June 20 ‘Run for Dad’
By: John Saccenti – Staff Writer
When Glen Parker of Princeton was diagnosed with prostate cancer, it was a wake-up call.
"You go from thinking you’re a pretty healthy fellow, I’d never been in the hospital in my life other than to visit my wife when my kids were born, and in pretty good health, then I got this result from some blood work," said Mr. Parker. "The doctor calls and says, ‘Glen, I’m sorry to tell you that you have prostate cancer.’ "
That was close to 13 years ago, and since then, Mr. Parker has done more than just undergo treatment and recover. He has dedicated much of his life to educating men and their families of prostate cancer and the importance of getting checked.
On June 20, Father’s Day, runners from the area will head to Mercer County Park for the eighth annual Run for Dad. The annual race/walk is designed to increase awareness about prostate cancer and raise money to support the American Cancer Society. It’s also the result of years of work by Mr. Parker and his friend, the late Frank Simms.
"I thought I was a fairly informed health consumer. If that was probably true for other men, then I thought something good was gong to come out of that," he said. "I walked into the offices of the American Cancer Society and told them I wanted to do something about prostate cancer. Specifically, I wanted to do something about education for other men."
The race will begin at 7:30 a.m., with a 5K race and a 2K race to begin at 9 a.m. Both will be followed by a kids run, something Mr. Hagerty is pleased about. He said getting families involved is key to helping men understand the importance of getting checked for prostate cancer.
"That’s why we encourage families to participate, because we also know that, quite frankly, it’s the wife, or it’s the daughter, that are speaking to their husband or father that they get checked. They’re insisting that they do it. We’re not just speaking to men, we’re speaking to the family," he said.
Mr. Hagerty and Mr. Simms began the race after years of meeting with groups and holding seminars and meetings about the disease.
"We did seminars to men’s groups, corporate meetings, community get-togethers, any place we could get someone who would be willing to hear us speak, to let us tell about our situation and why it was important for other men to get tested," said Mr. Hagerty. "What we learned along the way is that early detection can save your life. The survival rate is incredible for people when cancer is uncovered early. We also knew we were having an uphill battle. Men just aren’t that good about taking care of their health."
Looking for a bigger, better way to get their message out, Mr. Hagerty and Mr. Simms stumbled on the idea of a Father’s Day race. He had attended one about nine years ago in New York and thought the idea was terrific, especially since families were coming and in some cases, even grandma, grandpa and the kids were racing. The first race saw 700 people attend. Last year’s race brought in 1,000, and Mr. Hagerty is hoping for 1,500 this year, with a total goal of $50,000 raised to support cancer research.
Mr. Hagerty said that events such as Run for Dad would have helped him when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"It was a complete shock. I was in complete denial, I said ‘how could this happen to me.’ I really knew nothing about it. But I quickly became an expert. So eventually, after speaking to a number of doctors both here and elsewhere, and also speaking to people I networked with who had had prostate cancer, I selected a treatment and was treated for prostate cancer. That’s going on 13 years, but these are things you just don’t forget," he said.
For more information, visit community.acsevents.org/runfordadnj, or call Ann Wyczawski at 732-951-6370. jsaccenti @centraljersey.com.