Just being in Sheehan is enough for Morgan

Staff Writer

By tim morris

Every runner who toed the line at Saturday’s George Sheehan Classic in Red Bank had his or her reason for being there.

For some it was to win, others to run a personal best in the five-mile run or for others, just to be a part of the event. For Manalapan’s Brian Morgan it marked a determined comeback from cancer.

A veteran of area road races and marathons, Morgan was making his return to the road racing scene following surgery to remove his cancerous prostate on April 7.

"On the starting line I was thinking how great it was to be there, to be able to be there not as an on-looker but as a participant," Morgan said. "I enjoyed the race."

Finishing time or place mattered little to 55- year-old Morgan, who came away from his cancer surgery with a different outlook.

"I used to take some things too seriously," he said. "This helps you put things in their proper perspective. You appreciate life."

Morgan’s battle with cancer was made easier because it was caught early. He works for Schering-Plough (a pharmaceutical corporation) in Springfield where he is the director of quality assurance. The company has a policy of requiring prostate screening for employees when they reach 50. Morgan’s PSA count was near the upper limit and in 1996 he had a biopsy which was negative. His PSA count continued to be high, but additional biopsies remained negative. Morgan was on a roller coaster of emotion. It was possible that the high PSA count was normal for him and that it didn’t mean anything. Or, should he prepare himself for what seemed inevitable, that he had cancer?

After another high PSA result a biopsy came back early this year confirming that he had prostate cancer. The good news if there is such a thing, was that the cancer had not spread and that it was in just one of six areas in the prostate.

"It was five years of anticipation," he said. "Finding out that I had cancer brought a close to that part. Now, I had to do something.

"I was very fortunate," he added. "There’s a lot to be said for early detection. Being monitored as I was, it was caught in the early stages."

Morgan researched the disease and all of its options and decided on surgery, which was performed at Robert Woods Johnson University Hospital.

Morgan was up and walking his first day home from surgery. First, it was just a stroll around the block. Within three weeks he was walking five miles.

He and his wife Judy were at the Manasquan River Reservoir in Howell, one of his favorite training runs, when he took his first running steps.

"I only ran 100 yards that day," he recalled. "I was able to run a little bit farther each time and soon I was able to jog the five-mile course.

"Then, the jog became a run and I began to do more mileage," he added. "I really appreciated that day when I ran the reservoir for the first time. Next, I wanted to find a race."

Eleven weeks after prostate surgery, Morgan joined the thousands of other runners at the George Sheehan Classic in the pouring rain, not as an observer, but as a runner with his wife and daughter Dena Morgan (the former Manalapan High School multi-sport star) there to watch.

"Considering everything, I was happy with my time (43:07)," he said.

Morgan credited his wife and daughter and son, Brian Jr., who lives in Arizona, for encouraging him and helping him remain positive.

"My whole family, friends and co-workers have been very supportive," he remarked.

When Morgan was told that the prostate surgery wasn’t going to prevent him from running, he set an immediate goal, to run the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC in late October. The Sheehan Classic was his first step towards the 26.2-mile event.

"I think it really helped in my recovery," he said of his aim to run the marathon. "It gave me a goal, something to take aim at. I want to be as active as I can."

The cancer gave Morgan a purpose as well.

"I’m not afraid to talk about it and what I went through" he said. "If I can make people more aware, I will. I tell everyone in my family and people I know to go and have the test."

Morgan also stands as proof positive that life goes on, that you can still be an active athlete.

"Having cancer is not the end of the world," he said. "Life does not end."

Morgan drew inspiration from cyclist Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor who won his second consecutive Tour de France last month. As Morgan continues his running comeback on his way to the Marine Corps Marathon, he’s an inspiration to others in his way.