We all know he is very proud of the way we team together each June to Celebrate, Give, and Remember through the charity that his name helps to represent.

I think the song lyrics below are fitting on a day like today.

I came by today to see you, I had to let you know
If I knew the last time that I held you was the last time I’d ‘ve held you and never let go

Its kept me awake nights wondering
Lying in the dark just asking why
I’ve always been told you won’t be called home, until its your time

I guess Heaven was needing a hero
Somebody just like you
Brave enough to stand up for what you believed
And follow it through
When I try to make it make sense in my mind
The only conclusion I come to
Is Heaven was needing a hero like you

Jo Dee Messina/Heaven Was Needing a Hero

Love you Buddy!