Bus reminds Barstonians to fight back against cancer

BARSTOW — Tour buses roll into the Tanger Outlets Center parking lot every day, but one bus that arrived Tuesday wasn’t carrying shoppers.

It was the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s Fight Back Express, a shrink-wrapped bus that is stopping in towns across the country until Election Day to raise awareness about the disease.

At each stop, community members get a chance to write their own messages about cancer in black marker on the side of the bus. When signatures fill the walls of the bus, the shrink wrap is removed and saved. All the wraps will be mounted and presented to members of Congress in Washington, D.C. at the end of the road.

“We want people to be aware that cancer is a political issue,” said ACS spokeswoman Beckie Moore Flati.

Along with signing the bus, visitors at each stop can sign a petition calling for a greater focus on access to health care for all Americans. They can fill out an electronic form that will share their stories about cancer with elected officials.

For many people, of course, cancer is a personal as well as political issue.

Will Henderson works in the city of Barstow’s engineering department and is a 17-year survivor of testicular cancer. Getting involved with cancer advocacy was a gradual process for him, Henderson said.

“At first, me personally, I just stood away from it, because you don’t want that to be your identity,” he said. “But I finally just decided I have to do something.”

Prompted by fellow city employee and cancer survivor JoAnne Cousino, Henderson began to get involved, taking photographs at events like the ACS fundraiser Relay for Life. When the Fight Back Express rolled into town, Henderson spoke briefly to the crowd, getting choked up as he mentioned his own experience with the disease. He signed the bus in the name of his father-in-law, who died of mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

“You think about how many people have died,” he said. “You would think with all the technology we have, we’d be beyond that.”

Frank Shoemaker, a bus driver from Pennsylvania, has been driving the Fight Back Express since the tour kicked off in Ohio in early May. Shoemaker got involved with cancer advocacy after losing his father to cancer in the 1980s. Every day, he reads the messages people write on the side of the bus and talks to curious hotel, gas station and toll booth employees about the bus’ mission.

“As soon as we pull in, people are like, ‘Oh, wow, what’s going on here?’” he said. “... It’s been a great way to see the true America.”

Barstow was the Fight Back Express’ last stop in California. From there, the bus heads to Las Vegas before making its way to the nation’s capitol.

In its nationwide tour, the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network bus, the Fight Back Express, is calling for:

• Increased access to affordable health care for all Americans
• More government funding for prevention and early detection
• Increased funding for cancer research
• Stricter tobacco control policies
For more information, see http://www.ascan.org.

Source: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

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(760) 256-4123 or abby_sewell@link.freedom.com