Former city council member shares her husband’s cancer battle

It’s been six and a half years since Fran Palochak’s husband Rick Palochak died, but she still remembers every detail of his battle with small cell lung cancer. And she wants people to take their story as a sign to go see a doctor right away if they’re not feeling well.

THE BATTLE BEGINS

The Palochaks’ journey with cancer began in January 2017 when Rick started coughing  excessively. They thought he might just have a sinus infection, and when he went to the doctor, they sent him home with some antibiotics.

But the medicine didn’t help; Rick still kept coughing and coughing. In February, he went back to the doctor to tell them the antibiotics hadn’t worked. They then gave him a different antibiotic to try.

Fran said it was a struggle to even get her husband into the doctor in the first place.

“He was one of those guys who just didn’t like to go to the doctor at all,” she said.

Then, in March, his mother became ill and was sent to the hospital. Despite Fran’s concerns over his own health, Rick insisted he needed to stay with his mother in the hospital. She died later that month.

Meanwhile, Fran said Rick was still avoiding his own health concerns. She said he often wouldn’t come to bed during that time, choosing instead to sit in a recliner in their living room. He wasn’t sleeping much due to the coughing.

He finally returned to the doctor in April, where they referred him to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. He was starting to lose his voice and he soon found out why.

The Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor broke the news: Rick had a tumor near his vocal cords. The tumor was pressing on his larynx. This caused the coughing and his voice loss.

Once he received the difficult diagnosis, Rick decided to retire from his position as the director of the McKinley County Bureau of Elections. Fran helped him write his letter of resignation.

The Palochaks’ next few months were filled with doctor’s appointment after doctor’s appointment. Fran reflected on the strain all of that put on her.

“When you’re a caregiver, you have to pay attention to what the doctor is saying,” she said. “There’s no time for emotion because you have to write notes.”

The doctors explained that Rick’s type of cancer didn’t have a “stage” like breast cancer or brain cancer. It was too aggressive for that.

Fran took Rick to every appointment he had during that time despite her busy schedule. She ran for city council in 2014 — at Rick’s suggestion — and often juggled her council responsibilities with his multiple appointments.

THE CONDITION WORSENS

By the middle of 2017, Rick was having trouble eating because of the location of the tumor. He lost 30 pounds in a couple of months, and he just kept getting weaker and weaker.

Fran described what losing all that weight did to Rick.

“When you’re in the battle and you don’t have enough weight, it just makes you worse,” Fran said.

Meanwhile, Fran was just trying to keep everything straight. She kept a spreadsheet that listed all of Rick’s medications and tried to help him find a solution for his nausea. They experimented with  multiple ginger products, from ginger candies to ginger beer. Eventually, a friend who also had cancer, Lydia Mazon, recommended Rick try medical marijuana. They signed him up for a medical prescription right away.

After months of driving to and from Albuquerque for chemotherapy, the doctors finally had some good news: Rick’s tumor was shrinking. To celebrate, the Palochaks stopped at a casino restaurant on the way home so Rick could have some prime rib. Fran said he couldn’t eat much of it, but that didn’t matter. That was Rick’s last time eating real food.

Despite the tumor shrinkage, Rick’s condition just kept getting worse and worse.

When Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2017, rolled around, Fran tried to make it a typical day. Rick and Fran were both veterans, and she had plans to go to Gallup’s ceremony just like they always did. She kissed Rick goodbye and told him she’d be back after the parade.

But things took a turn for the worse when she came back home.

Rick’s coughing had only worsened, and now he was coughing up blood. As soon as Fran saw this, she rushed him to the hospital. The doctors diagnosed Rick with pneumonia.

He was flown to Albuquerque and received treatment there. He spent a whole month in the hospital, with 10 days on an incubator to help him breathe. Fran said he was “as weak as a puppy” at that point.

The doctors tried to get Rick to do physical therapy to help him gain his strength back, but Fran said he was just too weak to do the exercises. No rehab centers would take him because he couldn’t even walk to the bathroom on his own.

Finally, the doctors gave him two options: they could treat the pneumonia, and he could go home, or he could go into hospice care. Rick chose hospice care.

He was in hospice for one week before he passed away on Dec. 17, 2017.

After watching her husband fight cancer and struggling to keep her head up during that difficult time, Fran has one message for people: an early cancer diagnosis can save someone’s life.

“What I can say for people, especially men because men tend to ignore everything that’s going on with them, they think they can get over anything without seeing a doctor. So, I encourage men, when you start having symptoms of coughing or being sick, insist on going back to the doctor right away if you don’t get better on antibiotics and insist that something’s wrong,” she said.

Rick didn’t receive an official diagnosis until about four months after his intense coughing began. Fran thinks an earlier diagnosis and detection could have made a big difference for her husband.

“I don’t know if that would’ve helped, but it certainly could’ve helped,” she said.

Fran’s one key message to anyone when it comes to cancer: early detection. Discovering the cancer early gives people a higher chance of finding the proper treatment and beating the cancer.

