
DATE: Saturday, May 31, 1997                TAG: 9705310639

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Tom Robinson 

                                            LENGTH:   73 lines

BEACH ATHLETE STARES DOWN CANCER

It is an unspeakable dilemma, to have to wish you have a certain cancer. But when the doctors finish their work, and they say they are pretty sure that the lump on your neck and the mass in your chest are serious, serious business, you wind up investing your hope and prayers in the chance that it is the ``best'' kind of cancer you can get.

So Billy Schoenfeld had the good cancer. His was Hodgkin's disease, which afflicts the lymph nodes, and it is better to have than non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in terms of treatment prospects and long-term prognosis.

The thing was, Schoenfeld, a 16-year-old from Virginia Beach who excels in an interesting athletic double of roller skating and golf, had Stage 4 Hodgkin's, the most severe, by the time it was discovered.

It seems Schoenfeld was in such good physical condition that the usual symptoms either never came or went unnoticed until last November when he felt something labored about his breathing during a skating practice. This was hours after he had fingered the strange lump on the left side of his neck for the first time.

Three days of tests later, everybody had their answer.

Schoenfeld, a Norfolk Academy sophomore, would not be going to the world skating championships in Argentina later that month. Instead, he was headed for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk for the first of six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by radiation treatment - all of which had a 70-percent chance of succeeding in a Stage 4 patient.

The usual chemo horrors ensued: nausea was Schoenfeld's constant companion; he shaved his head once his hair started falling out; excruciating canker sores lined his mouth and throat; he lost 10 pounds, got shingles, then a 105-degree fever - but somehow managed to squeeze in school, sports practice and his 16th birthday on March 1 in between hospital visits.

Guess what? It will be five years of spotless blood tests and CAT scans before they can consider Schoenfeld clear of cancer. But if shooting a 78 in his recent conference golf tournament and practicing for the region skating championships in late June mean anything, he is off on a bullish recovery.

``That first night was tough to deal with,'' said Schoenfeld, who asked `Why, me?' ``but I'm not sure I ever came up with an answer. ... I never really cried or felt sorry for myself, though. That's probably not the easiest way to get through it, by feeling sorry for yourself.

``At the time I wasn't that scared, but I look back now and realize how close to death I actually was. The doctors told me a couple of weeks ago they were astonished how well the mass in my chest went away.''

Sunday morning between 8:40 and 9, Schoenfeld gets to share his story for the Children's Miracle Network Telethon on WVEC-TV. He has been asked to tell viewers, during a local segment, of his battle with Hodgkin's.

Look for Schoenfeld, the only child of his accountant father and psychiatrist mother, to come off gracious and well-spoken. And to say something impressive, like this:

``This is something for me to remember, but not something to dwell on. I think it's a good experience to have under your belt, because when the next thing comes along that you think you can't overcome, you can use it.''

With any luck, Schoenfeld might soon get to swap tales of character and courage with another athlete of note. At the hospital, Schoenfeld became friends with a cancer patient from North Carolina, who invited him to his next family reunion.

And if one of the cousins shows up, Schoenfeld will shake hands with a Mr. Michael Jordan.

For Schoenfeld, you could call it another wish granted. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Billy Schoenfeld is making a bullish recovery from Hodgkin's

disease.

Photo

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Billy Schoenfeld will discuss his fight with Hodgkin's disease for

the Children's Miracle Network Telethon.