Beating Childhood Cancer A Shaved Head at a Time

Lexi Dembeck had never been seriously sick before.

So, when the then-7-year-old girl began showing flu-like symptoms the week before Thanksgiving 2007, her father, Denny Dembeck, knew something was wrong. Denny took Lexi to see her doctor, where she had some blood work done.

Three hours later, the Dembecks got the call that would change their lives forever.

“The doctor told us we needed to get to Johns Hopkins immediately,” said Denny Dembeck, a lieutenant in the Baltimore County Fire Department. “Something was really wrong with Lexi’s blood work.”

Lexi was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The next three years were spent in the hospital, where doctors worked to find the right combination of chemotherapy drugs.  Lexi, now a fifth-grader at Martin Boulevard Elementary School, is now doing well and is in remission.

Lexi was one of 21 children with cancer honored Sunday at Martin’s East in Middle River for a major fundraiser for pediatric cancer research.

The fundraiser was for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a California-based volunteer–driven charity committed to funding the most promising research for childhood cancers and to help give survivors long, healthy lives. Since 2000, St. Baldrick’s has raised more than $90.6 million through more than 3,400 head-shaving events, with nearly 147,000 people shaving their heads.

The event had nearly 200 people collect pledges to have their heads shaved— including Denny Dembeck—as a show of solidarity for the more than 160,000 children worldwide diagnosed with cancer each year.

“It was really cool to see so many people here to support kids with cancer,” Lexi said. “It made me feel really good to know this many people cared.”

Organized by Baltimore County firefighter Dan Jarkiewicz, the event—in its third year—raised more than $100,000 for St. Baldrick’s. This came after Jarkiewicz, along with his wife Beth and dozens of volunteers, helped raise $94,000 in 2010.

“It’s unbelievable to see this type of support of people from all walks of life offering to shave their heads with the hope of ending childhood cancer,” said Jarkiewicz, a Perry Hall resident, whose daughter, Ally, was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare blood disorder that requires a bone marrow transplant.

Among those getting their heads shaved were firefighters, police officers, doctors and even some women and children. Dr. Eric Raabe was one of those volunteers.

Dr. Raabe is a pediatric oncologist fellow at Johns Hopkins who specializes in pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Raabe, whose research is funded by St. Baldrick’s, said while many forms of leukemia have up to a 90 percent survival rate, the same isn’t true for brain tumor patients.

“Organizations like St. Baldrick’s are important to fill the funding gap needed for research specifically for pediatric cancer research,” he said. “There are 10,000 kids each year in the U.S. diagnosed with cancer, which is just a fraction of the amount of adults diagnosed each year.

“So the federal government obviously places a higher priority of funding areas where the majority of cases are diagnosed. This is why St. Baldrick’s is so important—so children with cancer have a better chance to live their lives.”

Josh Koneval is one of those children.

The 11-year-old from Perry Hall was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma—a form of muscle cancer—in 2008. He underwent 64 weeks of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation at Johns Hopkins.

Through it all, Josh never lost his optimistic outlook, kept up with his schoolwork and is now in remission and a sixth-grader at Perry Hall Middle School. He was also one of the children to shave his head on Sunday.

“I know what it’s like to have cancer and I want to do what I can to help other kids who were sick like me,” Josh said. “I want other kids to know it will be OK.”

Josh’s mindset made an unbearable situation a little more bearable for his parents Kirk and Tracy and his sister, Kaleigh, 8. Kirk shaved his head with Josh on Sunday, while Tracy shaved her head at last year’s event.

“Josh never got down and kept us from getting upset,” Tracy Koneval said. “When you’re a parent, you don’t have time to even think about how you feel. You have one option, and that’s to fight. Having an organization like St. Baldrick’s to help fight this disease let’s you know you don’t have to go through this alone.”

It was Josh’s story that motivated Patrick Pfarr to shave his head. The youth football coach with the Stembridge Colts decided to join the cause after two players in the Stembridge Colts system—Brendon Clay, 11, and Brayden Garland, 6—decided to shave their heads in support of Josh.

“In football, we teach the kids there is no ‘I’ in team,” Pfarr said. “You can’t even win just on your own. The same is true with childhood cancer. It won’t be cured with just one doctor or one researcher or one group raising money. We all have to work together.”