There’s nothing better in this world than a good tease. No, wait! What’s even better is when the tease turns out to be the real thing. And that’s what happened this morning at Betsy Sowell‘s home for the Celebrating Women 2011 kick-off coffee.
Guests had been invited to the coffee to get their engines racing for the October 28th luncheon at the Hilton Anatole being chaired this year by Fredye Factor and Sarah Losinger. Just having the coffee at Betsy’s would have been enough to entice the ladies, but, oh, no! With the Baylor Health Care System Foundation folks helping to make it extra special, guests were told of the appearance of a “mystery man” — one from Hollywood.
Never have so many women been on time for an event. Minding their P’s and Q’s, they were perfectly charming and behaved themselves, while dying with anticipation on whom the gent was.
In the meantime, Mr. Mystery was being kept under wraps in the Sowell sitting room with Joel Allison, Robin Robinson, Lindalyn Adams, Fredye and Debbie Oates.
Who was the fellow? None other than Ricardo “Carlos” Chavira of “Desperate Housewives” fame.
Now, what the heck does this hunky dude have to do with breast cancer? A heck of a lot.
Ricardo is a longtime veteran in the war on breast cancer. No, he hasn’t had the dreaded disease, but he has been a victim of it all the same. You see, Ricardo was just 8 years old when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since his parents had just divorced the year before, it was just Ricardo and his two sisters helping his mother through the treatments and ordeal for about seven years until her death in 1986.
“The divorce did not bring them (his parents) back together. My father always stayed very committed to the family, but, no, there were several irreconcilable differences.
“It started as breast cancer and then it was breast and ovarian cancer. She went through two remissions. One I remember. . . it was when I was in eighth grade because I graduated and I saw a graduation picture where she had a full head of hair and she had gained her weight back and she looked great,” he said recalling that happy moment.
Then Ricardo’s voice took on a somber tone, “After that is when, I think, it became ovarian and it was both.”
At that time there were few if any support groups and, in fact, the words “breast cancer” were verboten in even private conversations. The disease was stealth. That is, until women and healthcare organizations like Baylor started bringing it to the forefront.
Fast forward to 2004 when “Desperate Housewives” hit television screens and became a mega-hit.
“With the success of ‘Housewives’ when it first came out that first season, one of the biggest things I wanted to do was something from a charitable perspective. My friend David Reyes, who is my pr person, came up with the idea of breast cancer (advocacy). He said, ‘Do you think you can do it?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’
“The first couple of times I did stuff, it was painful, but of my three siblings, I’m the one who can probably talk about it the most. And it’s gotten easier with every time.”
But despite his efforts, the disease has once again returned to his family.
“It’s taken a turn for the worse again recently because those two siblings (an older and young sister) in the past two-and-a-half years have both been diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Ricardo has also become an advocate within the Hispanic community for breast cancer awareness. “My mother was Anglo and my father Mexican. My father’s side there was the cultural stigma. . . (Ricardo hesitates trying to find just the right words). . .I just. . . life is too short. You know, life is just too short and I turn 40 this year. My mom was 43 when she died.”
Changing directions Ricardo was asked if he does self examinations himself for breast cancer due to his family history.
“No. I’ve been chastised for that by some of the people I work with in the cancer organizations. ‘Look at the genetic disposition that is going on in your family.’ Believe me, I know. But I’m still that guy that . . . It’s that old adage of ‘What I don’t know won’t hurt me.’ The focus has always been on the women.”
He then makes fun of his own thinking saying, “Ah, it’s not going to happen to me.” Then he gets serious again, “The thing is it’s not just self examination. It’s also going in and being properly tested. I’ve got a good friend of mine who is an actor, Richard Roundtree, who was diagnosed. Richard and I have had this conversation.”
As he prepared to talk to the room full of women, he listened in a nearby room as Joel and Robin told of the numerous
accomplishments made at Baylor regarding breast cancer including the creation of the Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, the Patient Navigator Program and so many other accomplishments supported by the $16 million raised through the annual Celebrating Women luncheons.
This year’s luncheon will take place with breast cancer survivor/actress/singer Diahann Carroll as the headliner. Better get your tickets now!
Rawlins Gilliland says
Nice write up.
PS: I have a feeling you know more than a few persons who would happily help Ricardo check for lumps in lieu of his reluctance to do ‘self-examination’.
Jeanne Prejean says
I told him that next time he was in the shower, he’d think of me.