[NEWS]
Cancer. One little word, but almost everyone has been affected by it in some way or another. The West student body is all too familiar with this word. Ashton Brunmeier, junior, passed last weekend due to rhabdomyosarcoma - a form of cancer that infects your connective tissues. It rarely affects teenagers. Ernest Ronald “Ron” Merfen, gym teacher at Pawnee elementary school, passed recently after an eight-month battle with leukemia. Cancer is a collection of various diseases involved in cell growth. In 2010, there were 1,529,560 cases of cancer, and 569,490 deaths. Men were affected very slightly more than women. Prostate cancer was most common for men, while breast cancer affected women the most. However, out of all types, lung cancer caused the most deaths for both men and women. Rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for 3.3% of all childhood cancers. It is less common in teenagers. Children are usually treated by surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. It can affect your head, neck, torso, hands, and feet. Ashton was first diagnosed during October of 2009, his freshman year. He was announced cancer-free November of his sophomore year. Unfortunately, Brunmeier relapsed during July of his junior year. “Ashton and I have been good friends since November of sophomore year. When he got cancer the second time it hit me kind of hard, but I knew I would be there for him through it all,” Jack Jeronimus, junior, said. Brunmeier attended Pawnee Elementary. His sixth grade teacher, Niki Neal, knew the Brunmeier family, having taught him and his sister, Morgan. “He was funny, a good student, he liked to clown around and talk to everyone,” Neal said. “He was the classroom helper; he even helped the custodian clean the cafeteria.” Neal recalls a specific memory about Brunmeier when he danced in the talent show. “He danced with a group of guys, and at the end of their dance, all the boys clasped their arms together and threw him up into the air. He went flying and almost fell off the stage. He actually landed on his feet, rolled, and jumped up,” she said. Brunmeier’s life was remembered over Twitter with people trending “#ATBmemories.” Somehow, that snowballed into just #ATB, which trended nationally. The Viking community came through strong, stating “Once a Viking, always a Viking.” Merfen’s story also relocates back to Pawnee, but deals with a different kind of cancer: leukemia. Leukemia is uncommon in adults and mostly affects children. Leukemia is a cancer caused by the drastic increase in white blood cells. It affects the blood, bone marrow and lymphoid system. Leukemia is most common in kids, but also affects adults. In 2010, there were 43,050 cases of leukemia, and 21,840 deaths. Merfen was diagnosed with leukemia around eight months ago, which was big news to Neal. “I knew him for 37 years. He was my gym teacher when I was a student at Pawnee, and I worked with him for eight years.” Neal said. “We were definitely close.” Neal was good friends with Merfen, knowing him for most of her life. He taught Neal when she attended Pawnee Elementary. She remembers how Merfen treated her when she was pregnant. “When I was really pregnant, Merfen pulled out the old mile times from when I was a kid and called me slow. I was just like, you can’t tell a pregnant woman that they’re slow! But he was always kind, too. If someone felt insecure about something he was very encouraging.” Neal said. Dr. Mark Kelly was the principal at Pawnee Elementary when Brun-
meier attended, and also knew Merfen, keeping up with his status even after moving schools. “I worked at Pawnee for seven years, and remember Ashton. He was a great young man with a great sense of humor. The Pawnee teachers kept me updated on his situation. It was really heartbreaking.” Kelly said. Kelly knew Merfen well, working with him for the entire time he was at Pawnee. “He was my lead teacher, and we worked pretty hard together each day. He did a great job of working with the students. If I was gone, he was principal.” Kelly said.
GO TO
GO TO SMWEST.COM...
[ADS]
candles for cancer
Cancer affects many people, two of whom were part of the West community. by jenny brown and alex leininger
...to visit The Voyager, the online home of Shawnee Mission West. A collaboration of newspaper, yearbook, and video production.
Close friends of mourn the death of Ashton Brunmeier at the Candlelight Vigil held on December 6 in the auditorium.
Most common sites for Cancer - 2010 Men
Women
Prostate: 217,730 (28%)
Breast: 207,090 (28%)
Lung: 116,750 (15%)
Lung: 105,770 (14%)
Colon: 72,090 (9%)
Colon: 70,480 (10%)
Urinary: 52,760 (7%)
Uterus: 43,470 (6%)
Melanoma: 38,870 (5%)
Thyroid: 33,930 (5%)
Lymphoma: 35,380 (4%)
Lymphoma: 30,160 (4%)
Kidney: 35,370 (4%)
Melanoma: 29,260 (4%)
letter to the editor There are some gossip tweets that aren’t true and need to stop. A tweet from a gossip Twitter account was sent about me on November 21. They need to stop because 1) It’s hurting whoever they’re about and 2) the people who are tweeting this stuff have no right, in fact, absolutely no right because they don’t have any facts leading to the truth. These jerks hear what they want to hear and then they’re just like, “I’m bored. Hey, I know! Let’s start up untrue facts and rumors and hurt these people just because I want to laugh at their pain.” They find it to be funny. These people need to realize that it’s hurting us. To the people spreading the rumors, I just want to tell you to get a life. I hate it when they think it’s perfectly okay to spread lies about people. Some of you students think violence is always the answer or hurting people is really funny. Well, it’s never funny. And you’ve heard this before, but what if it was you that people were spreading lies about? You may say that you wouldn’t care, but we all know you do care if people talk trash about you, so don’t give us that. If the bullies can’t say these things to anyone’s face then they shouldn’t say them at all. I mean, do these bullies think they’ll have any friends? People hurt other people (whether it’s physically or verbally) just because it makes them feel better about themselves. Can’t they go do something more productive that doesn’t involve hurting others? These people need to stop. I mean not just stop for now, but forever. I know I’ve been repeating this, but I and any of the students at school don’t want to be gossiped about, especially if the rumors are harmful to us. People have feelings and the bullies have forgotten about that. I am so tired of hearing “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone? I didn’t know it was a secret.” If you were told it was a secret then it should stay a secret. I am also tired of seeing people get hurt from gossip. Just stop the gossip. I know it may be difficult for young, stubborn people, but that’s not an excuse. I don’t care how difficult it is and how great the secret is and how it feels to hurt someone. Just stop the gossip. It’s not that difficult. -Alex Swanson, sophomore
4 THE EPIC ISSUE 4
ISSUE 4 THE EPIC 5