By CHARLIE MAY
“Never ask why, and never take a single day for granted.”- Gary Orr
On April 14 2009, Gary Orr, was diagnosed with stage four-esophageal cancer. Orr, 54, is the head coach of the swim team at Ramapo College. The news came as a shock to the friends and family of a man who was rarely sick a day in his life. Orr, who has completed four Ironman triathlons, now had a four percent chance to live. Today, he is a cancer survivor, but not without the memories of the toughest fight of his life.
“It was a hard thing to process.” Orr said.
“I was an athlete who took care of myself. My friends and family were scared, as was I, but I tried to hide it, especially from my daughters who were eleven and four at the time. I lost my father when I was twelve, my biggest fear was that my daughters would lose their dad too.” he continued.
Understanding Esophageal Cancer
Cancer of the esophagus is complex and dangerous. According to cancer.org, the disease kills nearly 16,000 people each year. The cancer starts in an inner layer of the esophagus and continues to grow outwards, and will spread to vital organs. It is also 3 to 4 more times common in men than in women.
There are many ways to treat this type of cancer. An operation can be done, but only if the tumor is small enough, and does not come into contact with any major organs. Other forms of treatment include chemotherapy, and radiation. Orr’s tumor had reached stage four by the time test results came back, and had grown to an enormous size —it was impossible to operate, giving him just months to live.
A Man on a Mission
When Orr was in high school, he had the hopes of swimming in college. Through years of hard work and determination, Orr was able to receive a full scholarship to swim Division I at Rider University. After finishing his first season in 1980 he realized that Division I wasn’t what it was hyped up to be.
“The school just wasn’t a good fit for me. As an athlete you want to be in an environment that’s comfortable. The pressures of Division I just turned out to be too much.” Orr explained.
At this point, Orr was unsure where he’d end up in school. His brother encouraged him to attend Ramapo College, so he took his advice, but was unsure about how long he’d be staying there.
Orr was a big fish in a small pond. In 1981, he swam his first season with the roadrunners and truly enjoyed his time there. His Division I talent provided tremendous help to the team, so he was eventually named captain, and broke multiple school records. One of which including the 1650, a mile long race, which he still holds to this day. Upon graduation, Ramapo had a special place in Orr’s heart. The years to follow, in more ways than one, shape the mentor standing humbly, outside of the pool he once swam in.
In 1998, Orr’s sister was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is an incurable cancer of the plasma cells, and given just three months to live. In order to have a chance at surviving this disease, she needed a bone marrow transfer and there was only one match available — her brother. Bone marrow transfers are unimaginably painful, but Orr decided to undergo the procedure, despite the risks, and setbacks his Iron Man triathlon training received because of it. After being diagnosed when she was 53, Orr’s sister passed at the age of 66. He extended his sisters life from three months, to thirteen years.
“My sister was able to live a much longer and much happier life, and that is something all of us are thankful for.” Orr said.
After being approved by doctors six months later, Orr was adamant about returning to train for the Lake Placid Iron Man Triathlon in 2001. This was his second Iron Man, and he went on to finish the 16 hour race which consists of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of bicycling, and 26.2 miles of running. In the years 2002, and 2006, he completed two more.
Gary Orr returned to Ramapo College in 2008 to become the first head coach of the new swim program. Starting from scratch, Orr put together the first team the school had seen in decades. Although the team did not immediately achieve success, a man like Orr would not settle for mediocrity, he strived for greatness.
During the summer of 2008, Orr noticed he had trouble with swallowing foods, and his throat felt swollen. He had a very high fever in the middle of June, and developed a minor cold. “I don’t really get sick often, so this was unusual but it never appeared to be anything serious. Orr, not thinking much of it, continued his offseason recruiting and continued to prepare for the following year.
As the new school year progressed, Orr experienced more fatigue than usual, but never acted out of the ordinary. By the time swim season was over in February, he had a scary feeling something may be wrong.
“It was nearly impossible to swallow, and at that point, I knew something needed to be done.” Orr said.
Here is a timeline that chronologically represents Orr’s bout with cancer.
The next step was for Orr to receive the proper treatment. He soon came across Dr. David Ilson, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering who helped get him on track to a normal life again. In May, Orr had parts of his ribs removed from his back because the cancer had taken them over. He spent the next five months undergoing chemotherapy that took place once a week for six hours. Even though this helped save his life it had a huge strain on his body, both physically and mentally.
He began radiation in July, when his first test results came back with a reduction of 40% in his tumor. This treatment was five days per week for six weeks.
“The treatment was horrible.” Orr explained.
“I felt the need to puke every single day and had very little energy. By the end of August I could barely walk. I was scared out of my mind, but I knew God had a plan and I believed in that.” he continued.
Orr’s health continued to improve, and he was brought off the treatment in September.
Miraculously in October 2009, Orr’s stage four-esophageal cancer had gone into remission. He immediately began to prepare for a quickly approaching swim season, he got back into the flow of his life and got back to work. Orr spent most of the summer recruiting for the team while he was undergoing treatment. A man who was on the brink of death, still cared about the future of his team and returned to them as soon as he could.
When asked about his first few weeks back Orr responded, “I was just glad and grateful to be on the pool deck and coaching again. I got tired very easily but I would never show it.”
Over the past few years Orr has spent countless hours recruiting and improving his team any way he can. Currently, both the men and women’s swim teams are the most successful in school history, breaking a combined 20 records this past season.
“Gary is the best coach I’ve ever had. He is the type of coach that truly cares about his athletes, and stops at nothing to help them succeed not just in the pool, but out of it as well.” said Ramapo Swimmer RJ Carillo.
Gary Orr is a special coach because he doesn’t try to only improve his swimmers in the pool, but in life as well. He truly wants to see all of his kids succeed, and considers the team his family.
“I have gone to Coach Orr multiple times when the stresses of school and swim have just become too much. He is the type of guy that will make your entire day better.” Women’s Captain Brenda Arthur said.
Today, although he doesn’t train the way he used to, Orr still attempts to stay active. He also visits the doctor every three months for check-ups, to make sure he is still healthy. Although the majority of his time is still dedicated to coaching, Orr is still a family man, and loves to spend time with his wife and daughters. Orr is an inspirational man that has a vision of talent incomparable to many coaches. His ability to treat his team as if they are his family, it what has made him so special.
When asked how he remained so strong throughout his battle with cancer, Orr replied “Never ask why, and never take a single day for granted.
SOUNDSLIDE: Click here to listen to Gary Orr talk about his triathlon experiences.