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May 25, 2010

Friends of Matt Connor Benefit

Marvin Hamlisch (right) and Matt Connor at President Obama's inauguration.

WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. May 29
WHERE:
Millbrook Playhouse
DONATIONS:
Clinton County Arts Council 748-0949
Lana Muthler 748-6791
Matt Connor Benefit Fund at Jersey Shore State Bank

Choosing Life
Benefit planned to help local man beat cancer

LOCK HAVEN - There is not a worse piece of news you could possibly get: A doctor looks you straight in the eye and tells you that you have late stage cancer. You may have two years to live. Youáre all of 44 years old.

That's the news that Matt Connor recently received from local physicians after a battery of tests proved he had colorectal cancer. That devastating piece of news left Matt and his family and friends nearly inconsolable for weeks after the diagnosis.

Connor writes the weekly "Peek at the Pasta" column for The Express and has been a writer and editor for local and national publications for nearly a quarter century. He has lived in Lock Haven since 2004, and his deep affection for this community dates back to his years as a student at Lock Haven University in the 1980s.

"To stare death in the face, to think I'd have to say goodbye to everything in my life that I love ­ my partner, my family, my friends, my home, my work - my very existence ­ that was the most terrible thought that I could ever face," Connor said.

And yet that was what several local doctors were telling Connor.

"It's rare for anyone in your condition to live more than two years," one doctor told him rather off-handedly.

"This thing is going to get you!" another doctor said, rather glibly.

Connor consulted other physicians at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and found that their approach to his illness was much more positive and much more aggressive. He was soon placed on a clinical trial that would last 16 weeks, with eight chemo therapy treatments scheduled at two week intervals.

That would only be the first of a series of "tier" treatments which his Fox Chase doctors said they hoped would eventually put the cancer in remission.

It gave Connor a modicum of hope, something he desperately needed at a time, he says, when he was "wandering around my old historic home weeping like a banshee over the prospect of my own demise."

Friends and family also came to the rescue, none moreso than his associates at The Express and the Clinton County Arts Council, who are organizing a benefit on his behalf.

The "Friends of Matt Connor Benefit" will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 29 at the Millbrook Playhouse in Mill Hall. For a $10 donation, attendees will experience a wonderful evening of laughter, music, celebration and food.

The program will feature stand-up comedy by Lock Haven University alum Joey Callahan, once described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "one of the most clever young comics on the comedy club scene today." Callahan has written gag lines for comedy legends like Bob Hope and Jay Leno and has sold out some of the biggest casinos, comedy clubs and festivals in the world. There will also be musical entertainment.

The Clinton County Arts Council is organizing a "silent auction" of local artwork, gift baskets and other items to be held the evening of the benefit, with Callahan lending his own brand of hilarity to the proceedings. Anyone desiring to donate art work, a basket or other items may call the Arts Council at 748-0949.

Baked goods, soft drinks and pizza will also be available for purchase at the event. Attendees may bring an alcoholic beverage of their choice. Those wishing to donate baked goods should call Lana Muthler at The Express, 748-6791. Cash donations may be made to the Matt Connor Benefit Fund at Jersey Shore State Bank.

As Connor undergoes his chemotherapy treatments he remains very positive.

"I am going to beat this thing," Connor says. "I don't have any choice. I don't want to go. I am not going to go. I am just not leaving. That's all there is to it."

"This cancer came from out of nowhere," he said, "and that's exactly where we're going to send it."