Area Family Finds Community Help in Cancer Cure Drive

It’s that time of year for Westport mother and litigator Elaine Shay.

Travel and rec Little League for her 10-year-old son Strat. Back-to-back games and practices all week long. Lots of appreciation for the sisterly love that keeps his twin, Seren, in the good sport zone.

But in between all that chauffeuring, playing and cheering, Elaine, Strat and Seren have carved out time for something even closer to home and heart.

They have been raising money in honor of Steve Becker, their husband and father who died of pancreatic cancer in 2004. They will be joining thousands of tri-state residents on Sunday to participate in The Lustgarten Foundation’s second annual New York City Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk.

This will be the third year the Westport family is helping raise money for the foundation, which has a unique partnership with Cablevision. The Bethpage, N.Y.-corporation underwrites all the foundation’s administrative expenses. That means 100 percent of all donations go directly for research to find a cure for the nation’s fourth leading cause of cancer deaths.

Shay recalled why her family first became involved with the foundation. There was the obvious interest in supporting cutting-edge research, including into the genetic risks associated with the disease, and the hope of finding a cure, she said. But there was also the knowledge that fundraising would give her children a sense of purpose outside of themselves, along with another lasting connection to their father.

“We could all walk,” she said. “That was something we could all do no matter how young.”

So, again, Elaine and the twins will walk as part of “Team Becker,” deeply appreciating all the support from the Westport community, particularly all those at and sports friends who donated so generously to the cause.

“It really means a lot to us as a family to see people care about what matters to us,” Shay said. “It’s a great feeling. A real sense of community.”

Particularly touching, it seems, because they only moved to Westport after her husband’s death, building a new life outside of the one they had known before in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

They discovered Strat’s travel baseball coach, Kevin Paul Hlavac, lost his father-in-law to pancreatic cancer. The coach has helped so much in their fundraising efforts. And it’s a connection between Strat and his coach that is not lost on Shay.

“The biggest problem in Strat losing his father was the sense of losing” that first coach, Shay said, so it's wonderful to have someone so capable of filling that role.

Kerri Kaplan, executive director of The Lustgarten Foundation, says families like Shay and her children are a powerful reminder of how a few individuals can make a major impact.

Last year the walk raised about $400,000 with 2,000 participants. The strong response from the tri-state area prompted a move to a larger location on the West Side Highway. This year the walk starts at Clinton Cove at Hudson River Park, 55th Street and the Hudson River.

It’s not too late to join in.

“They should go to the website, they can register” right there or even show up day of, Kaplan said.

“We want them to know that 100% goes to research,” Kaplan said. “It’s a great day where people get together in the spirit of hope to join with other people who have had similar experiences.”

If you go:

The Lustgarten Foundation’s 2nd annual New York City Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk

Sunday, May 6

Pre-Registration Fee $50
Walk-In Registration Fee $60
Registration 8:00 am
Walk starts at 9:30 am
Walkers will choose from a one or three-mile route.
Clinton Cove at Hudson River Park, 55th Street and the Hudson River, Manhattan

Visit www.curePC.org to register and learn more.