President Fritz Brauner called the meeting to order at 12:30. President Fritz wouldn’t be President Fritz without letting us know that today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day and Global Running Day. I think we all may need to go running to work off today’s tortellini. So good!

 

This Week:  Paul Watermulder led the Pledge of Allegiance with a real flag this time. Paul purchased one for Rotary, but this one was courtesy of the Parks and Recreation Department. Thanks Paul! Paul also led an impromptu invocation as Alex Buljan wasn’t available. Thanks again Paul!

 

Guests of the club and visiting Rotarians:  Susan Baker introduced Maryam Ghafouri from New York Life Insurance.  Susan also introduced a guest of the club, Asian Box Marketing Manager Geraldine Rivera. Doug Person introduced Alan and Charlene Drummer, two-time guests of the club.

 

 

Sunshine Report: Jim Shypertt passed around a card for Melinda Horwitz. Get well soon Melinda!

 

Announcements:  Cary Koh announced a golf committee meeting on Thursday at 4 p.m. on Zoom. Christine Krolik announced that the next fireside chat will be in about a month. Christine also announced that her friend who did the whiskey tasting for the Club recently visited Normandy and made a short video about his visit. Marilyn Orr will send the video out to everyone.

 

Person on the Street: Mark Lucchesi, podcaster extraordinaire, started a new club feature, Person on the Street. Mark interviewed Mike Kimball, who has been a Burlingame Rotarian for 55 years. Mike was born in Berkeley and grew up in Pleasant Hill. He came to the Peninsula after starting to work at the College of San Mateo in the late 1960s. Mike lives in an apartment upstairs from Copenhagen.  Visitors to the apartment will see it filled with books. He owns about 6,000 and has about two-thirds of them lining the shelves in the apartment. Holy moly! He’s not a social media guy, but he does keep up with people via email. He’s also been writing a book for about a decade. 

 

 

Program:  Bobba Venkatadri introduced today’s speaker, Rob Tufel, who brings more than 25 years of experience working in the non-profit sector where he created, implemented and managed a variety of innovative social service, research and health programs. He began his career volunteering in the LGBTQ community as well as working in low-income communities impacted by HIV, which deepened his passion and dedication to health. He is the Executive Director of Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area, a non-profit organization that provides free support services to cancer patients and their families. He received his B.A. from Oberlin College and Masters’ Degrees in Social Welfare and Public Health from U.C. Berkeley. Side note—Rob is also a Lafayette Rotarian.

 

Rob’s topic was thinking about cancer beyond medical treatment. Cancer is not one disease—it’s hundreds of different diseases with multiple causes—genetic, environmental, etc. The most common are breast, lung, prostate, and colon/rectum cancer. Cancer occurs most frequently among older adults, with one in two men and one in three women getting cancer. There’s a higher incidence of cancer in certain ethnic communities. People with lower incomes have worse outcomes.

 

5,200 people will be diagnosed with cancer every day in this country, and that number is going up. Cancer is generally treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. Cancer treats everyone equally, but not everyone with cancer is treated equally. Age, language barriers, and access to medical care all affect treatment. Health care and survival are impacted by age, cancer type, location, ethnicity/culture/language, education, and financial toxicity.

 

Rob’s colleague Patty Falconer then talked about financial toxicity, which describes the financial hardship, stress, and strain people experience as a result of a cancer diagnosis and the coping behaviors that patients and their families adopt to manage their care and financial situation. 20% of adults with cancer owe $10,000 or more in medical expenses. 42% of cancer patients deplete their assets/savings within two years of diagnosis. More than 40% of cancer patients experience financial distress during their treatment and recovery.

 

Charitable organizations like Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area increase access to direct and indirect financial resources. They provide access to copay assistance, support grants, and educational resources. They also support patient advocacy and help with financial navigation.

 

Cancer Support Community offers support groups, counseling, educational workshops, healthy lifestyle classes, financial assistance, and other services. They are an affiliate of the National Cancer Support Community. Cancer Support Community SF Bay Area accepts donations and volunteers and appreciates people being ambassadors for them. For more information, or to help, Rob can be reached at rtufel@cancersupport.net, or 925-953-1210.

 

 

President Fritz closed out the meeting after thanking Rob and presenting him with a certificate noting that Burlingame Rotary is donating polio doses in his name.