FRAN’S INVOLVEMENT WITH RELAY FOR LIFE

Fran and Rick were involved in Relay for Life way before he was diagnosed. They joined the Relay group Singing Survivors, which was made up of choir members from the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, after Mazon started the group. Mazon has been on her own cancer journey for 10 years now.

And even though Rick lost his battle with cancer, Fran still stays involved in Relay for Life.

“I still stay involved in Relay for Life because I’m hoping they’ll find a cure someday and nobody will go through what I’ve gone through,” she explained.

This will be Fran’s third year as the chair of Gallup’s Survivor’s Committee. One of her duties is helping organize gift bags for all the survivors.

“It’s good to celebrate them because we want people who are diagnosed with cancer — because that is the most devastating news — to know that it’s not a death sentence,” Fran said. “You can survive for many years.”

Anyone interested in donating to a local Relay for Life team can go to the Gallup McKinley County fundraising page at https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=107767.

The webpage also has details about this year’s Relay for Life, which is scheduled for June 14.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor

2021 Ceremonial Embraces Tradition, Adds Virtual Dimension

The 99th Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial will have a very different look from previous years, reemerging from the COVID-19 pandemic as a hybrid event with live and virtual elements.

Details are still being finalized for some parts of the two-track event. The local Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Association is handling live events, coming out of the chute Aug. 12 with rodeo events themed,  ‘We’re Buckin’ Back,’ a wine tasting, the juried art show and exhibit hall through Aug. 15 at Red Rock Park.

The State of New Mexico Intertribal Ceremonial Office will manage virtual and filmed elements the following week.

New this year is a one-hour TV special, “Spirit of the Ceremonial,” that will air statewide on NBC affiliate KOB at 9 pm Aug. 19. The production will feature the history, origins, evolution of various events and interviews with people remembering past ceremonials, State Office Director Melissa Sanchez said.

“We’re going to reach an audience that will not only have members who have attended or heard of the Ceremonial, we will reach a new audience and entice them to come to the 100th,” she said. The state office’s marketing team will also excerpt the show and use clips to promote future events, Gallup Tourism and Marketing Manager Jennifer Lazarz said.

The city will host a watch party at the El Morro Theatre from 7 pm on air night, combining the party with the second show in Gallup Main Street’s summer concert series. “There will be indigenous hosts and complementary acts to the main act that night,” Lazarz said. “Since the television premiere of the special is on a Thursday night, we thought it would be a great opportunity to marry those two things,” she added, noting the concert is open to the public at the theatre and will be live-streamed online.

During the rodeo and live exhibits, vendor space will be available in and outside of the exhibit hall so artisans and traders can sell their wares. Show hours will be 10 am to 10 pm Aug. 12 to coincide with the wine tasting; 10 am to 8 pm Aug. 13 and Aug. 14; and 10 am to 2 pm Aug. 15. Admission to the live events will be $10 per adult; parking will cost $5 per car.

Volunteers are being recruited to work shifts at the art show Aug. 8 - Aug. 15 to help with setup, check-in, sales, judging paperwork, ribbon placement and show breakdown, board member and Exhibit Coordinator Joyce Graves said.

“I know there is some confusion this year, but I really want artists especially, and traders to know we are still here. We are doing the art show and we want them to come out,” she said.

What attendees won’t see on site is the Miss Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial Queen Pageant. The state Office will produce that as a mainly virtual event, along with a Virtual Artisan Market Aug. 15 - Aug. 22 along with prerecorded videos of traditional dances. Following last year’s pandemic-driven cancellation, state organizers decided it would be safer to minimize the face-to-face activities in favor of virtual presentations.

The Virtual Artisan Market will be open to all Native American artisans to promote their work and their own online stores. The fee is $150 and artisans must sign up by July 30. The state’s team and New Mexico Tourism Department will promote the market on TV, newspaper, radio, and in social media, Sanchez said.

The Ceremonial culminates with a pageant luncheon and speaking competition Aug. 20 and the crowning event at the El Morro Theatre Aug. 21.

Tracking all of this may be a little tricky this year: The local and state organizations received $25,000 each from the city to market the Ceremonial. Each has its own website and Facebook presence. At press time, the ceremonial office at 206 Coal Ave. is closed for repairs and updating, but expected to be open in August, Sanchez said. The Association’s website hadn’t been updated since last year, but organizers promise it will be soon.

Part of the issue has been the short timeline for planning and getting sponsors and volunteers on board. Uncertainty about reopening dates and state restrictions on gatherings added an extra challenge for organizers this year, especially drumming up sponsors, Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Association Board President Kyle Tom said.

“The ones we’ve had in the past few years have been amazing,” he said. “We understand they’ve had a rough time in the past 18 months.

“For them to donate some of the big dollars that they did in 2019 might not be feasible now,” he continued. “If they can do half or a quarter of that, we are so thankful.”

Budget permitting, the association may try to add a pow wow and live dances, Tom said. Either way, he’s optimistic that the ceremonial will go well.

