Cancer is one of the highest causes of death in the world. Most people would do anything to save the lives of their loved ones, or even themselves. This is where BeTheMatch comes in.
BeTheMatch is a nonprofit organization which signs people up to be on the marrow registry and save the life of someone who has leukemia lymphoma and needs a bone marrow transplant to save their life.
Central High School head football coach Justin Garza, (39) is battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of leukemia. He is partnering up with BeTheMatch to try and find a donor to save his life.
“I was diagnosed in January, 2011,” Garza said. “The process has been typical, it is frustrating sitting in doctors offices for hours at a time. I have taken 33 different days of chemo and six days of Brentuximab treatments for three years.”
Garza’s wife, Regina Garza, and one son, Joaquin, are the two things that keep him motivated to keep going strong. Regina expresses her hopes that her son will view his father’s illness as a learning experience, and will encourage him to grow stronger.
“I want my son to know that his father handled adversity with courage so when he becomes a man, he will do the same,” Garza said.
Before starting all of the Bone Marrow drives, Garza and his team wanted to set a goal for how many swabs they would get on the registry. Statistically, for every 500 people who sign up, one person would be a marrow donor.
“My goal was to save two lives by getting 1000 registries in the bone marrow database,” Garza said. “We recently achieved that and we now need to set a new goal.”
Although Garza has been through many obstacles over the years, he still seems to find ways to dwell on the positive aspects of it.
“I have learned the people will go out of their way if you give them a purpose greater than themselves,” Garza said. “You must attack fear and not wait. Do the things that scare you and you will be comfortable being scared. If you treat others with integrity, they will ‘carry your flag’ when you are down.”
Childhood friend of Garza, Tosha Giuffrida, was willing to do anything to help when she heard about Garza’s desire to spread the word about BeTheMatch. Giuffrida is now the coordinator of all of the BeTheMatch marrow drives.
Justin is my number one nephew. I am very grateful that so many people care enough about my nephew to come out and do this. It is very heartwarming and very uplifting. I’m overwhelmed with it, really. — Gene Chandler, Garza’s uncle
“Justin and I have been friends since the seventh grade, and when I found out that he was wanting to get the word out to recruit people to join the registry, I offered to help with the process,” Giuffrida said. “So I am coordinating all of his drives that are in his name up and down the valley.”
Coordinating all of the drives has opened Giuffrida’s eyes to new experiences and ideas.
“I think the biggest thing is one, you find out how many good people are out there and how many people are coming out to help, and also how many people really love Justin,” Giuffrida said. “Justin is one of those people who you don’t mind giving up your free time or your three day weekends to give up your free time or volunteer at a drive. He’s one of the good guys so he really makes it easy.”
Looking at Garza and his family from the outside, and watching them come together, has shown Giuffrida that they are all strong people who have raised great people.
“His family is equally as nice and so you can only hope that if it was my children or if it was my family that they would step up to be able to do that,” Giuffrida said. “So I feel like it is a privilege to be a part of his journey.”
Garza’s uncle, Gene Chandler, is entirely grateful for all everybody is doing for his nephew.
“Justin is my number one nephew,” Chandler said. “I am very grateful that so many people care enough about my nephew to come out and do this. It is very heartwarming and very uplifting. I’m overwhelmed with it, really.”
Raising awareness for finding a match has been rewarding in many ways for Garza, Giuffrida, and the BeTheMatch crew. The importance of the whole process has been passionately stated by Giuffrida.
“What’s important is what the registry needs is young people. They need to be between the ages 18 and 44. I personally have been on the registry for over 20 years now, and I have never been a match for someone,” Giuffrida said. “So, I know that if I were to be a match for someone, it would be important to do what you can do to help someone. You can literally save someones life, while you are still alive. Not many people can say that they can cure cancer, and this is a way you can do it.”
The goal of raising awareness for BeTheMatch is not only to find a match for Justin and save his life, but also to save the lives of others.
“When Justin first started this he never said once to me ‘I’m searching for a marrow donor for me,'” Giuffrida said. “He’s using his position as a coach and as someone who has access to media and someone who has access to young people who will listen, and he is using that to educate them on the importance of doing it. That is what is amazing about Justin.”
Giuffrida has spent numerous hours coordinating all of the drives, and as a result, she has personally learned that this process is not only helping Justin, but also helping her.
“I have learned that people can do more, they can stand for more. I have learned that as busy as people think they are, they can just take a minute to stop and help somebody,” Giuffrida said. “I think that is really critical. I think everybody is capable of doing more, it’s just a matter of pushing yourself to that point. That where our motto ‘Stand For more’ comes in.”
Signing up for the registry is typically thought to be a painful process, however it is only a cheek swab. A simple cheek swab to save a life.
Justin Garza’s bone marrow drive schedule:
Sept. 12: Selma High School at 11 a.m.
Sept. 12: Washington Academic Middle school at 4 p.m.
Sept. 12: Liberty High School at 5 p.m.
Sept. 12: Selma High School at 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 16: Fresno State University at 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 17: Fresno State Universityat 10:30 a.m.
Sept. 18: Fresno State Universityat 10:30 a.m.
Sept. 23: Kerman High School at 1 p.m.
Sept. 26: Madera County Department of Social Services at 10 a.m.
Oct. 3: Hanford High School at 5 p.m.
Oct. 23: McLane High School at 4 p.m.
Oct. 31: Hoover High School at 4 p.m.
You can sign up for the national bone marrow registry and save a life at Bethematch or visit a Central California Blood Center location to join the marrow registry in his name.
Twitter: @bethematch4J and @BeTheMatch
Facebook: Bethematch4Justin
Follow The Feather via Twitter @thefeather. This writer can be reached on twitter @ashhasthescoop.
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