Post by red on May 31, 2006 6:47:17 GMT -8
www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_3882542
Pain and fear was forgotten for a day when cancer-stricken Brian Mammen had a wish granted.
Michael Anthony of the band Van Halen brought music and laughter to Mammen's San Dimas home.
The May 25 jam session began with Mammen playing the lead song from the animated television series, "King of the Hill."
It ended with a five-person makeshift band playing "Panama," and other oldies but goodies.
"It is times like this that cause people to reach out and really touch each other, and it makes me feel so wonderful," Mammen's grandmother Sandra Mammen said as she tearfully watched her family enjoying themselves.
Anthony, whose visit was arranged through Helping Heroes Productions, an Azusa-based nonprofit organization, said he was happy to jam with Mammen.
"I've been blessed with great kids and career and if I can give anything back I am glad to do it," he said.
It has been a rough few years, Mammen's friends and family said.
"He is facing at a young age what most people never have to experience," said Patricia Toepke, one of Brian's teachers at South Hills High School.
At 15, Brian Mammen learned he had osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in his right leg. After several chemotherapy treatments and painful surgery, Brian finished freshman year missing his knee and half his femur, but with a body free of cancer.
Regular three-month checkups followed these surgeries, and not long after the initial treatment, cancer was found in his lungs and again in the right leg, forcing the doctors to remove the entire femur.
The surgery gave him two cancer-free years.
If cancer patients make it to two years cancer clear, the odds are definitely in their favor, said family friend Amy Turner. So after two years of testing and coming out clean, Mammen and his family approached his two-year anniversary in March with hope, only to be disappointed.
"The one time I was not thinking the worst, the worst came," Brian's mother, Judi Mammen, said. "We were devastated."
Doctors thought the cancer had spread to the shoulder and pelvic bone and if so, the prognosis was that Brian had two years to live.
"Then they found that there was no cancer in the pelvic bone," Brian Mammen said. "It was simply inflamed because I use it so much because of the prosthetic in my other leg, and the cancer in my shoulder is smaller than first assumed."
But the cancer found in his shoulder demanded immediate attention.
In the last two months Mammen has received three rounds of chemotherapy, finishing at City of Hope on May 23.
He is eager to gain strength for his upcoming activities.
The excitement began with his visit with Anthony. He will attend his senior prom Saturday. His high school graduation will follow on June 15.
As a developing guitar player, Mammen appreciated the signature guitar strap, CD, and specialized Van Halen picks that Anthony gave him - not to mention the hourlong jam session.
But the coolest insignia is the signed bass guitar that will be sold at the June 11 auction and dinner held at St. John Lutheran Church in West Covina to raise funds and support for the Mammen family, which has a long road of healing ahead.
After graduation, Mammen has another chemo treatment, surgery to remove the cancer from his shoulder, and will receive yet another prosthetic bone.
The Rev. Patrick Curly of St. John's Church said the key is to remain positive. "Two years or 200 years, it does not matter. If we live each day fully, we live well," he said.
"God is going to work a miracle, and bring him out all right," Curly said.
Brian's grandmother Sandra is a believer as well.
"He is going to make it, God's got a bigger purpose for him."
Helping Heroes, Inc.
www.helpingheroes.org/
www.helpingheroes.net/
Pain and fear was forgotten for a day when cancer-stricken Brian Mammen had a wish granted.
Michael Anthony of the band Van Halen brought music and laughter to Mammen's San Dimas home.
The May 25 jam session began with Mammen playing the lead song from the animated television series, "King of the Hill."
It ended with a five-person makeshift band playing "Panama," and other oldies but goodies.
"It is times like this that cause people to reach out and really touch each other, and it makes me feel so wonderful," Mammen's grandmother Sandra Mammen said as she tearfully watched her family enjoying themselves.
Anthony, whose visit was arranged through Helping Heroes Productions, an Azusa-based nonprofit organization, said he was happy to jam with Mammen.
"I've been blessed with great kids and career and if I can give anything back I am glad to do it," he said.
It has been a rough few years, Mammen's friends and family said.
"He is facing at a young age what most people never have to experience," said Patricia Toepke, one of Brian's teachers at South Hills High School.
At 15, Brian Mammen learned he had osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in his right leg. After several chemotherapy treatments and painful surgery, Brian finished freshman year missing his knee and half his femur, but with a body free of cancer.
Regular three-month checkups followed these surgeries, and not long after the initial treatment, cancer was found in his lungs and again in the right leg, forcing the doctors to remove the entire femur.
The surgery gave him two cancer-free years.
If cancer patients make it to two years cancer clear, the odds are definitely in their favor, said family friend Amy Turner. So after two years of testing and coming out clean, Mammen and his family approached his two-year anniversary in March with hope, only to be disappointed.
"The one time I was not thinking the worst, the worst came," Brian's mother, Judi Mammen, said. "We were devastated."
Doctors thought the cancer had spread to the shoulder and pelvic bone and if so, the prognosis was that Brian had two years to live.
"Then they found that there was no cancer in the pelvic bone," Brian Mammen said. "It was simply inflamed because I use it so much because of the prosthetic in my other leg, and the cancer in my shoulder is smaller than first assumed."
But the cancer found in his shoulder demanded immediate attention.
In the last two months Mammen has received three rounds of chemotherapy, finishing at City of Hope on May 23.
He is eager to gain strength for his upcoming activities.
The excitement began with his visit with Anthony. He will attend his senior prom Saturday. His high school graduation will follow on June 15.
As a developing guitar player, Mammen appreciated the signature guitar strap, CD, and specialized Van Halen picks that Anthony gave him - not to mention the hourlong jam session.
But the coolest insignia is the signed bass guitar that will be sold at the June 11 auction and dinner held at St. John Lutheran Church in West Covina to raise funds and support for the Mammen family, which has a long road of healing ahead.
After graduation, Mammen has another chemo treatment, surgery to remove the cancer from his shoulder, and will receive yet another prosthetic bone.
The Rev. Patrick Curly of St. John's Church said the key is to remain positive. "Two years or 200 years, it does not matter. If we live each day fully, we live well," he said.
"God is going to work a miracle, and bring him out all right," Curly said.
Brian's grandmother Sandra is a believer as well.
"He is going to make it, God's got a bigger purpose for him."
Helping Heroes, Inc.
www.helpingheroes.org/
www.helpingheroes.net/