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Rock Island teacher, cancer survivor, wins national award

Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com

American Cancer Society volunteer and Rock Island High School teacher Marty Crapnell won a national award at an advocacy event in Washington, D.C. last week. He is a survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Mr. Crapnell is a district team leader for the North West region of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He was one of three national winners and the first to win a national award for this region.
ROCK ISLAND -- Marty Crapnell never thought he'd be an active volunteer until retirement. But a bout with cancer in 2004 -- at age 52 -- changed all that.

On his 20th wedding anniversary, while on vacation in Boynton Beach, Fla., Mr. Crapnell was taken to an emergency room with intense back and chest pain and trouble speaking. He had excessive calcium in his bloodstream, and later was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- the most advanced form of the disease.

Mr. Crapnell had chemotherapy treatment from July to October, and doctors in Iowa City recommended a stem-cell transplant, which was completed in November, as his best chance for long-term survival.

“My chances to be cancer-free were about 45 percent if I didn't have the transplant. After transplant, the chances went up over 85 percent,” he said this week, after receiving a prestigious volunteer award from the American Cancer Society (ACS). “With young kids, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Mr. Crapnell, who lives with his wife Jane in Alpha, has two sons -- a 22-year-old working in Indianapolis, and a high school senior at AlWood. He was one of three people in the country who received the award, given at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“I always planned to volunteer when I retired,” said the former technology teacher at Washington Junior High in Rock Island.

Mr. Crapnell joined the Lions Club in Alpha and Woodhull 12 years ago, but “getting sick narrowed the focus,” he said. “I didn't realize I was going to become this actively involved. I've enjoyed it a lot.”

Last year, Mr. Crapnell started teaching computer-aided drafting part-time at Rock Island High School. In November, he walked into the ACS office in Rock Island to help the organization.

“He does everything to help us with anything we need,” said Nicole Knudsen, senior health initiatives representative, who nominated Mr. Crapnell for the ACS “lead ambassador” award.

The award -- given at the ACS Cancer Action Network (CAN) National Advocacy Awards -- is “the highest honor” an ACS volunteer can receive, said Margaret Farina, federal advocacy manager for the ACS Illinois division.

The CAN is a nonprofit sister advocacy organization to ACS that backs legislative proposals to boost cancer research funding, broaden access to cancer prevention methods, early detection tools and treatment, and strengthen tobacco control measures.

“Marty has been an amazing champion” for the network, Ms. Farina said, praising his fundraising and recruiting abilities. “He's always available.

“I think the most important thing Marty provides is leadership in the Rock Island region, with the volunteers he's recruited, and his leadership is important for his volunteer colleagues across the state,” she said.

Mr. Crapnell and his team of volunteers raised $4,000 to get the CAN Fight Back bus in the Quad-Cities in July, which encouraged people to share their stories, sign a petition to support access to quality care and call for more federal funding to fight cancer.

He was the only northwest Illinois volunteer to join the 560 ACS volunteers in Washington Sept. 22 for the CAN awards and a lobbying day on Capitol Hill. There, Mr. Crapnell met with U.S. Rep. Phil Hare (D-Rock Island) and staff from the offices of U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, Illinois' senators.

“We've been working on increased access to care, increased research funding and FDA regulation of tobacco products to help reduce cigarette use,” he said. Mr. Crapnell also worked to support “Michelle's Law” (recently approved by the Senate), which would allow seriously ill college students to take up to 12 months medical leave without the risk of being dropped from a parent's insurance plan.

He also met with Illinois lawmakers in Springfield last March to discuss cancer-related issues.Mr. Crapnell's national award was a “complete, total surprise,” he said. “I was excited. It was one of the few times I was close to speechless. It was really a great feeling.

“I didn't volunteer for the recognition,” he said. “I do it because it's right. It was nice to be recognized for your efforts, but I would have been perfectly content without the extra package coming home.”

Working half-days also gives him the opportunity to volunteer more. Mr. Crapnell serves on the regional ACS board of directors, and is district director for volunteers on the statewide ACS board.

“I got this chance to live again. I don't want to spend all day just working,” he said. “It's allowed me to work with the Cancer Society.”