Jim Chastain

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Wayman Tisdale & Farrah Fawcett

Each week we’re literally bombarded by the latest news headlines. What’s up with the economy? Is Swine Flu improving or getting worse? Where was the latest earthquake, tornado, hurricane or fire? What’s on the Obama’s agenda this week? Will those who waterboarded be prosecuted? What did Nancy Pelosi know?

For cancer patients, especially those facing a ticking clock, these weekly headlines can be broken into two categories: those having to do with cancer and those that don’t. 

Many of the cancer headlines have to do with the latest treatments or experimental drugs. But unfortunately, some are about a famous person who is facing cancer or has died from the disease.

There were a lot of headlines about cancer this week, but two headlines in particular, and the stories beneath those headlines, grabbed my attention. First, basketball legend Wayman Tisdale died, presumably from bone cancer, at the age of 44. And second, Farrah Fawcett, 62, was continuing her very public, but dire, battle with anal cancer, which was chronicled in a television documentary.

Both stories interested me. But they also wore me down a bit and made me sad, for it’s just another reminder that cancer can strike anyone, anywhere. Even world class athletes and bathing suit beauties are not spared.

Wayman and Farrah were both prominent figures in my formative years.

Wayman Tisdale was just a few months younger than me, and he graduated from high school the same year I did, 1982. We lived about fifty miles apart. I lived in Bartlesville, and he lived in Tulsa, where he attended then basketball powerhouse Booker T. Washington. Tisdale was an All-American that year. I was … finding myself.

Anyway, I remember seeing Tisdale play during Oklahoma’s high school basketball playoffs one year, when he was either a junior or senior. He was already a legend by then, and I was thrilled to see the 6 foot nine inch phenom play. (As I recall, I also saw another Oklahoma basketball legend play that same weekend, Enid’s Mark Price, but whether they played against each other or on the same day, I cannot say. It’s been 27 years and I’ve had a lot of chemo since then! )

Tisdale would, as we know, go on from high school to become an outstanding college and professional basketball player. For college, he chose to go to OU, which surprised many and disappointed me, for I had decided to go to Oklahoma State, which had a fairly miserable team at the time.

It wasn’t fun for an OSU student like me to watch Tisdale dominate throughout his college basketball career. But even though he played for a rival school, I couldn’t help but like him. It was that darn smile of his, and his gracious manner. He was never the braggadocios, cocky type. He would humbly throw down 30 points a night, letting his abilities on the court do all the talking for him.

Although we never met, I felt a kinship to Tisdale, due to our ages, our proximity in high school, the college games I saw him play, and his post-basketball experiences. Like me, Tisdale had a creative streak. He loved jazz music, while I was into writing and poetry. And we were also both battling a sarcoma. Mine cost me my right arm. His took his leg, and, as it seems right now, his life.

As for Farrah, well, what can I say? Yes, I was one of those teenagers who had her famous poster on my bedroom wall, right there next to Roger Staubach and Joe Namath. When I was fifteen or so, and most certainly under the influence of raging hormones, I thought she was the most beautiful woman God had ever created. And she arguably was, although now that I’m older and wiser I’m pretty sure that particular title is held by my wife.

But I digress.

Yes, I too watched Charlie’s Angels, and I’ll admit up front that it wasn’t due to the interesting “plots.” It was only so I could watch Farrah, blessed Farrah, running around without a bra. (As Will Ferrell might have said had we been teenage pals, ”That’s shocking.”)

Farrah eventually fell out of favor with the viewing public and, to a certain extent, me. Her movies were, for the most part, campy or crumby (for example, the sci-fi “thriller” Logan’s Run), although she had some success with self deprecating cameos and made-for-television films. Her TV appearances, like her infamous interview with David Letterman, were often disastrous, if not downright alarming. She had that odd body painting phase. And things at home seemed rather complicated.

But who am I to judge Farrah? While her behavior has seemed a bit erratic at times, she still holds a special place in my heart. After all, she and the Bionic Woman were my first celebrity crushes!

Plus, we now face similar trials. Like me, Farrah has an aggressive cancer that has metastacized to her liver. Unlike me, however, Farrah is reportedly in the final stages. Therefore, watching her story unfold is fairly sobering, as it may be a preview of my story in  the near future.

These are my memories and experiences with Wayman Tisdale and Farrah Fawcett, two tender souls that have seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Now, let the melancholy begin.

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