The Schumacher family: (From left) Joey, Carol, Joe and Callie. Photo contributed
City of Fairfax Fire Capt. Joe Schumacher beat cancer not once, but twice. And he’ll soon serve as an Honored Hero for this year’s Light the Night Walks in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
It’s a fundraiser for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). And locally, the walk will be Friday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m., at the Reston Town Center.
“I’d encourage anyone with any interest to get involved in charitable events like Light the Night because it saves lives,” said Schumacher. “Every three minutes in the U.S., someone’s diagnosed with a blood cancer — and every 10 minutes, somebody dies from one. Those are pretty staggering numbers.”
He was born and raised in Fairfax, and he and wife Carol have a son, Joey, 23, and a daughter, Callie, 20. Schumacher, 47, is in charge of B Shift at Fire Station 3 in downtown Fairfax. He started there as a volunteer in 1983 and was hired in 1988, so he’s spent almost 27 years as a career firefighter.
“It’s the best job in the world,” he said. “We all look forward to coming to work each day.”
Life, however, threw him some serious curves. In 1996, Schumacher was diagnosed with testicular cancer; he underwent surgery, plus radiation, and was eventually declared cancer-free. After that, he was in good health for 17 years — until April 2013, when he discovered a small lump in his groin.
“While taking a shower, I noticed a lump and decided to get it checked out,” he said. “After an ultrasound and a needle biopsy, I got the diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Then they did tests to see what kind of non-Hodgkin’s it was, what stage and if it had spread anywhere.”
“It was stage one, so it was curable — I was lucky,” said Schumacher. “I did 17 radiation treatments. And the reason I’ve become such a big advocate of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and what they do is because of the research they’ve been able to do with the funds they’ve received through events like Light the Night.”
Furthermore, he’s benefited from it directly. With the advances made over the years, he explained, “This time, I had no side effects, and the radiation dosage I received was one third the amount I received 17 years ago.”
When Schumacher was first diagnosed, though, he said, “I was scared, and I thought, ‘Why me? I’ve already done this once.’ But after awhile, I realized I could conquer this. I did it once before, I could do it again. And I had a great support network in my wife and kids, the guys at the firehouse, our Chief, Dave Rohr and Assistant Chief Andy Vita.
“They were all phenomenal,” continued Schumacher. “They told me not to worry about my job — to just concentrate on beating this and getting better. And that support helps you maintain a good attitude, which is important.”
He and his family will participate in the walk in Reston, and he’s raised almost $4,000 of his own $5,000 fundraising goal for LLS. To contribute to his efforts, go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/nca/reston14/teamschumacher.
“In 1975, the non-Hodgkin’s survival rate was 47 percent,” said Schumacher. “And in 2009, it was 71 percent. The five-year survival rates for all the blood cancers keep going up — and it’s a result of all the money people donate to improve treatments and help people beat these things.”