Colon cancer victim's family raises funding and awareness

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Sep 27, 2005 | by Nicole Neroulias, STAFF WRITER

MILLBRAE -- Dylan Cappel's death has saved at least 10 lives.

After the 1996 Serra High School graduate and Olympic rowing hopeful died of a late-detected colon cancer at age 23, his parents began raising money and awareness for earlier detection of the disease.

Usually reserved for the over-50 crowd, colonoscopies detected precancerous polyps in his twin sister, younger sister and father, and early-stage cancer in seven others.

"This horrible, tragic experience saved their lives," said Barbara Cappel, his mother. "They would have never had colonoscopies that young. They now have screenings every two years."

She and her husband, Pacific Health Alliance CEO Larry Cappel, created the Strides for Life nonprofit organization last year. The all-volunteer group's second 10-mile walk and third dinner-auction will take place Oct. 1, projected to raise $200,000 for Bay Area colon cancer education, research, screenings and treatment.

The events will take place a few weeks before Dylan's 26th birthday.

"You just don't want this to happen to anyone else," Cappel said. "We were completely unprepared for that, having a beautifully healthy athletic son."

Detected too late

For two years, doctors thought Dylan's stomach pains indicated a broken rib -- a common rowing injury that can heal poorly. At the time, he was the assistant men's varsity rowing coach

for his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and training for the Olympic rowing trials.

"Unfortunately, being such a good athlete, he had a really high tolerance for pain," Cappel said. "By the time it was diagnosed, it was in a very late stage."

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 148,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer in the United States every year. Nearly 57,000 die.

In 2003, Dylan's family and friends participated in the 40-mile Colon Cancer March in Washington, D.C. Along with a fund-raising dinner in Millbrae, they raised $40,000 for the Colon Cancer Alliance.

Last year, they formed Strides for Life and held their own walk, dinner and auction -- raising $150,000 to develop grants and offer a free colonoscopy pilot program in San Benito County. Of the 300 people screened, seven had early-stage cancer and now have good prognoses, said Frances Doherty, Strides for Life board president.

"We're trying to get insurance companies to reduce colonoscopy prices, so it's more accessible to everyone," she said. "We get doctors and clinics and people together so that it's a group deal."

Event information

The Oct. 1 Strides for Life walk will begin with preregistration at 7:30 a.m. and the 10-mile walk starts at 9 a.m.

Walkers will start at the Redwood Shores Lagoon, 1 Lagoon Drive, and end with a barbecue hosted by the Stanford University men's crew team at the Stanford University Boathouse, 200 Cardinal Way.

Registration fee is $35. Walkers 18 years and under are asked to donate $25 in sponsorships; 18-25 years of age are asked to donate $100; 25 and older are asked to donate a minimum of $300. Walkers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

The Third Annual Dylan Cappel Memorial Dinner and Auction will be held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Burlingame, with cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $75.

To register for the walk or dinner, call (650) 588-6390 or go to http://www.stridesforlife.org.