Hardgrove hopes his longevity inspires people facing cancer
Cancer survivor Ralph Hardgrove, 72, is honorary chair of the 2010 Burnsville Relay for Life. Photo by John Gessner
Ralph Hardgrove, 72, is honorary chair of Relay for Life
by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers
Ralph Hardgrove is among the most senior of the bunch.
Cancer survivors at annual Relay for Life fundraisers for the American Cancer Society are usually within five years of getting the disease, Hardgrove said.
It’s now been 18 years since he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hardgrove hopes his longevity inspires.
“It doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to beat it,” the 72-year-old Burnsville resident said. “But, you can. That’s what Relay for Life’s all about. The funds we raise go to cancer research.”
Hardgrove is the honorary chair of the 2010 Burnsville Relay, set for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6 and 7, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the athletic fields at Nicollet Junior High School, 400 E. 134th St.
The Relay – an evening-to-morning walk-a-thon featuring teams that raise money for the ACS – includes the always-stirring luminaria ceremony.
After sundown, glowing, candle-lit luminaria bearing the name of someone who is battling or has beat cancer are placed around the Relay track. Donors pay $10 for each luminary.
“I buy one for my dad,” Hardgrove said. “My kids buy one for me.”
Hardgrove was 54 when he began getting night sweats and noticing a growth in the lower left side of his stomach.
“I didn’t know what it was,” said Hardgrove, a financial planner in Burnsville, “but I knew it was something that shouldn’t be there. It was a little painful.”
He had non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the spleen, which spread to his liver and lymph nodes. Chemotherapy was followed by a bone marrow transplant, which Hardgrove said his doctor championed but his insurance company considered “experimental” in treating his disease.
“He did battle with them and said that’s the only chance he has,” Hardgrove said. “They finally backed off. It was like a quarter-million dollars. I would have been broke.”
The procedure worked, but Hardgrove lost his father to cancer during his own ordeal.
“My father had prostate cancer at the time,” Hardgrove said. “Since my mother had Alzheimer’s, he didn’t go in to get the proper treatment. He said, ‘I can’t leave her for a day.’ He died within six to eight months.”
Hardgrove’s cancer odyssey didn’t end there. Four years ago, still getting clean bills of health on annual blood tests, Hardgrove learned from a cousin with thyroid cancer that it had been caused by a rare, and hereditary, mutated gene.
He and several family members – including two of the four daughters he raised with wife Sharon and two of their grandchildren – tested positive and had their thyroids removed.
“I have people to this day who say, ‘You’re just a miracle man,’ ” Hardgrove said. “I know – and I thank the lord every night for it.”
A decade ago the Hardgroves helped launch a Relay for Life event at their church, Bloomington Lutheran. Four years ago they joined the Burnsville Relay. The Hardgroves are in charge of the luminaria sales and ceremony.
“We’ve been active,” Hardgrove said. “Three of our children live in either Lakeville or Burnsville, and we get them involved. They have adult children, so we get them involved.”
Co-chairs of this year’s Relay are Becky Kritz of Burnsville and Brenda Irwin of Savage, both cancer survivors.
For information about forming a Relay team, buying a luminaria or volunteering at the event, contact Kritz (952-953-4934, bkritz@msp.phoenixintl.com) or Irwin (952-447-7854, brenirwin5@gmail.com). Or visit www.relayforlife.org/burnsvillemn.
John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
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