“The way I see it is like healing,” Tom said. “We took so much for granted before 2020.

“’People thought, ‘the Ceremonial will always be there — it’s the same thing. I don’t want to go.’ Now it’s like, ‘I can’t wait, I’ve missed it.’

“People missed it and want to get back to some kind of normal,” he said.

Information

Live events:

https://gallupceremonial.com/home

(505) 863-3986

Virtual events:

https://www.gallupintertribalceremonial.com

(505) 259-2202

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

The Global Relay for Life movement started because of one person.

In May 1985, Dr. Gordon “Gordy” Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington, raising money to help the American Cancer Society raise some money for cancer research.

Friends, family, and patients watched and supported him as he walked and ran more than 83.6 miles, and raised $27,000 through pledges to help save lives from cancer. As he ran, a plan began to form in his brain: would other people want to run to raise money?

The next year, 19 teams were a part of the first Relay for Life event, which raised $33,000.

LOCALLY CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

The Gallup-McKinley Chapter hasn’t been around as long as the global level, but they are nonetheless preparing to celebrate their 25th year as an organization at the Relay for Life event on June 14.

To honor the 25th anniversary, or the “silver anniversary,” this year’s Relay theme is “The Silver Relay: What Will You Do to Sparkle and Shine Against Cancer?”

To kickoff the silver anniversary, some of the participating relay teams took on a “25 Days Before Relay” challenge. Members had to post something to celebrate Relay each day for the 25 days leading up to the event. Gallup-McKinley Chapter Coordinator Joyce Graves said some of the postings encouraged people to eat a healthy meal and post a recipe on Facebook; on another day they had to wear cowboy boots to “kick cancer in the butt;” and then they honored another day by making cards and writing letters to cancer survivors and caretakers.

Some teams have also started selling pink socks. They cost $5 a pair, and they will also be sold at the Relay event.

Of course, there will also be some new and exciting things at the Relay itself.

Graves said they’re bringing back Mr. Relay, an event where men dress up in women’s clothing and walk around the track during the Relay trying to get people to donate money. Whoever collects the most money wins the competition. Graves said any man who wants to join in on the fun can do so that day.

“Anybody else who wants to join in on the fun can come on down and dress up,” she said.

Greg Kirk, a local physical therapist, said he’s looking forward to participating in Mr. Relay.

“It’ll get me out of my comfort zone, but it’s for a great cause,” he said.

Another new event preceding the Relay saw the Gallup McKinley Relay for Life Chapter partner with Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe for their Friday Night Rides Cars and Coffee event on June 7. The organization encouraged people to come out and make their own boxcars to then compete in a race.

People will also get to race their boxcars during the Relay for Life event.

One thing that Graves hopes will really showcase all the work the Gallup McKinley Chapter has done in the past 25 years is a fashion show that will present the T-shirts from past Relay for Life events.

WHY SHE DOES WHAT SHE DOES

Graves has been involved in Relay for Life for the entire 25 years it’s been in Gallup.

It’s a very personal matter for her. She’s seen the positive effects the money raised from Relay for Life can have on people who are fighting cancer.

When her husband was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, doctors were able to give him a new cancer drug. Graves said the money raised from Relay for Life helped fund the research that went into the drug.

“They developed a new drug called Gleevec, and that drug saved his life because the chemo drug attacked only the leukemia cells,” Graves explained. “It didn’t attack the whole body like chemo does. So he basically had no side effects. This is why we relay, because it is saving lives. The money we raise goes toward research, and the research can save lives.”

Graves has also benefited from the research Relay for Life has helped fund. She’s been diagnosed with breast cancer twice. Luckily each time was a different diagnosis, the cancer never metastasized.

“The second [time I had breast cancer it]  was so much easier, so they make improvements all the time,” she said.

Besides their individual breast cancer and leukemia diagnosis, Graves and her husband have also both had skin cancer.

MORE INFORMATION

Gallup’s Relay for Life event will kick off at 5 pm on June 14. That’s when survivors will be invited to sign in. The survivor’s lap will take place from 6 pm to 7 pm.

Events will continue well into the night, with the closing ceremony starting at 12:30 am on June 15.

For more information about the event and to register for it, visit https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=informational&fr_id=107767&sid=214742&name=event-details.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor

An 18-year-old, who police have identified as Keshawn Long, is facing multiple charges after he reportedly shot a 15-year-old.

Metro Dispatch received a call around 3:45 pm Oct. 26 requesting an ambulance for someone that had been shot behind the Albertson’s at 1702 E. Hwy 66.

When Gallup police officers arrived at the scene they found the victim walking along Aztec Avenue. He was transported to a local hospital, where he is in stable condition.

After a thorough investigation, Long was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting at or from a motor vehicle (resulting in great bodily harm), shooting at an occupied dwelling, unlawful possession of a handgun by a person less than 19 years old, and tampering with evidence. As of Oct. 27, no court dates had been set.

More information will be published as it becomes available.