Post by LongBlade on Apr 3, 2005 17:37:41 GMT -6
Fencer John Moreau takes on cancer and a world championship
By Jeff Walker - Features Editor
San Marcos Daily Record
Sunday, April 03, 2005
sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2005/04/03/news/news4.txt
John Moreau is crowned winner at the
2003 National Fencing Championships
held in Austin in 2003.
(SergeTimacheff/ FencingPhotos.com)
John Moreau was regrettably in San Marcos, missing the 2004 World Fencing Championships in Austria when he got the call from the doctor.
Though he had been noticing a sharp pain in his lungs at the time, it was a lack of funds that had kept him from competing for yet another title. But Dr. Schneider's following words over the phone would prove that it was all a blessing in disguise.
"He asked me if I was driving my car. I laughed and asked, 'Why, have I got the big C?' He affirmed my suspicions and I remember not having the 'kick in the chest' feeling that others have described to me when they found out about their cancer, but rather a sense of relief. At least now I knew who my enemy was and could now work on destroying him."
And that's just the kind of attitude that helped him prevail. On March 12, two days after his final chemo treatment, he took top honors at the North American Veteran's Cup fencing competition, securing a number one ranking on the US Team in the upcoming world championships.
The two time Olympian fencer illustrates the craft of fencing by mentioning a scene from the '80s classic "The Princess Bride."
In a duel of minds over a poisoned goblet, the character Vinzinni says "I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."
The same lightning speed wit, Moreau says, is a must for a sport that happens so fast the touches are scored electronically. Moreau first got interested in the sport while attending college in upstate New York. Moreau, a self dubbed 'gym rat,' was drawn to the mental toughness that fencing demanded. He qualified for the Olympics in both 1984 and 1988.
And his psychological strength and dedication to physical activity were likely his saving grace when he discovered the Stage III Lymphoma pressing on his diaphragm nerves. Moreau's body borders on 0 percent body fat, and his daily workout habits mirror those of any other Olympian.
Even after the CAT scans discovered the cancer, the blood work showed no abnormalities that would indicate any problems. His body was seemingly able to function normally while the cancer was growing because of his high level workouts.
"Everyone would ask, 'how could this happen to you, you're in such good shape,'" Moreau said. "I firmly believe that my state of physical conditioning was one of the primary factors in the relative ease in which I completed my course of treatments."
Moreau immediately started chemotherapy treatments, the first round lasting until the end of December.
"I got my transfusion on New Year's eve and asked if they couldn't possibly slip a little champagne in the IV bag," Moreau said.
He then started radiation therapy to eradicate any resistive cancer cells. All the while, Moreau continued to teach physical education at Texas State University and coached the All Texas Athletic Fencing Club in San Marcos. Though he admits the treatments wore him down, it hardly showed.
"I never had a doubt that I wouldn't beat this no matter how serious it was," Moreau said.
He also set goals for himself. One, to continue teaching and coaching no matter how serious the cancer got. The second was to continue training for the national championships. Now, his goal is to win at the world championships.
"When that is accomplished, I will set new goals," Moreau said.
Moreau said that the hardest part of dealing with cancer wasn't the excruciating pain. It wasn't inner thoughts of sickness and death - he never experienced that. It was seeing other cancer patients at his treatments, hopeless, desperate and scared of their own fate.
After all, as Moreau says, cancer - just like fencing - is more or less a mental game.
"I refuse to be labeled a 'cancer survivor,'" Moreau said. "To me, the word survivor means you were in a fight and were just able to hang on until the end. I want to be known as the person who took the challenge, kicked cancer's butt and embraced every moment of the challenge. I think people should rethink their attitude towards their fight against cancer and call themselves 'cancer conquerors'."
By Jeff Walker - Features Editor
San Marcos Daily Record
Sunday, April 03, 2005
sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2005/04/03/news/news4.txt
John Moreau is crowned winner at the
2003 National Fencing Championships
held in Austin in 2003.
(SergeTimacheff/ FencingPhotos.com)
John Moreau was regrettably in San Marcos, missing the 2004 World Fencing Championships in Austria when he got the call from the doctor.
Though he had been noticing a sharp pain in his lungs at the time, it was a lack of funds that had kept him from competing for yet another title. But Dr. Schneider's following words over the phone would prove that it was all a blessing in disguise.
"He asked me if I was driving my car. I laughed and asked, 'Why, have I got the big C?' He affirmed my suspicions and I remember not having the 'kick in the chest' feeling that others have described to me when they found out about their cancer, but rather a sense of relief. At least now I knew who my enemy was and could now work on destroying him."
And that's just the kind of attitude that helped him prevail. On March 12, two days after his final chemo treatment, he took top honors at the North American Veteran's Cup fencing competition, securing a number one ranking on the US Team in the upcoming world championships.
The two time Olympian fencer illustrates the craft of fencing by mentioning a scene from the '80s classic "The Princess Bride."
In a duel of minds over a poisoned goblet, the character Vinzinni says "I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."
The same lightning speed wit, Moreau says, is a must for a sport that happens so fast the touches are scored electronically. Moreau first got interested in the sport while attending college in upstate New York. Moreau, a self dubbed 'gym rat,' was drawn to the mental toughness that fencing demanded. He qualified for the Olympics in both 1984 and 1988.
And his psychological strength and dedication to physical activity were likely his saving grace when he discovered the Stage III Lymphoma pressing on his diaphragm nerves. Moreau's body borders on 0 percent body fat, and his daily workout habits mirror those of any other Olympian.
Even after the CAT scans discovered the cancer, the blood work showed no abnormalities that would indicate any problems. His body was seemingly able to function normally while the cancer was growing because of his high level workouts.
"Everyone would ask, 'how could this happen to you, you're in such good shape,'" Moreau said. "I firmly believe that my state of physical conditioning was one of the primary factors in the relative ease in which I completed my course of treatments."
Moreau immediately started chemotherapy treatments, the first round lasting until the end of December.
"I got my transfusion on New Year's eve and asked if they couldn't possibly slip a little champagne in the IV bag," Moreau said.
He then started radiation therapy to eradicate any resistive cancer cells. All the while, Moreau continued to teach physical education at Texas State University and coached the All Texas Athletic Fencing Club in San Marcos. Though he admits the treatments wore him down, it hardly showed.
"I never had a doubt that I wouldn't beat this no matter how serious it was," Moreau said.
He also set goals for himself. One, to continue teaching and coaching no matter how serious the cancer got. The second was to continue training for the national championships. Now, his goal is to win at the world championships.
"When that is accomplished, I will set new goals," Moreau said.
Moreau said that the hardest part of dealing with cancer wasn't the excruciating pain. It wasn't inner thoughts of sickness and death - he never experienced that. It was seeing other cancer patients at his treatments, hopeless, desperate and scared of their own fate.
After all, as Moreau says, cancer - just like fencing - is more or less a mental game.
"I refuse to be labeled a 'cancer survivor,'" Moreau said. "To me, the word survivor means you were in a fight and were just able to hang on until the end. I want to be known as the person who took the challenge, kicked cancer's butt and embraced every moment of the challenge. I think people should rethink their attitude towards their fight against cancer and call themselves 'cancer conquerors'."