Still Thankful

Still Thankful
By Steve Kim (Nov 27, 2008)

I'm sure you've heard by now that former long-time jr. lightweight champion Genaro 'Chicanito' Hernandez has been stricken with cancer. As good and decent a man as there ever was in the sport of boxing, Hernandez will tell you that he still feels fine for the most part. And he isn't about to wallow in self-pity because that's not his style.

He is a fighter after all.

"Physically and mentally, I feel good," he would tell Maxboxing this Monday. "I don't feel like I'm sick. I feel healthy, but I have my right eye getting swollen shut because of a tumor I have inside my sinus going into the forehead, which actually led to some tumors on my right neck area, leading from the neck in between the collarbone. I got some lumps there and now I noticed yesterday, last night, that I have two more tumors trying to pop out on my left side. So obviously the cancer is spreading around the neck area."

The fact that Hernandez has cancer came as a shock. People that have known him for years have never seen alcohol touch his lips. He's the type that goes to bed early and he's not that far off from his fighting weight. Prior to all this, he never had any obvious symptoms of his illness.

"What I did have, was I thought and believed was a little fatty tissue growing around the neck area," he would explain. "So I decided that - and this was around October the 5th - I would wait about a week to see if it would fade away. If not, I was going to make an appointment with the doctor and that way he could actually cut it out. Because I had one done before where a fatty tissue actually came out of my neck and I had it removed. Now, not even a week passed by when I noticed that when I woke up one morning I had two more lumps on my right side of my neck area.

"And that's when I decided, 'Y'know what? This is not fatty tissue.'"

After his initial visit to a doctor gave him a clean bill of health, Hernandez still had the uneasy feeling that his body was suffering on the inside. As he went to another doctor, a series of tests were performed after it was recommended he go see a head and neck specialist.

"Thank God they did that. By them doing the biopsy they had to do a CAT-scan and an MRI to the head and neck, to see if there was anything else wrong. And they actually found a tumor growing inside my sinus area," said Hernandez.

Immediately his thoughts turned to his wife and two kids.

"It definitely crossed my head that it's not fair that I'm making my wife suffer and God forbid anything should happen that she's going to have to stay here and take care of the kids herself," said Hernandez, who has a 16-year old daughter and nine year old son. "That's not what I'm thinking, I’m thinking I'm going to be there one way or the other. I'm not leaving; it's too early for me to leave."

It's certainly cliché to say that this is the biggest fight of his life. But it's hard to deny that it isn't true, either.

“It’s something I have no control of; I have control of it mindwise, and physically, now we have to deal with medication. That's where I don't have control and that's why I have to have people help me - that being the doctors. And hopefully they're the best there is out there."

The boxing community has rallied around Hernandez. The WBC has organized a drive to help defray the cost of his medical treatment that is not covered by insurance. Other entities are planning fund-raising events to help him out. The quick response to his plight is no surprise given the universal respect he commands. There is nobody as amiable as Hernandez, whose friendly manner to fellow fighters and fans has made him among the most beloved members of the boxing fraternity. In short, he's the guy you'd want as your next door neighbor.

Hernandez has had a busy week. On Tuesday he went to the dental facility at UCLA to get some procedures done to protect his teeth and jaw from future radiation and chemotherapy sessions. Wednesday, he would go to the Kaiser Permanente facility in Buena Park to meet with radiation doctors. He'll go down to the Kaiser in Hollywood on Friday to get a CAT-scan.

And Thursday?

“I’m going to spend it with the family," he says of Thanksgiving Day." My wife, my kids, two of my brothers and their families are going to be coming over, maybe some friends. I'm spending Thanksgiving like, 'Hey, it's another day, we're thankful we lived another year and we have all the food we're going to have on the table' and just thank God that my kids and my wife are healthy."

In an era where there is so much concern about the state of the economy and the future, Hernandez is grateful for the little things that are currently in his life.
"I'm thankful for every day I'm able to spend with my wife and kids. I'm thankful for all the people that supported me and have sent me emails, helping me and wishing me the best, saying that they're behind me and showing me support in anyway they can," he says with gratitude. "I'm actually thankful to you guys, as well, the press, actually taking their time out of their busy schedule to try to interview me and hopefully the interviews I'm giving you guys, it'll make anybody who's reading it out there, realize that, 'Y'know what? It doesn't matter how well you take care of yourself, any illness can hit you and you gotta be aware of what's going on with your body."

Hernandez is just 42 years old, much too early to be thinking about mortality. In many respects, while his boxing career ended a decade ago, his life is just beginning. There are more anniversaries to celebrate, seeing your kids off to the prom and then college, becoming a grandparent, eventually. In other words - life.

And despite an uncertain future, he says unequivocally, "Basically, I'm living another day the way it should be done. I know people, if they were to find out that they had cancer they would fall under depression, not do nothing. I'm the opposite. I'm like, 'I'm not thinking about it. I'm doing what I want to do.' I'm not going to be sitting around waiting to see what's going to happen."

For years, Hernandez has been a fixture at the big fights, either in his role as a color commentator or for CompuBox. Expect to see him ringside on December 6th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when Oscar De La Hoya tangles with Manny Pacquiao, calling the fights.
"I'm not putting a hold on anything," said Hernandez, who says he played a brisk game of soccer this past weekend. He's even helping his brother Rudy train his fighters. "I went to the gym today, did some mitt work with Urbano (Antillon) and Jose Armando Santa Cruz."

WBC CARES

According to a press release put out by the WBC, you can send donations to: World Boxing Cares, 36 West 22nd Street, New York, New York, 10010.

Mark them 'Genaro' and payable to 'World Boxing Cares'. All money is tax deductible and 100-percent of the proceeds will go directly to the Hernandez family.

The tax ID number is: 26 2665978.

Also a special dinner, autograph signing and silent auction will take place a the WBC Legend of Boxing Museum in San Bernardino on January 17th in his honor.

For more information log onto: www.worldboxingcares.com.

For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Steve: k9kim@maxboxing.com

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