Gonna BEAT This Thing Advanced Cancer Awareness Campaign Launched by YES!

Sevierville, TN, December 29, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Gonna BEAT This Thing is a YES (www.beatlivertumors.org) awareness campaign created to help raise attention and increase support and information about advanced cancer. There is much discussion about prevention and early detection of cancer yet little conversation surrounding cancer that has spread from the original site, or is considered advanced or terminal cancer. “Gonna BEAT This Thing” aims to change the negative stigma of dying from cancer to living with cancer.

Terminal cancer wasn’t on the radar for Sevierville resident Rachael Wall. But just over a year ago the then 25 year old learned that she had stage IV colorectal cancer. With no family history and at such a young age, the diagnosis came as quite a shock. She had visited the emergency room with crippling abdominal pain. Taken into emergency surgery, she woke up with a colostomy and the news that not only did she have colorectal cancer, but that the cancer had already spread to the liver.

First, Rachael had to heal from surgery and get used to her colostomy, which she named Phil. Then she began the cancer fighting process. Rachael received 13 sessions of chemotherapy over twenty-six weeks of treatment and worked through the side effects by staying busy. Rachael keeps things as normal as possible by going to the gym, drawing, painting, and dinner with family and friends.

Her advice is to, “Keep your head up. Try to find some humor in the not so pretty situations that are out there. Fighting cancer is a process and there is no easy way to fight cancer. Listen to your doctors. Seek out treatment options.”

Her team of doctors decided that her next plan of action would be SIR-Spheres microspheres, which was performed by Dr. Andrew Kennedy at Sarah Cannon Research Institute. This is a targeted, outpatient therapy that treated the tumors scattered throughout her liver. The procedure went well and has allowed Rachael to plan her next steps. She will soon undergo surgery for a colostomy reversal.

"Rachael inspirationally reminds us that no cancer is easy but that life can be full in spite of it. Many patients are not provided with a care plan like Rachael had. They don’t receive or learn of the necessary resources, information and support to make informed decisions," says co-founder, Suzanne Lindley. Patients and their families feel isolated and alone, without the support necessary to help prepare them for the steps ahead. As treatment options for advanced cancers expand, quality of life improves, and the overall survival rate increases; access to information and support is imperative.

Over the summer, Clay Thrash, a rising country singer/songwriter, became involved with YES and was asked to write a song entitled “Gonna BEAT This Thing” and become a spokesperson for YES. He took the four words, the stories of numerous survivors, and his personal family journey with cancer and was able to pen a song that warms the hearts, brings a tear, and inspires many a cancer patient and their family.

With Clay’s song in the background, survivor stories like Melissa’s come to life and bring a concentrated focus to the importance of awareness and support for those affected by advanced cancer. This campaign shares powerful voices of survivors and helps provide light in the darkness of advanced cancer. The stories you will watch, hear, and see offer inspiration, support, and hope. The information you will discover provides resources, direction, and self-empowerment.

Losing 1500 lives every day to a disease that has long been a national priority is unacceptable. With your help, there is hope. The campaign will bring major progress in the fight against advanced cancer with increased access to care, greater availability of resources, and improved breadth of support. Together, we are “Gonna BEAT This Thing!”